Ok, I wanted to know too. It appears the caliber referrence for a big gun is the ratio of the barrel length to the barrel inside diameter.Charles L. Cotton wrote: Okay, this brings up a question I've long had about large guns, but never looked up. How are large guns classified in caliber? A 16" gun is a 50 caliber? A 5" gun is a 38 caliber?
Chas.
16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun
These guns were 50 calibers long—or 50 times their 16-inch (406 mm) bore diameter which makes the barrels 66.6 feet (20 m) long, from breechface to muzzle.
