amm 4.5inch qf mk i–v naval gun

Ordnance QF 4.5 inch gun Mk I, II, III, IV, V

Mk III guns in BD 'RP10' Mk II mountings onImplacable-class aircraft carrier

Type Naval gunAnti-aircraft gun

Place of origin United Kingdom

Service historyUsed by British Commonwealth

Wars Second World WarKorean WarFalklands War

Production historyNumber built Navy: c. 800

Army: 474

SpecificationsBarrel length Bore: 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)

45 calibres

Shell Fixed or Separate QF 55pounds (24.9 kg)

Calibre 4.45-inch (113 mm)Breech Mks I - IV: Horizontal

sliding blockMk V: Vertical slidingblock

Rate of fire 12 RPM for Mk II BDmount. 16 RPM recordedfor Mk III UD mount.[1]

Muzzle velocity 2,449 ft/s (746 m/s)[2]Maximum firing range 20,750 yd (18,970 m) at

2,449 ft/s (746 m/s)

QF 4.5-inch Mk I V naval gunFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The QF 4.5 inch gun has been the standard medium-calibre naval gun used by the Royal Navy as amedium range weapon capable of use against surface,aircraft and shore bombardment targets since 1938.This article covers the early 45-calibre family of gunsup to the 1970s. For the later unrelated 55-calibreRoyal Navy gun, see 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun.

Like all British nominally 4.5 inch naval guns, the QFMk I has an actual calibre of 4.45 inches(113 mm).[3][4]

Contents

1 Background2 History3 Variants4 Naval service5 Land service6 Surviving examples7 See also

7.1 Weapons of comparable role,performance and era

8 References9 Bibliography10 External links

BackgroundFrom the BL Mark I gun of 1916 onwards the 4.7-inch(120-mm) calibre was the mid-calibre weapon ofchoice for the Royal Navy, used particularly ondestroyers. Apart from some ships armed with QF4-inch Mk V guns due to supply problems, it remainedthe standard weapon for destroyers up to the W-classdestroyers of 1943. However, its usefulness as ananti-aircraft weapon had been limited by the failure todevelop a mounting with elevation over 55, the lackof a predictive fire control system in destroyer classesbuilt prior to the introduction of the 4.7 inch twinmount, (see HACS) and the setting of fuzes by handon early, prewar, mountings. Later 4.7 inch mountings

QF 4.5-inch Mk I V naval gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QF_4.5-inch_Mk_I__V_naval_gun

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AA:41,000 ft (12,500 m)[2]

Gunner with early fixed round, 1942

used mechanical fuze setters that were identical tothose used on the 4.5 inch mountings.[5]

HistoryThe QF 4.5 inch L/45 was developed originally as a dual-purpose weapon with which to arm aircraftcarriers and reconstructed battleships and battlecruisers. It was later developed as a new dual-purposeweapon with which to arm destroyers, supplanting the ubiquitous 4.7 inch gun. Despite the lower calibre, itactually had a heavier shell, resulting in a more powerful weapon.

VariantsThe nomenclature system for guns used by the Royal Navy can be somewhat confusing. The gun andmounting each have their own Mark number and a letter(s) giving additional information. QF stands for"quick firing", UD for "upper deck", BD for "between decks" and CP for "central pivot".

QF Mark I: adopted after failure of a 5-inch gun project andused a fixed round, which proved to be somewhat heavy forthe loaders to keep up the intended firing rate. Was fitted intwin mountings UD Mark III.QF Mark II: Land service used by the British Army.QF Mark III: same as Mark I, except for firing mechanism.Was fitted in twin mountings BD Mark II, BD Mark II** andBD Mark IV. HMS Illustrious fired about 3000 rounds of4.5-inch ammunition, at an average of 12 rounds per gun perminute, during one prolonged action in January 1941.[6]

QF Mark IV: used a two part (charge and shell) ammunitionsystem. Designed specifically for use by small warships. Fittedin mountings BD Mark IV, CP Mark V and UD Mark VI.QF Mark V: a further development of the Mark IV, designedfrom the outset for anti-aircraft use with remote power control(RPC, where the guns automatically train and elevate the target following the director) and a highrate-of-fire assisted by automatic ramming. Carried in the mounting UD Mark VI, with separatehigh-angle and low-angle hoists for the two types of ammunition (AA and SAP/HE) and a third forthe cartridges. The rate of fire of the Mk V was 24 rounds per minute when power-loaded, 12-14when hand-loaded, and up to 18 in burst mode when hand-loaded.

