British Naval Gun Mountings: From 1890: 18-inch to 4.5-inch Mark 8
240 pages
RAdm R G Melly
Having trained as a naval architect, Ian Buxton is well placed to write a book on the development of gun mountings, particularly noting the impact of the larger calibre of guns on overall ship design. He is an acknowledged expert on shipbuilding and, whilst the author of a number of books on a maritime theme, he is perhaps best known for his book Big Gun Monitors. Noting the relatively short period of big gun supremacy embracing the two World Wars, the book sets out to explore the evolution of primarily British naval gun mountings from 1890, ranging in size from the short-lived 18-inch mountings through to the now more familiar 4.5-inch mountings.
The book starts with an explanation of the key components of a heavy gun mounting, noting that these installations were amongst the most complex engineering endeavours of their time. Typically, a heavy mounting could take up to two to three years to complete, and the cost would be a quarter of the total outlay for the platform. Smaller calibre guns were somewhat simpler, comprising typically 12% of a cruiser’s total cost.
The three principal manufacturers are detailed in four chapters which lay bare the fierce competition for Admiralty business, the extensive investment in works and machinery involved (in 1911, there were six plants manufacturing heavy guns) and the various mergers as the businesses consolidated.
The book ably illustrates the impressive ship-building programme in the lead up to WWI, as the Royal Navy endeavoured to remain the pre-eminent naval power. It then outlines the activity required to rearm in the 1930s, whilst also recognising the increased threat posed by aircraft. This resulted in an impressive number of designs of mountings of varying calibres, not all of which came to fruition, as the Admiralty juggled the requirements of range and weight of shell delivered, within the constraints of treaty agreements, industrial capacity and costs.
Each calibre of gun has its own chapter detailing the differing configurations, ammunition supply arrangements, evolution and costings. Whilst a significant portion of the book is devoted to the larger calibre mountings, the smaller calibre weapons are not overlooked; indeed, final mounting considered is the 4.5-inch Mark 8, with its distinctive radar echo reducing gun shield and the distinction of being the last British designed naval mounting (the Type 26 frigate will be fitted with a US 5-inch calibre installation, albeit manufactured by BAE Systems).
Whilst not a book for the faint-hearted, it is undoubtedly a significant achievement and must surely be the definitive reference work on this topic. Painstakingly researched, an astonishing amount of detail is provided, supplemented with B&W and colour drawings and evocative photographs of ships and mountings. Many of these images are of mountings under construction in the manufacturers’ works, whilst others are of ship’s both under construction and being scrapped, the latter providing revealing aspects of gun mountings not normally apparent. Well-written and clearly presented, Ian Buxton is to be congratulated on his expert account of this important aspect of 20th century naval ship construction.
