Russian 130 mm/50 (5.1") Pattern 1936

Russian
130 mm/50 (5.1") B13 Pattern 1936
Updated 11 September 2006

The origins of this weapon go back to 1929, when the design of a 130 mm/45 (5.1") submarine "wet-mount" gun was started. This weapon was to have high barrel pressure in order to match the performance of the 130 mm/55 (5.1") Pattern 1913 gun. However, this design turned out to be too big for the "Pravda" class submarines. For that reason, the design was modified to allow it to be used on destroyers. Changes included lengthening the barrel to 50 calibers and lowering the barrel pressure. Wet mount features, such as using fixed ammunition, were also dropped in order to reduce the cost of this weapon. After many delays, the weapon was tested and accepted into service in 1936. Curiously, serial production actually started in May 1935. This might have been due to the fact that the Destroyer Leader Leningrad was launched in 1933 but had remained incomplete awaiting delivery of these guns.

The desire to keep the same ballistics as the 13 cm/55 (5.1") gun led to an increased barrel pressure, which in turn led to a very short barrel life of only 130 rounds. This meant that Pr. 1 Leaders and Pr. 7/7U Destroyers couldn't even empty their magazines a single time before needing to change out the barrel. After many design changes (including trying to manufacture a polygonal gun barrel), the remedy was found to be making a liner with deeper grooves. The original liner had 1.0 mm (0.039") deep grooves, while the new liner had 2.7 mm (0.106") deep grooves. In the end the fleet was equipped with what amounted to be three different guns, a design with 1.0 mm (0.039") grooves, a design with 1.95 mm (0.077") grooves and a design with 2.7 mm (0.106") grooves. Unfortunately, this meant that the guns, ammunition and range tables were all incompatible with each other, which greatly complicated the logistics for these weapons. By 1941 there were 378 guns in service, most of which were of the deepest groove type.

These weapons were widely used in World War II and remained in production until 1954 with a grand total of 1,199 guns being manufactured.

Prior to the start of World War II a development of the DP version of the B-2 turret was started. This turret was designated as B-2-U (U meaning Universal'naya - Universal). It was to use a barrel extended to 55 calibers. These turrets were intended to be used on the next generation of destroyers and destroyer leaders, but the war stopped the project and none were built.

Overall this was a good destroyer gun in its later incarnations. However, it was only slightly lighter than the older 13 cm/55 (5.1") Pattern 1913 and had a breech mechanism that never seemed to work properly.

Early guns were monobloc but later guns changed to a loose liner.

130 mm/50 Twin Mount from the destroyer Wicher II (ex. Skoryj)
Exposition of Navy Museum, Gdynia
Photograph copyrighted by Michal Kopacz

. Click here for additional pictures .

Gun Characteristics .

Designation	130 mm/50 (5.1") B13 Pattern 1936
Ship Class Used On	Leningrad (Pr. 1), Minsk (Pr. 38), Baku (Pr. 38bis), Tashkent (Pr. 20) , Project 47 and Project 48 class DLs Gnevnyi (Pr.7), Storozhevoi (Pr.7U), Opitnyi (Pr. 45), Ognyevoi (Pr. 30 in all its incarantions), Project 35 and Project 40 Class DDs Khasan (Pr. 1190), Shilka (Pr. SB-30) class monitors Also used on auxiliary ships, river craft, coastal batteries and railway guns
Date Of Design	1929-35
Date In Service	1936
Gun Weight	5.0 tons (5.07 mt)
Gun Length oa	259.1 in (6.581 m)
Bore Length	253.9 in (6.450 m)
Rifling Length	204.7 in (5.199 m)
Grooves	40
Lands	N/A
Twist	N/A
Chamber Volume	17.53 dm3
Rate Of Fire	6 - 10 rounds per minute for B-13 Single Mount 12 rounds per minute for B-2LM Twin Mount 10-12 rounds per minute for B-2LMT Twin Mount 6 -10 rounds per minute for B-28 Twin Mount 13 rounds per minute for B-2-U Twin DP Mount

Ammunition .