Some 800 naval 4.5-inch guns of various marks were built. 474 guns were built for the army, all in 1939-41.

During the 1950s, a change was made in designating the weapons systems which focussed on the gun mountrather than the gun itself. Together with a change from Roman numerals, the Gun QF Mark V on mountingBD Mark VI became simply the Mark 6. The Mark 7 was never produced as the planned Malta-classaircraft carriers they would have been used on were never built.

The majority of new escort vessels built for the Royal Navy in the 1950s and 1960s carried at least oneMark 6 mounting, with two in the Leopard-class frigates and County-class destroyers and three in the


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Twin Mark III guns onIllustrious-class aircraft carrierHMS Formidable

The Battle-class destroyer HMSDunkirk, with two twin mountingsBD Mark IV for Mark III guns.

Daring-class destroyers. This gave these ships a level of firepower unprecedented only 15 years earlier. TheType 81 Tribal-class frigates were an exception, using reconditioned Mark V mounts from scrapped C-classdestroyers that were fitted with RPC and known as the Mark 5* Mod 1.

The evolution of the 45-calibre 4.5 inch gun family ended with the Mark V gun / Mark 6 mounting. It hasbeen replaced by a new weapon of original design, the 4.5 inch Mark 8 with a 55 calibre-long barrel.

Naval serviceShips with 4.5 inch guns QF Mark I in twin mounting UD Mark III

aircraft carrier HMS Ark RoyalDido-class cruisers HMS Scylla and HMS Charybdisnaval auxiliaries

Ships with 4.5 inch guns QF Mark III in twin mounting BD Mark II

reconstructed Queen Elizabeth-class battleships HMS QueenElizabeth and HMS Valiantreconstructed Renown-class battlecruiser HMS RenownIllustrious-class aircraft carrieraircraft carrier HMS IndomitableImplacable-class aircraft carrier

Ships with 4.5 inch guns QF Mark III in twin mounting BD MarkII**

Audacious-class aircraft carriers, HMS Eagle and HMS ArkRoyal

Ships with 4.5 inch guns QF Mark III in twin mounting BD Mark IV

Battle-class destroyerNueva Esparta-class destroyers D-11 Nueva Esparta, D-21Zulia and D-31 Aragua

Ships with 4.5 inch guns QF Mark IV in single mounting CP Mark V

Z-class destroyersCa, Ch, Co and Cr-class destroyers"1944" Battle-class destroyers

Ships with 4.5 inch guns Mark 5* (rebuilt mounting CP Mark V).

Rebuilt Ca-class destroyers (Mark 5* Mod 1)Type 81 Tribal-class frigates (Mark 5* Mod 2)

Ships with 4.5 inch guns QF Mark V in twin mounting UD Mark VI (later renamed gun Mark 6)


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The forward 4.5 inch guns Mark 5*of HMS Cavalier, on rebuilt CP MarkV mountings.

Twin mountings, Upper Deck, MarkVI on post-war Daring-classdestroyer. BD-s in contrast weresemi-submerged turrets used on someof the major warships.

4.5 inch anti-aircraft gun and crewnear Sittingbourne, Kent, January1941

Battle-class destroyers - "1944" or "Australian Battle" classDaring-class destroyersCounty-class destroyersType 12 Whitby-class frigatesType 12I Rothesay-class frigatesType 12M Leander-class frigates

Van Speijk-class frigates - Netherlands Navy versions ofLeander classRiver-class destroyer escorts - Australian versionsCondell-class frigates - Chilean versions

Type 41 Leopard-class frigatesType 61 Salisbury-class frigates

Land serviceQF Mark II was a single gun mounting (Mounting Mk 1)anti-aircraft gun in static sites. The pedestal mount was bolted toconcrete in an unarmoured turret, a travelling platform was availableto transport the gun and mounting between positions. The first unitbecame operational in February 1939. These 16.5 ton anti-aircraftmountings had a maximum elevation angle of 80 degrees. However,most mountings were Mark 1A with an elevation range of -9.5 to 80degrees. This enabled the gun to be dual role (anti-aircraft andcoastal defence) in coastal areas. Armour piercing rounds wereprovided for anti-ship engagements.

