40 cm/45 Type 94
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The Japanese 40 cm/45 Type 94 naval guns were the largest guns to ever be mounted on any warship. They were actually 46 cm (18.1 in) guns, but were designated 40 cm in an effort to hide their true size.
They were mounted as the main armament of the Yamato-class super-battleships that were in service with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Their armour penetration was perhaps matched only by the 16 inch/(406 mm/50 Mark 7 guns mounted on the Iowa-class battleships of the U.S. Navy. The armour penetration of these weapons could have been much better, but they suffered from poor quality shells, which greatly reduced their effectivenes. The turrets they were mounted in weighed 2500 tons each, which is about the same as a good sized destroyer of the same era.
The Japanese guns were slightly bigger than three British 18 inch guns built during World War I. These were to have armed special cruisers and one gun was tested on HMS Furious as a result of which the idea lapsed and they were only ever used singly on monitors. Eighteen inch guns were also to have been mounted on the N3 battleships.
[edit] Characteristics
| Bore | 460 mm | 18.1 inches |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 147.3 metric tons | 162.4 tons |
| Length | OA 21.13 m | 832 inches |
| Projectile weight | 1460 kg | 3220 lb |
| Muzzle velocity | 780 m/s | 2560 ft/s |
| Maximum elevation | +45/-5 degrees | |
| Maximum range | 42,000 meters | 45,960 yards |
| Rate of fire | 2 rounds/min | |
