The Mk 45 Mod 4A Medium Calibre Gun on HMS Glasgow, the first Type 26 frigate, is capable of firing 5-inch shells weighing up to 31.5 kg at speeds between 1,841 and 2,351 mph—up to Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound.
With an effective range of up to 37 km (20 nautical miles), the Mk 45 Mod 4A is not just about power but precision.
The system can be used for traditional naval gunfire support, pummelling enemy positions ashore, and is also equipped to handle fast-moving inshore attack craft and aerial threats, including drones.
One of the most remarkable features of the Mk 45 Mod 4A is its fully automated ammunition handling system. Traditionally, sailors were required to manually form a chain to load shells into the gun, a labour-intensive and potentially dangerous process.
The new system, however, automates this task, drawing on technology first used in the US Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyers. It ensures a continuous supply of shells from the ship’s deep magazine to the gun’s 20-round ready-to-use magazine, significantly reducing the crew’s workload.
This automated system also enhances reliability, with other navies reporting that the Mk 45 Mod 4A achieves a 99.6% availability rate. In the event of a failure in the automatic system, the gun can still be manually reloaded, ensuring its operational capabilities are maintained even in extreme conditions. The absence of manual handling also makes the system safer for the crew, as there’s no need to lift heavy shells or work around moving machinery, which reduces the risk of injury from the noise and vibrations caused by the gun’s firing.
In terms of firepower, the Mk 45 Mod 4A can fire at a rate of up to 20 rounds per minute, offering sustained firepower in high-intensity combat scenarios. The gun can operate in two modes: Mode III for sustained operations, which requires a six-person crew, and Mode IV for automatic operations, where the gun can fire 20 rounds without the need for personnel inside the mount.
The design of the Mk 45 Mod 4A also includes a longer barrel than its predecessors, which allows for more complete propellant combustion, increasing the velocity and range of the projectiles. This makes the gun particularly effective for land-attack missions, where precision and range are critical. Additionally, the system’s radar signature has been reduced thanks to a modified flat-panel gun turret, making it harder for enemy forces to detect.
HMS Glasgow is the first of eight City-class frigates set to replace the Royal Navy’s ageing Type 23 fleet.
According to Neil Stevenson, Type 26 Weapons Group Leader at Defence Equipment and Support, “The Mk 45 Mod 4 is a proven, effective weapon that incorporates the latest technologies for today’s multi-mission warships.”
The gunhouse looks less stealthy than that on the 4.5’s, I don’t suppose it makes a huge amount of difference but might be a nice project for a UK firm to design a better one and then try and sell it on for retrofit to the large 5″ user-base.
UKDJ is better than this tittle.
Is that a misspell or you meant to describe it as Tittle?
🙂 misspell. This is a tabloid title is what i meant.
You could have meant either! Describing something as “tittle” is also a thing. 😆
I think I preferred the misspelling with copious amounts of tattle. Describes UKDJ perfectly.
Buh!
Is it standard to have no rear defence? If an enemy sub pops up behind doesn’t look like there’s much it can do?
That is a criticism that i also make.. It has 2 30mm guns in hangar corners but those are not CIWS grade.
What do you define as rear defence? CAMM and Mk41 certainly can fire into rearward arcs. Plus decoys generally get left behind when fired so end up behind the ship….
Yes you are right I read further on the subject and the necessity of rear cannons has been reduced due to missile capabilities over the years.
The RN River Class based on the type 26 is using the Italian 127mm,I wonder if the rounds are interchangeable.Nice way to lay a D Flag in WW2 with a “broadside”.
Sorry RCN River Class.
The “old man” would look real stupid down the road when ya slip in for a RSH and his 5″ Italian rds don’t fit your guns doi???
Or vice versa.
I wonder if NATO 5″rds are all Interchangable?A german 127mm just as good?Mix and match?Maybe a rebored ww2 128mm to russian 130mm would blow thier minds or sticking some 128mm ww2 piece of natzie crap into a 127mm.I bet those German 127mm guns probably can fire thier ww2 128mm ordinance.
Remember that next time you need “babyfood” in crippelgate.Im on D for dentist forgive my ignorance.
Germans use Italian Leonardo guns. There was last year in Naval News an article that German Navy accepted their long range Vulcano rounds in service.
In Western world there are basically 2 naval gun industries Leonardo(127, 76,40, 30,25 etc) and BAE(after it bought the Bofors with 40 and 57 and US 127 manufacturer)
There are smaller ones, but these 2 are the only ones that have 127 mm offers and have a full range.
In theory all NATO rounds are interchangeable. Eg a British Sharshooter rifle in theory can fire American M240 ammunition.
