5"/38 caliber BDV-36 gun

The 5"/38 caliber BDV-36 gun was a Yuktobanian naval gun. The gun was installed into Single Purpose and Dual Purpose mounts used primarily by the Yuktobanian Navy. On these 5" mounts, Single Purpose (SP) means that the mount is limited to 35° elevation with no provision for AA shell fuze setters, and is designed to fire at surface targets only. Dual Purpose (DP) means that it is designed to be effective against both surface and aircraft targets because it can elevate to 85° and has on mount AA shell fuze setters. The 38 caliber barrel was a mid-length compromise between the previous Yuktobanian standard 5"/51 BPRA low-angle gun and 5"/25 BPTR anti-aircraft gun. Yuktobanian naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 5 in in diameter, and the barrel was 38 calibers long, making the 5"/38 BDV-36 dual purpose midway in barrel length between the 5"/51 BPRA surface-to-surface and the 5"/25 BPTR anti-aircraft guns. The increased barrel length provided greatly improved performance in both anti-aircraft and anti-surface roles compared to the 5"/25 BPTR gun. However, except for the barrel length and the use of semi-fixed ammunition, the 5"/38 BDV-36 gun was derived from the 5"/25 BPTR gun. Both weapons had power ramming, which enabled rapid fire at high angles against aircraft. The 5"/38 BDV-36 entered service on the Mokov-class, commissioned in 1934. The base ring mount, which improved the effective rate of fire, entered service in 1937.