RML 12-inch 25-ton gun
| Ordnance RML 12-inch 25-ton gun | |
|---|---|
A 12-inch (305 mm) 25-ton gun in an armoured turret aboard the ram HMS Hotspur. A shell is suspended near the muzzle ready for loading. | |
| Type | Naval gun Coast defence gun |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Royal Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1864–1866 |
| Manufacturer | Royal Arsenal |
| Unit cost | £1,716 |
| Produced | 1866 – 187? |
| Variants | Mk I, Mk II |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Mk I : 23.5 long tons (23,900 kg) Mk II : 25 long tons (25,000 kg) |
| Barrel length | 145 inches (3.7 m) (bore + chamber) |
| Shell | 600 to 608.4 pounds (272.2 to 276.0 kg) (Palliser) 497 pounds (225.4 kg) (Common & Shrapnel) |
| Calibre | 12-inch (304.8 mm) |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,300 feet per second (400 m/s) |
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The RML 12-inch 25-ton guns were large rifled muzzle-loading guns of mid-late 1800s used as primary armament on British ironclad turret battleships and coastal monitors, and also ashore for coast defence. They were the shorter and less powerful of the two 12-inch (305-mm) British RML guns, the other being the 35-ton gun.