In practice this is very rarely the case, as propellant charges and quality are variable enough from nation to nation that you’d only risk it if you where truly desperate. (You try an put M240 ammo through a L129, even though they’re both 7.62×51 you’ll find yourself having constant stoppages).
For 127/5′ it’s an open question, I think you’ll fire a round. What happens after? I’m not sure it’s been tried.
Funny,in ww2 the British 9mm sten ammo wasn’t interchangeable with the german 9mm parrabellam,so what’s changed?The Russian AKs are 7.62mm will thier ammo work in our nato 7.62mm?
What happens these days with all the high teck electronics?Is an Italian 127mm going to be able to interface with a RN 127mm?What happened in Hong Kong in the 1990s?The RN just toss half thier ordinance because of Hong Kong being O 8?All thier ammo made in Hong Kong by Chinese subcontractors?Something to ponder when filling up your bastions with ordinance.Ask a RN Ordanance Officer if they would permit an Italian 127mm Evan be fired by a RN “Ship O the Line”?
What on earth is this even supposed to mean? Why would a Leonardo 127 “interface” (what’s that even supposed to mean in this context!?) with a BAe 5′?
Russian 7.62 will not work with our 7.62 the Russian calibre is 7.62x39mm, while NATO uses 7.62x51mm. They won’t even fit in the respective chambers.
And nothings changed. The Sten was specifically designed to accept German made 9x19mm parabellum.
Well that’s interesting because sten gun ammo won’t fit in a 9mm Walther ppk or lugar or schmiesser.
I mean it will fit, at least in an MP40, and in later Lugers (the original Lugers where chambered in 7.62×21 so yeah sten ammo won’t fit in those). Probably wouldn’t try to fit it into a Walther PP since those aren’t chambered in 9x19mm at all (they’re 9×18 or 9×17 in the closest configurations).
How reliably a MP40 will fire Sten Ammo is a completely separate question, I’d suspect you’ll get a lot of stoppages.
I suggest that like you originally stated the configurations in nato interchangeable ordinance could be an asimilar problem in future conflicts.What happens if ammunition has classifications as being compatible but then isn’t?If the RN and RCN want to use different 5″127mm guns on thier respective new classes then they should make sure thier ammunition are compatible for thier standard ordinances,as well as being interchangeable .The same applies to USN 5″ and German 127mm.
Holy fuck you need to work on your communication skills because that’s illegible.
Well precise would mean to sum it up:make sure your ammunition you use works properly in the gun you use it in before you use it.
We do.
I understand this gun can also fire Leonardo’s volcano round (range to 80km).
There have been some news long a go of collaboration between Leonardo and BAE to offer Vulcano rounds in MK45 but no recent news on that.
I was just thinking we haven’t much more about the possibility of Norway buying the T26. I did a quick look via google and the last article was in early May, I suppose that is only a few months ago and these things take awhile. However, the thing that occurred to me is that if the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNN) did buy 5x T26 (or even if they only bought 3!) the Royal Navy’s ships would be delayed but it could turn out to be an advantage given that austerity is set to continue. If the RNN could take over… Read more »
There are a lot of New Frigate programmes underway in Europe currently, it would be a major success if the Norwegian Govt chose the Type 26.
Pity we didn’t select this for all future escorts as the sole medium gun across the fleet, as it’s wasted on our most expensive, least dispensable frigates. Should be on the T31s.
At least after glacial building we’re finaly getting a T26 closer to delivery.
Agreed this should be in T31, the 57mm should be in the T45 and T26
“With an effective range of up to 37 km (20 nautical miles), the Mk 45 Mod 4A is not just about power but precision.”// “In terms of firepower, the Mk 45 Mod 4A can fire at a rate of up to 20 rounds per minute” My understanding the 20 nm range quoted is its maximum theoretical range firing with barrel at 47 degrees using the EX-175 high energy 26 lbs propellant charge burning the barrel out at a much faster rate,1,500 rounds?, than the standard Mk.67 18.25 lbs charge which has barrel life of ~7,000 rounds and rpm would drop to 10 with… Read more »
What about emergency resupply if power to the hoists is lost And FOST staff want it tested in drills a 4.5 Tanked Rd is just over 84lb including its tank ,one on your shoulder was a pain 5inch shell and cordite is what weight?
The new 5in seems like a highly capable gun. So why on earth isn’t it also being fitted to the Type 31s that are replacing the rest of the ageing T23s? The T31s’ 57mm (2.2in) main gun is effectively a popgun that would be useless for naval gunfire support. The T31s are supposed to be general-purpose frigates, after all. I’d say they are corvettes, not frigates.