Coast Defence Gun
- Media related to BL 6 inch Mk VII coast defence gun at Wikimedia Commons
The 6-inch Mk VII gun, together with the 9.2 inch Mk X gun, provided the main coast defence throughout the British Empire, from the early 1900s until the abolition of coast artillery in the 1950s. Many guns were specially built for army coast defence use, and following the decommissioning of many obsolete cruisers and battleships after World War I, their 6-inch Mk VII guns were also recycled for coast defence.
103 of these guns were in service in World War I in coastal defences around the UK. Some of these, together with others at ports around the wider British Empire, played an important defence role in World War II and remained in service until the 1950s.
A number of new similar guns with stronger barrels which allowed more powerful cordite charges to be used were manufactured for coast defence during World War II, and were designated 6-inch BL Mark XXIV.
Read more about this topic: BL 6 Inch Mk VII Naval Gun
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