HARP Gun

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HARP Gun

Project HARP 16 inch
Used with permission of Stephen E. Mendes - visit his Barbados Photo Gallery

Credit: © Stephen E. Mendes. 94,272 bytes. 646 x 349 pixels.

Gross Mass: 450 kg. Empty Mass: 1 kg. Thrust (vac): 13,000,000 kgf. Isp: 365 sec. Burn time: 0 sec. Propellants: Guncotton Isp(sl): 43 sec. Diameter: 0.4 m. Span: 0.4 m. Length: 36.6 m. Country: Canada. No Engines: 1. 16 in gun Status: Study.

Project HARP 16 inch - Used with permission of Stephen E. Mendes - visit his Barbados Photo Gallery

Credit: © Stephen E. Mendes. 28,692 bytes. 633 x 163 pixels.

The HARP gun, a converted 16 inch naval gun, was used during the 1960's to launch the Martlet series of rocket-launched space probes. Using 450 kg of M8M propellant, with optimum web size, and a maximum muzzle pressure of 4100 atmospheres, the gun had the following performance:

HARP 16 inch gun

32,063 bytes. 319 x 504 pixels.

250 kg projectile accelerated at 13,000 peak G's to 2,300 m/s muzzle velocity
500 kg projectile accelerated at 9,000 peak G's to 1,900 m/s muzzle velocity
750 kg projectile accelerated at 6,500 peak G's to 1,680 m/s muzzle velocity
1,000 kg projectile accelerated at 5,000 peak G's to 1,550 m/s muzzle velocity

'Specific impulse' indicated here is effective specific impulse for a 750 kg projectile. Due to muzzle dynamics, value differs for other masses of projectile. Diameter and length are that for the gun bore.

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Last update 12 March 2001.
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© Mark Wade, 2001 .