The 12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun was a medium calibre naval gun of the Imperial Japanese Navy used during World War II. It was the standard weapon for Japanese destroyers between 1928 and 1944 (except Akizuki and Matsu classes). It has been credited as a true dual-purpose gun, but this was more a nominal capability than real as its bag propellant and need for hand ramming required the gun to be loaded at angles between 5–10° which dropped its rate of fire to a relatively slow 5–10 rounds per minute and its training speed of only 6° per second meant that it had a great deal of difficulty engaging enemy aircraft with any chance of success. After the end of World War II the gun remained in service on the two Japanese destroyers ceded to the Soviet Union and the Republic of China as war reparat