Tiornu (in another thread) quotes a range of 30,000 yards for Yamato's secondary battery, which to me seems a very long range.
How do these 6.1 inchers differ from the British standard naval 6 inch gun or the Germans 15 cm gun? If the 6.1 inch was that superior then would not the Germans (through Wenneker in Tokyo) be aware of it and develop such a weapon for their own use, say as coastal batteries which Hitler obssessed about?
Another factor in this was the choice of 5.25 inch as secondary armament for the KGV class battleship - apart from presumably the weight limit restrictions viz the Washington Treaties, would their be any reason for the Royal Navy not use between 6 and 7 inch guns as better firepower?
As ''proof of the pudding'' did any coutry think of producing a ''super'' light cruiser armed with a 6 to 7 inch calibre?
Yamato's 6.1 inch guns
None of these weapons were effective against aircraft except the 5.25" when installed in the new mounts on Vanguard.
The Japanese removed half of their 6.1" guns from the Yamato class to provide more medium AAA.
It turned out (in hindsight) to be a big mistake to design battleships with single purpose secondary armament because of the huge threat by aircraft. If the gun can't be used effectively against aircraft, it is a waste of deck space and internal ship volume.
The Japanese removed half of their 6.1" guns from the Yamato class to provide more medium AAA.
It turned out (in hindsight) to be a big mistake to design battleships with single purpose secondary armament because of the huge threat by aircraft. If the gun can't be used effectively against aircraft, it is a waste of deck space and internal ship volume.
Re: Yamato's 6.1 inch guns
Lots of battleships had secondary batteries around 6in. Guns in the 4.5-5.25in range were a regression based on the need for AA ability. The French tried to make a 6in DP secondary battery for the Richelieus, but the gun proved useless against aircraft. Even the 5.25in gun on the KGVs was a failure. The US 5in/38 and the British 4.5in gun were the only truly successful DP secondaries on any battleships. The US 5in/25 was not that well suited to fighting ships. The Japanese 5in gun was also good, if only it had been Yamato's secondary weapon. Later Japanese designs would have had the 10cm gun, which was a fine AA weapon but a but light against surface targets. The Germans had a superb 5in DP gun if only they had used it. The British did get the 5.25in idea right in the Vangaurd class.
The Soviets built seven cruisers armed with 180mm guns. The guns themselves and the ships that carrier them were not very good.
The Argentinians had a pair of italian-made cruisers with 7.5in guns.
Cruisers with 6-6.1in guns were quite common, of course.
The Soviets built seven cruisers armed with 180mm guns. The guns themselves and the ships that carrier them were not very good.
The Argentinians had a pair of italian-made cruisers with 7.5in guns.
Cruisers with 6-6.1in guns were quite common, of course.
