Master SM-700-009 IJN 36cm/45 (14in) Vickers and 41st Year Types barrels (8pcs) - Kongo, Fuso and Ise classes

The 36 cm 41st Year Type is a Japanese 356 mm naval gun from the interwar period and both world wars. The weapon was developed around 1910 at the British Vickers factory under the designation Vickers 14 inch 45 caliber gun, and then acquired by the Japanese Navy and produced at the Japan Steel Works and the Naval Arsenal in Kure. The cannon was the main armament of the Kongo-class battleships (Kongo, Hiei, Kirishima and Haruna) and Fuso (Fuso and Yamashiro), as well as the Ise-class (Ise and Hyuga). The total weight of the gun was about 86 tons, and its barrel was almost exactly 16 meters long. The initial velocity of the missiles was up to 775 m / s. The cannon fired projectiles weighing up to 674 kilograms, and its maximum firing range was about 35,000 meters, while the effective firing range was lower. The maximum theoretical rate of fire for this gun was 1.5-2 rounds per minute. The gun was mounted in two-gun turrets. As a curiosity, it can be mentioned that the first Japanese battleship on which the 36 cm 41st Year Type gun was to be mounted, i.e. the Congo, was originally to have 305 mm guns and only during its construction it was decided to change its main armament, which entailed numerous design changes to this unit.