Type	Separate
Projectile Types and Weights	SAP mod 1928 (PB-46A) - 73.9 lbs. (33.5 kg) SAP mod 1928 (PB-46) - 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) HE mod 1828 (F-46) - 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) HE-FRAG mod 1928 (OF-46) - 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) HE-FRAG mod 1928 (OFU-46) - 75.3 lbs. (34.17 kg) AA mod 1928 (ZS-46) - 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) AA (ZS-46R) - 74.5 lbs. (33.8 kg) Diving - 73.1 lbs. (33.15 kg) Starshell (SB-46) - 76.1 lbs. (34.5 kg) Starshell (SP-46) - 72 lbs. (32.67 kg) Anti-Radiation
Bursting Charge	SAP mod 1928 (PB-46A) - 5.18 lbs. (2.35 kg) SAP mod 1928 (PB-46) - 3.68 lbs. (1.67 kg) HE mod 1828 (F-46) - 5.98 lbs. (2.71 kg) HE-FRAG mod 1928 (OF-46) - 7.89 lbs. (3.58 kg) HE-FRAG mod 1928 (OFU-46) - 5.95 lbs. (2.7 kg) AA mod 1928 (ZS-46) - 5.82 lbs. (2.64 kg) AA (ZS-46R) - 4.67 lbs. (2.12 kg) Diving - 14.24 lbs. (6.46 kg) Starshell (SB-46) - 0.07 lbs. (0.03 kg) Starshell (SP-46) - 0.11 lbs. (0.05 kg) Anti-Radiation - none
Projectile Length	SAP mod 1928 (PB-46A) - 5 calibers SAP mod 1928 (PB-46) - 4.82 calibers HE mod 1828 (F-46) - 4.9 calibers HE-FRAG mod 1928 (OF-46) - 5.15 calibers HE-FRAG mod 1928 (OFU-46) - 5 calibers AA mod 1928 (ZS-46) - 5 calibers AA (ZS-46R) - 4.9 calibers Diving - 4.98 calibers Starshell (SB-46) - 4.9 calibers Starshell (SP-46) - 4.4 calibers
Propellant Charge	Combat: 24.25 lbs. (11 kg) Reduced: 11.02 lbs. (5 kg) Special for Diving round: 2.05 lbs. (0.93 kg) Special for Starshell: 16.98 lbs. (7.7 kg)
Muzzle Velocity	B-13 with shallow grooves SAP mod 1911 - 2700 fps (823 mps) SAP, HE, HE-FRAG, AA - 2855 fps (870 mps) Diving - 780 fps (237.7 mps) Starshell - 2215 fps (675 mps) B-13 with medium grooves SAP - 2855 fps (870 mps) B-13 with large grooves SAP, HE, HE-FRAG, AA - 2855 fps (870 mps) Diving - 780 fps (238 mps) Starshell - 2215 fps (675 mps) Anti-Radar - 2460 fps (750 mps)
Working Pressure	3000 kg/cm2
Approximate Barrel Life	Shallow grooves: 130 rounds Deep grooves: 1100 rounds
Ammunition stowage per gun	Pr. 7 DDs: 100 rounds 150 rounds for the rest
Note: There were many different types of ammunition for these guns, as well as needing to be of three different styles depending upon the groove depth.

Range
B-13 with Shallow Grooves .

Elevation	With SAP mod 1911 Shell
Range @ 45 degrees	22,245 yards (20,341 m)
	With 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) (PB-46), (OF-46), (OFU-46) Shells
Range @ 45 degrees	28,140 yards (25,731 m)
	With 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) AA mod 1928 Shell
Range @ 45 degrees	24402 yards (22,314 m)
	With 73.1 lbs. (33.15 kg) Diving Shell
Range @ 45 degrees	3.500 yards (3,200 m)
	With 76.1 lbs. (34.5 kg) Star Shell (SB-46) Shell
Range @ 45 degrees	11,601 yards (10.608 m)

. B-13 with Medium Grooves .

Elevation	With 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) SAP mod 1928 Shell
Range @ 45 degrees	27,903 yards (25,515 m)

. B-13 with Deep Grooves .

Elevation	With 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) (PB-46), (PB-46A), (OF-46), (F-46) Shells
Range @ 45 degrees	27,993 yards (25,597 m)
	With 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) AA mod 1928 Shells
Range @ 45 degrees	24402 yards (22,314 m)
	With 73.1 lbs. (33.15 kg) Diving Shells
Range @ 45 degrees	3.401 yards (3,110 m)

Mount / Turret Data .

Designation	Single Mount B-13 Pr. 1 Leningrad class Pr. 38 Minsk class Pr. 38bis Baku class Pr. 7 Gnevnyi class Pr. 7U Storozhevoi class Pr. 45 Opitnyi Pr. 20 Tashkent before B-2LM turrets became available Twin Mount B-2LM Pr. 20 Tashkent Pr. 7U/30 Storozhevoi Pr. 30, 30K, 30bis Project 48 DLs Project 35 DDs Twin Mount B-2LMT Monitors Sivash and Perekop Monitors Shilka class Twin Mount B-28 Monitor Khasan Twin DP mount B-2-U MK series of light cruiser proposals Project 40 DDs Project 47 armored DLs A mid-war Marat restoration proposal
Weight	B-13: 11.8 tons (12.0 mt) B-2LM: 48.23 tons (49 mt) B-2LMT: 89.48 tons (90.9 mt) B-28: 82.39 tons (83.7 mt) B-2-U: 47.64 tons (48.4 mt)
Elevation	All: -5 / +45 degrees B-2-U: -6 / +85 degrees
Rate of Elevation	B-13: 5 degrees per second B-2LM: 9.85 degrees per second B-2LMT: 10 degrees per second B-28: 6 degrees per second B-2-U: 12 degrees per second
Train	about -150 / +150 degrees
Rate of Train	B-13: 5 degrees per second B-2LM: 9.7 degrees per second B-2LMT: 10 degrees per second B-28: 8 degrees per second B-2-U: 20 degrees per second
Gun Recoil	19.68 to 19.88 in (50 to 50.5 cm)
Loading Angle	All except Twin Mount B-28: Any angle Twin Mount B-28: 0 / +45 degrees

Data from
"Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
"Sovetskie Boevye Korabli 1941-45: IV Vooruzhnie" (Soviet Warships 1941-45: Volume IV Armament) by A.V. Platonov
"Entsiklopedia Otechestvennoi Artillerii" (Encyclopedia of Fatherland (Russian) Artillery) by A.V. Shirokorad
"Destroyers of World War Two" and "Cruisers of World War Two" both by M.J. Whitley
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Special help from Vladimir Yakubov