Q&A · 2:20:16-2:21:21

Choosing a useful naval railgun caliber

The useful caliber depends on mission: roughly five inches for general purpose, smaller weapons for air defense, and much larger projectiles for land attack.

Question

If suitable materials made a naval railgun workable, what projectile caliber would be most useful?

Short answer

About five inches for general-purpose use, smaller for air defense, and roughly 9.2 inches for a dedicated land-attack weapon.

Notes

The question assumes that suitable materials have made a naval railgun workable. A general-purpose weapon would probably use a projectile of roughly five inches. Dual-purpose or air-defence applications could favor roughly three inches or 40 mm, depending on the job. Land attack could justify about 9.2 inches. These are proposed choices by role, without a detailed gun or mounting design.