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Handbook for 6" breech-loading Mark VII and Mark VIII guns

Handbook for 6" breech-loading Mark VII and Mark VIII guns

1916

Repository
Document ID
Pages
Dimensions
Plates
ADM 186/210
44

15cm x 24.5cm
25

 

My copy of this document are color photographs of an original at TNA.  My photos are sadly pretty bad of this volume, and some pages border on being totally unreadable.  The plates are all in color.

CONTENTS

 
Page
CHAPTER
I. :
  Description of the gun
4
  
Description of the breech mechanism
5
  
Action of the breech mechanism and assembling ditto
12
  
CHAPTER
II. :
  Description of P. III. mounting
15
  
CHAPTER
III. :
Description of P. IV. mounting
28
  
CHAPTER
IV.:
Description of P. VIII. mounting
37
  
CHAPTER
V. :
Description of firing and night circuits
43
  

LIST OF PLATES

I.
Ordnance B.L. Mark VII.
II.
General Arrangement of Breech Mechanism.
III.
 Firing Mechanism.
IV.
P. III. Mounting
Sectional Elevation of Pedestal and Pivot.
V.
do.
 Arrangement of Elevating and Training Gear.
VI.
do.
 Arrangement of Trunnion Blocks.
VII.
do.

Sectional Elevation of Spring Box and Recoil Cylinder.
VIII.
P. III. and IV. Mtgs.

Between Deck Dismounting Gear,

Double Girder Type.

IX.
do.

Between Deck Dismounting Gear,

Single Girder Type.
X.
P. III. Mounting
Rear End View, Gun and Cradle.
XI.
do.
 Sectional Elevation.
XII.
do.
 Arrangement of Trunnion Caps.
XIII.
do.

Elevating and Training Gear.

XIV.
do.
 Sectional Elevation, Recoil Cylinder.
XV.
do.
 Elevation and Plan, showing Armour Protection.
XVI.
P. VIII. Mounting
 General Arrangement, Left Side Elevation.
XVII.
do.
 General Arrangement, Plan.
XVIII.
do.

Carriage and Pedestal, Side View and Sectional Elevation.

XIX.
do.
 Arrangement of Trunnion Blocks.
XX.
do.
 Sectional Elevation, Spring Case and Recoil Cylinder.
XXI.
do.
 Arrangement of Elevating Gear.
XXII.
do.
 Clutch Gear for Two-Speed Elevating.
XXIII.
do.
 Arrangement of Training Gear.
XXIV.
"
 training gear
XXV.
P. III. and IV. Mtgs.
 Diagram of Circuits.
XXVI.
P. VIII. Mounting
 Diagram of Circuits.

Notes

This book would be very helpful in creating a model of the weapon.  Its plates are helpful for modeling, and the text is fairly helpful in general.  You might find that it works nicely in conjunction with the Sight Manual of 1916 which will have additional images of the sightsetting and telescope equipment.

According to Navweaps.com, the Mark VII. gun was used on on Formidable, London, Duncan, first five King Edward's, Tiger, Barfleur and Iron Duke classes, also Cressy, Drake, Kent, Hampshire and Challenger cruiser classes and others as rearmed, plus the monitors Severn, Humber, Mersey, M.27, Clive, Craufurd, Eugene, Moore, Rupert and Wolfe. The Mark VIII. was used on the Kent class light cruisers.  I'd have to go digging around for information on the mountings referenced within this handbook,

One important background note on naval weapons, and in particular the Royal Navy's weapons of this period, is that small guns like this are often discussed as systems comprised of a gun (which is simply the barrel and breech mechanisms) and a mounting upon which it sits.  The RN nomenclature system details guns by the diameter of their bore and a "Mark" designation of a roman numeral.  Small changes in a design sometimes do not merit a new Mark number, but are instead denoted by appending stars (asterisks) , e.g.: Mark VII**.  Mountings are usually denoted by a roman numeral after a "P.", which may stand for "pedestal", for such is what these man-worked weapon mounts were called.  Mountings may also have stars in their designation.