Description

Elswick guns built in Britain and used on South American cruisers.

Wire-wound construction. Pattern "P" had an actual bore length of 40.3 calibers while Pattern "T" had an actual bore length of 40.4 calibers.

Another 40 caliber gun, Pattern Type unknown but similar to Pattern "T", was used on the Argentine armored cruiser San Martin.

Gun Characteristics

Designation 8"/40 (20.3 cm) EOC Pattern "P"
8"/40 (20.3 cm) EOC Pattern "T"
8"/40 (20.3 cm) EOC Pattern Type Unknown 1
Ship Class Used On Pattern "P": Chile - Blanco Encalada and Esmeralda
Pattern "T": Chile - Almirante O'Higgins
Pattern "T1": Portugal - Vasco da Gama as rearmed in 1902
Pattern Unknown: Argentina - San Martin
Date Of Design about 1893
Date In Service 1895
Gun Weight Pattern "P": 15.39 tons (15.64 mt) including BM
Pattern "T" and "T1": 16.54 tons (16.81 mt) including BM
Pattern Unknown: 16.50 tons (16.77 mt)
Gun Length oa Pattern "P": 383 in (9.728 m)
Pattern "T" and Pattern Unknown: 333.52 in (8.471 m)
Others: N/A
Bore Length Pattern "P": 322.7 in (8.197 m)
Pattern "T": 323.0 in (8.204 m)
Pattern Unknown: 320.0 in (8.127 m)
Rifling Length Pattern Unknown: 269.0 in (6.831 m)
Others: N/A
Grooves Pattern Unknown: (32)
Others: N/A
Lands N/A
Twist Pattern Unknown: 1 in 13.7 increasing to 1 in 30
Others: N/A
Chamber Volume Pattern "P": 1,984 in3 (32.5 dm3)
Pattern "T1": 3,248 in3 (53.2 dm3)
Others: N/A
Rate Of Fire about 2 rounds per minute
  • ^The Pattern Unknown guns were Armstrong Serial No. 11414, 11415, 11416 and 11417.

Ammunition

Type Bag
Projectile Types and Weights Common 210 lbs. (95.3 kg)
Common 250 lbs. (113.4 kg)
Bursting Charge N/A
Projectile Length N/A
Propellant Charge Pattern "P" only: 32 lbs. (14.5 kg) Cordite 0.35
All Patterns: 44 lbs. (20.0 kg) Cordite 0.4
Muzzle Velocity Pattern "P" w/32 lbs. (14.5 kg) Cordite 0.35
   Common 210 lbs. (95.3 kg): 2,250 fps (686 mps)
   Common 250 lbs. (113.4 kg): 2,008 fps (612 mps)

Pattern "P" w/44 lbs. (20.0 kg) Cordite 0.4
   Common 210 lbs. (95.3 kg): 2,570 fps (783 mps)
   Common 250 lbs. (113.4 kg): 2,369 fps (722 mps)

Pattern "T", "T1" and Pattern Unknown w/44 lbs. (20.0 kg) Cordite 0.4
   Common 210 lbs. (95.3 kg): 2,575 fps (785 mps)
   Common 250 lbs. (113.4 kg): 2,440 fps (744 mps)

Working Pressure N/A
Approximate Barrel Life N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun N/A

Mount/Turret Data

Designation Single Guns
   Blanco Encalada (2) and Esmeralda (2)
   Almirante Higgins (4)

Twin Turrets
   San Martin (2)

Weight N/A
Elevation -5 / +15 degrees (?)
Elevation Rate N/A
Train about +150 / -150 degrees
Train Rate N/A
Gun recoil N/A
Loading Angle N/A

Sources

"Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
"Naval Weapons of World War One" by Norman Friedman
---
Special help by Iván Dubaniewicz who provided information from the following sources:
   "Memorandum sobre Artillería" by B.P. Quiroga, 1899
   "Estudios de Armamento" by Domecq García, 1923
   "Catálogo de Granadas y Proyectiles" by Departamento Munición y Química de Guerra, 1958, p. 17-20

Page History

05 January 2008 - Benchmark
29 October 2024 - Converted to HTML 5 format and added information on guns used on San Martin