The B-36 was designed for use on the 1937 light battleship Project 25 in three MK-2 triple turrets, but the design was cancelled before the work on the gun and mounts had progressed very far.
The B-50 gun was based upon the B-36 gun and was intended to have been used by the never-built Kronshtadt (Pr. 69) class battlecruisers. Very high muzzle velocity was to have given this gun an exceptionally long range, but probably at the cost of a very short liner life.
Design of this weapon started in 1938 at the Metal Factory, but was not finished before the start of World War II and no guns are known to have been started. This was mainly as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact which changed the planned Kronshtadt armament to German 38 cm (14.96") guns.
Proposed construction consisted of tube, liner, breech casing and breech ring. The breech was to have been a two stage, piston type. Actual bore diameter was 304.8 mm (12.0").
| Designation | 305 mm/55 (12") B-36 Pattern 1937 305 mm/55 (12") B-50 Pattern 1940 |
|---|---|
| Ship Class Used On | B-36: Project 25 Light BB B-50: Kronshtadt (Pr. 69) class |
| Date Of Design | B-36: 1936-37 B-50: 1938 |
| Date In Service | Never entered service |
| Gun Weight | 71.66 tons (72.8 mt) [Some sources say 73.6 tons (74.8 mt)] |
| Gun Length oa | 661.8 in (16.810 m) |
| Bore Length | 655.2 in (16.640 m) |
| Rifling Length | 514.8 in (13.077 m) |
| Grooves | 40 |
| Lands | N/A |
| Twist | N/A |
| Chamber Volume | 15,870 in3 (260 dm3) |
| Rate Of Fire 1 | MK-2: 3 rounds per minute MK-15: 3.24 rounds per minute |
- ^I consider the above ROF figures to have been design goals and not necessarily the firing rates that would have been achieved in service.
| Type | Bag |
|---|---|
| Projectile Types and Weights | AP: 1,039 lbs. (471 kg) HE: 838 lbs. (380 kg) Light HE Round 1a: N/A Concrete Piercing: N/A |
| Bursting Charge | N/A |
| Projectile Length | N/A |
| Propellant Charge | 401 lbs. (182 kg) |
| Muzzle Velocity 2a |
|
| Working Pressure | 20 tons/in2 (3200 kg/cm2) |
| Approximate Barrel Life | 300 (estimated) 3a |
| Ammunition stowage per gun | 100 rounds |
- ^The Light HE round was intended for coastal bombardment missions.
- ^"Battleships: Allied Battleships in World War II" lists a muzzle velocity of "2,900 fps (915 mps)," which is a bad Metric/English measurement conversion. The figures used above are from "Encyclopedia of Russian Artillery."
- ^Given the extremely high muzzle velocity and the lack of life extending enhancements like chromium plating, I cannot help but think that the actual barrel life of this gun would not have exceeded double digits.
| Shell | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 838 lbs. (380 kg) HE | 45 degrees | 50,634 yards (46,300 m) |
| 1,039 lbs. (470 kg) AP | 52,030 yards (47,580 m) | |
| Light HE | 60,040 yards (54,900 m) |
| Range | Side Armor | Deck Armor |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 yards (9,140 m) | 21.00 in (533 mm) | 0.55 in (14 mm) |
| 20,000 yards (18,290 m) | 14.76 in (375 mm) | 1.73 in (44 mm) |
| 30,000 yards (27,430 m) | 11.00 in (280 mm) | 3.46 in (88 mm) |
Data from "Main Caliber of the Battleships."
| Designation |
|
|---|---|
| Weight | MK-2: 1,110 tons (1127.6 tons) MK-15: 1,180 tons (1200 mt) |
| Elevation | MK-2: -2 / +45 degrees MK-15: -3 / +45 degrees |
| Rate of Elevation | MK-2: 8 degrees per second MK-15/: 10 degrees per second |
| Train | Turrets 1 and 2: 298-149 degrees Turret 3: 300-150 degrees. |
| Rate of Train | MK-2: 5 degrees per second MK-15: 5.1 degrees per second |
| Gun Recoil | 47.2 in (120 cm) |
| Loading Angle | +6 degrees |
Data from:
- "Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
- "Battleships: Allied Battleships in World War II" by W.H. Garzke, Jr. and R.O. Dulin, Jr.
- "Sovetskie Boevye Korabli 1941-45: IV Vooruzhnie" (Soviet Warships 1941-45: Volume IV Armament) by A.V. Platonov
- "Glavnyi Calibr Linkorov" (Main Caliber of the Battleships) by L.I. Amirkhanov and S.I. Titushkin
- "Entsiklopedia Otechestvennoi Artillerii" (Encyclopedia of Fatherland (Russian) Artillery) by A.V. Shirokorad
Special help from Vladimir Yakubov
- 21 May 2006
- Benchmark
- 16 April 2012
- Updated to latest template