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The 16-inch/50 caliber Mark 7 guns of the forward turret of the battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64) fire at enemy targets ashore on the Korean Peninsula on 30 January 1952 during the Korean War. Employees working with the automatic 16-inch powder stacking machine at Naval Ammunition Depot Hingham, Mass. during World War II.
The U.S. Navy had the 16"/50-caliber Mark 2 guns left over from the canceled Lexington-class battlecruisers and South Dakota-class battleships of the early 1920s. However it was already apparent that the Mark 2 was too heavy to arm the North Carolina and new South Dakota (1939) battleship classes which had to adhere to the 35,000 ton standard displacement set by the Second London Naval Treaty.
The first US Navy 16-inch gun was the 16-inch/45 caliber Mark 1 gun, which armed the Colorado-class battleships launched 1920–21. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] The second Navy design, the Mark 2, was intended as armament for the planned South Dakota -class battleships , and also selected for the modified design of the Lexington -class battlecruisers ...
The secondary battery of 5-inch (127 mm) guns could hit targets nearly 9 statute miles (14 km) away with solid projectiles or proximity fuzed shells, and was effective in an anti-aircraft role as well. Each of the four battleships carried a wide array of 20 mm and 40 mm anti-aircraft guns for defense against enemy aircraft.
406 mm (16.0 in) BL 16 inch Mk I naval gun United Kingdom: World War II 406 mm (16.0 in) 16"/45 caliber Mark 1, 5 & 8 gun United States: 1920s - World War II 406 mm (16.0 in) 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 gun United States: World War II 406 mm (16.0 in) 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun United States: World War II - Cold War 406 mm (16.0 in)
An improved weapon, the BL 16-inch Mark II was designed for the Lion-class battleship which was a successor to the King George V class taking advantage of the larger weapon allowed under the London Naval Treaty from March 1938. This "new design" of 16-inch gun fired a shell that weighed 2,375 pounds (1,077 kg).
In 1922, the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty caused the US Navy to cancel the South Dakota-class battleships and the Lexington-class battlecruisers, surplusing 16-inch/50 caliber Mark II and Mark III barrels. Initially, 20 guns were transferred to the Army, which built a new version of the M1919 mount for the naval guns.
The two battleships fired 1,182 16-inch shells in support of Gulf War combat operations without mishap. [ 112 ] As part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet , Iowa was berthed at the Naval Education and Training Center in Newport from 24 September 1998 to 8 March 2001, when she began her journey under tow to California .