View source for EOC 12-inch 45-calibre naval gun

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox weapon
 |name=EOC 12 inch 45-calibre naval gun<br>12"/45 41st Year Type
 | image= Mikasa kobu shuho.jpg
| image_size = 300
 |caption=41st Year Type on {{ship|Japanese battleship|Mikasa||2}}
 |type=[[Naval gun]]
 |origin=United Kingdom
 |is_ranged=yes
 |is_artillery=yes
 |is_UK=yes
 |service=1906–1952
 |used_by= United Kingdom <br> Brazil <br> Empire of Japan
 |wars=[[World War I]]
 |designer= [[Elswick Ordnance Company]]
 |design_date=
 |manufacturer=
 |unit_cost=
 |production_date=
 |number=
 |variants=
 |weight=
 |length=
 |part_length=Bore {{convert|45|ft|m|sigfig=5}} (45 [[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|cal]])
 |width=
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 |crew=
 |caliber={{convert|12|in|mm|sigfig=4|sing=on}}
 |cartridge={{convert|850|lb|kg|sigfig=4}}
 |action=
 |rate=
 |velocity={{convert|2700|ft/s|m/s|sigfig=3}} - {{convert|2800|ft/s|m/s|sigfig=3}}
 |max_range={{convert|18850|yd|m}}
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}}

The '''EOC 12 inch 45 calibre gun''' were various similar 12-inch [[British ordnance terms#Wire-wound|wire-wound]] naval guns designed and manufactured by [[Elswick Ordnance Company]] to equip ships that the parent company [[Armstrong Whitworth]] built and/or armed for several countries before [[World War I]].

==History==
===Brazil service===
[[File:Brazilian battleship Minas Geraes firing a broadside.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|{{ship|Brazilian battleship|Minas Geraes}}{{'}}s guns firing}}]]
Elswick supplied its 12-inch 45-[[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|calibre]] guns for the {{sclass|Minas Geraes|battleship}}s completed by itself and Vickers in 1910 for Brazil.
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===UK service===
[[File:Gunhouse and barbette, side section (Warships To-day, 1936).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Section of barbette and gunhouse of {{HMS|Agincourt|1913|6}}]]
When [[World War I]] began, Elswick were completing the battleship {{ship|Ottoman battleship|Sultân Osmân-ı Evvel||2}} for the Ottoman Empire, originally begun as {{ship|Brazilian battleship|Rio de Janeiro||2}} for Brazil. It was armed with 14 of a slightly later version of Elswick's 12-inch 45-calibre guns. The battleship was completed as {{HMS|Agincourt|1913|6}} and served in the Royal Navy in World War I, with its guns designated '''BL 12 inch Mk XIII'''.<ref>Britain used [[Roman numerals]] to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the thirteenth model of BL 12-inch gun in British service.</ref> The gun's performance was similar to the standard Royal Navy equivalent gun, the [[BL 12 inch Mk X naval gun|BL 12 inch Mk X]] designed by Vickers.
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===Japan service===
Elswick supplied its 12-inch 45-calibre guns to the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], and they were also manufactured under licence in Japan. In Japanese service from 1908 they became '''12"/45 41st Year Type''' and later after the navy metricised in 1917, '''30&nbsp;cm/45 41st Year Type'''. They equipped the following ship classes:
* {{sclass|Katori|battleship}}s commissioned 1906
* {{sclass|Ibuki|battlecruiser}} commissioned in 1907 & 1911
* {{sclass|Tsukuba|cruiser|0}} battlecruisers commissioned 1908
* Battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Mikasa||2}} as re-gunned in 1908
* {{sclass|Satsuma|battleship}}s commissioned 1910 & 1912
* {{sclass|Kawachi|battleship}}s commissioned 1912

==Surviving examples==
* On the {{ship|Japanese battleship|Mikasa}}, Yokosuka, Japan

==See also==
* [[List of naval guns]]

===Weapons of comparable role, performance and era===
* [[305mm/45 Modèle 1906 gun]] French equivalent
* [[BL 12 inch Mk X naval gun]] [[Vickers]] equivalent
* [[12"/45 caliber Mark 5 gun]] US equivalent

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* Tony DiGiulian, [http://navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBZL_12-45_PL.htm Brazil 12"/45 (30.5 cm) Elswick Pattern L]
* Tony DiGiulian, [http://navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_12-45_mk13.htm Britain 12"/45 (30.5 cm) Mark XIII]
* [http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNJAP_12-45_EA.htm Japanese 12"/45 (30.5 cm) Armstrong 12"/45 (30.5 cm) 41st Year Type 30 cm/45 (12") 41st Year Type]

==External links==
{{Commons category|EOC 12 inch /45 naval gun}}

{{GreatWarBritishNavalWeapons}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:EOC 12 inch 45 naval gun}}
[[Category:Naval guns of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Naval weapons of Brazil]]
[[Category:305 mm artillery]]
[[Category:EOC naval guns]]
[[Category:Naval guns of Japan]]