HMS Collingwood (1908) - Armament

Armament

The main armament consisted of ten 12-inch (305mm) Mark XI 50-calibre guns carried in five twin turrets. The increase in length over earlier ships, from 45-calibre to 50-calibre, produced an increase in muzzle velocity from 2,850 to 3,101 feet/second for the same weight of armour-piercing shell. This produced an increase in armour penetration of about half an inch at a range of 3,000 yards, but muzzle wobble reduced the accuracy, with salvoes being spread over a greater area than had been the case with previous ships.

The turret arrangement was the same as in all earlier British dreadnoughts. "A" turret was positioned on the forecastle deck, with an unobstructed arc of fire over the bow of some 270 degrees. "P" and "Q" turrets were placed, one on either beam, on the maindeck at a level between the funnels; each had a nominal arc of fire of 180 degrees, being from dead ahead to dead astern. As these two turrets were positioned symmetrically on the ship there was no possibility of firing across the deck on the opposite beam, and in practice firing too close to the long axis of the ship caused unacceptable damage to the superstructure. "X" turret was positioned between the after funnel and the after superstrucure, at maindeck level. The guns of this turret had an arc of fire of some 110 degrees on either beam, with no ability to fire either astern or ahead. "Y" turret, on the quarterdeck at main deck level, had an uninterrupted arc of fire over the stern of some 300 degrees.

The secondary, or anti-torpedo armament, comprised a total on completion of eighteen four-inch (102mm) Mark III 50-calibre quick-firing (QF) guns. Pairs of these guns were installed in unshielded mounts on the roofs of "A", "P", "Q" and "X" turrets, and the other ten were positioned in single mounts at forecastle-deck level in the superstructure. The guns on "A" turret were removed in 1911. In 1917, when it became necessary to arm merchant ships as a defence against German submarines, a number of smaller guns were removed from capital ships to meet the need. All guns were removed from the turret roofs, but some were replaced in newly installed positions in the forward superstructure and at the base of the after funnel. Collingwood finished the war with a total of thirteen guns of this size, including one anti-aircraft gun placed between the funnels.

One 12 pounder (three-inch) anti-aircraft gun was fitted, and four three-pounder saluting guns were also carried.

There were three torpedo tubes of 18-inch (457 mm) calibre, one on either beam and one astern. All were designed to discharge their torpedoes underwater; a total of nine torpedoes were carried.

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