Mk1 15"/42 (381mm) gun

(United Kingdom)

Found on HMS Vanguard, the Royal Navy's final battleship (commissioned 1946), this gun design actually dates back to 1915. When it was realized that Vanguard would be the end of the line as far as RN battleships, it was decided to use 15" weapons from a surplus pool left over from the earlier Queen Elizabeth, Revenge, and Renown class battleships as an economy measure. This resulted in an obsolescent "four double" turret layout on an otherwise exceptionally-modern Vanguard; however as WWII experience showed that battleships spent most of their time doing AA escort and shore bombardment; this was deemed not a problem.

The guns themselves were of a very sound design and performed well. Vanguard was the first (and obviously last) RN battleship to incorporate remote gunnery control for the main batteries, via a Type 274 fire control radar. The guns could also be spotted by a traditional optical range-finder.

HMS Vanguard never fired her guns in anger, decommissioning in 1954. One barrel of this type is preserved at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Max range was 18NM. The AP shells weighed 1914lbs each.