The guns fired an 850-pound High-Explosive (HE), Amatol-filled shell from a 304.8mm caliber gun tube that measured 40 feet long. The tube was breech-loaded and featured a Welin screw design. Initial recoil was handled by way of a Hydro-spring design though the forces were so severe that the remainder of the recoil action was the train car simply allowed to roll back a distance along the tracks (the Elswick carriage used locked brakes to reduce this effect). The gun tube's mounting allowed the barrel to be elevated from a span of 0 to 30-degrees though traverse left or right was severely restricted. Muzzle velocity of the outgoing shells reached 2,610 feet per second with a maximum firing range out to 32,700 yards.
Railway guns were ultimately limited by the extent of an existing railway network and a true lack of traversal for the gun element reduced their tactical usefulness. Due to their size, the units were not easy to quickly move about the battlefront and required much planning, material, and manpower to successfully field. The sheer forces at play could also lead to shortened barrel lives due to fracturing. Luckily for the Allies, western Europe featured an very established and modern rail network which benefitted railway guns like the BL 12" Railway Gun. Its group of four fought on through to the end of the war in November of 1918 with the last example believed to have not been given up until 1930.
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