The BL 12 inch naval gun Mark VIII was one of the first large British naval guns designed for the higher pressures generated by the new cordite

Cordite

Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance...

 propellant, and Britain's first large wire-wound gun. It represented a major advance compared to previous British guns.

Naval service

The gun was installed on the Majestic-class

Majestic class battleship

The Majestic class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built under the Spencer Programme of 8 December 1893, that sought to counter the growing naval strength of France and the Russian Empire...

 battleships from 1895 and on the Canopus-class

Canopus class battleship

The Canopus class was a group of six pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy which were designed by Sir William White for use in the Far East and entered service between 1899 and 1902. The lead ship was which was followed by , , , and...

 battleships from 1899.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 guns removed from the obsolete Majestic class were mounted in Lord Clive-class monitors

Lord Clive class monitor

The Lord Clive class, sometimes referred to as the General Wolfe class, of monitors were ships designed for shore bombardment and were constructed for the Royal Navy during the First World War.-Design:...

 for shore bombardment.

Land service

From 1921 to 1926 two guns from the decommissioned battleship HMS Illustrious

HMS Illustrious (1896)

The third HMS Illustrious of the British Royal Navy was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1896. She was in front-line service during the final years of the 19th century and early 20th century...

 were in service in the Tyne Turrets

Tyne Turrets

The Tyne Turrets were two 12-inch Mk VIII guns from the battleship HMS Illustrious, installed in Roberts Battery at Hartley, near Seaton Sluice north of the Tyne, and Kitchener Battery in Marsden near Lizard Point south of the river. The batteries were planned in World War I but only commissioned...

 for coast defence, north and south of the mouth of the River Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

in the northeast of England.

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