The guns were fitted with Magslip electrical data transfer fromPredictors AA Nos 3, 5 and 10 and were probably used inially withGL radars and UB 10 18 feet base optical height and range finders.AA control radars evolved rapidly. The gun was laid and fuzes set bypointer matching, it is unclear the extent to which advances in3.7-inch fire control were applied to 4.5-inch. During the warMachine Fuze Setter No 10 was added, This improved the rate of firefrom 8 to 10 rounds per minute and raised the effective ceiling to34,500 feet.

Gun positions were usually in the vicinity of naval bases where theycould use the naval ammunition supply. However, initially thestandard fuze was an igniferous design, No 199 with a maximumrunning time of 30 seonds that limited performance. SubsequentlyNo 209 a mechanical time fuze was introduced. It appears that VTfuzes were not issued.

Guns were usually deployed in troops of 4 as part of a two-troop battery, although sections of two gunsoccupied some positions. Deployment included:

UK (Royal Artillery) June 1940:[7]

1st AA Division - 48


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2nd AA Division - 403rd AA Division - 644th AA Division - 525th AA Division - 246th AA Division - 527th AA Division - 64

(the AA divisions included 3-inch and 3.7-inch regiments in addition to 4.5-inch)

Far East January 1942:[8]

Singapore - 4 (Hong Kong & Singapore Artillery)

Mediterranean June 1943:[9]

Malta - 10

Middle East January 1943:[10]

Aden - 2 (Hong Kong & Singapore Artillery)Port Said - 2 (Royal Malta Artillery)

West Africa Dec 1941:[11]

Takoradi - 6

India Dec 1941:[12]

Bombay - 6

Colonel Probert of the Armaments Research Department developed rifling with tapered groove depth, andwith the last few inches of the barrel being smoothbore. This was used with a 4.5 barrel lined down to3.7 inches, but retaining the large chamber, allowing a large propelling charge to be employed. Ordnance,QF 3.7 inch Mk 6, only on a static mounting, entered service in 1943 and continued in service until 1959. Ithad an effective ceiling of 45,000 feet.[13][14]

The high performance of QF 3.7 inch Mk 6 and QF 5.25 inch meant that QF 4.5 inch was not retained inland service after World War II.

Surviving examplesAustralia

Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turrets on HMAS Vampire museum ship at Australian National Maritime Museum,Sydney, Australia.Twin Mk V/M6 6 turret from HMAS Parramatta on Spectacle Island, Sydney, Australia.[15]

Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret [1] (http://images.navy.gov.au/fotoweb/Grid.fwx?archiveId=5000&search=%28IPTC005%20contains%2820120209ran8209508_018.JPG%29%29) from HMAS Stuart


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Twin Mark 6 guns in turret from Type12/River class HMAS Derwent

on display at HMAS Stirling, Garden Island (WesternAustralia).Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret from DE 49 at Rockingham NavalMemorial Park, Rockingham, Western Australia.Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret [2] (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9977224@N06/1504288919/in/photostream) from HMASSwan at Princess Royal Fortress, Albany, Western Australia.This turret is open and accessible to visitors.Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret [3] (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9977224@N06/1504300295/in/photostream) from HMASTorrens at Princess Royal Fortress, Albany, Western Australia.Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret [4] (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandy1000/4623288818/) used as a statictraining aid outside the Gunnery School, HMAS Cerberus, Crib Point, Australia.Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret [5] (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandy1000/4623288806/in/photostream/)as a gate guardian at the West Head Gunnery Range, Flinders, Australia. Previously used at thegunnery range as a live training aid, the gun was last fired in 2005.Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret at the Bendigo and District RSL. Owned by the Australian Government, it ison loan from the nearby defence manufacturer Thales.[16]

Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret at Australian Navy Cadets TS Bendigo at Passchendaele Barracks, Junortounnear Bendigo. As the previous location of TS Bendigo was on the Government Ordnance Factory site(now Thales Australia), it is probable it is also on loan from Thales.[17]

Israel

Single Mk IV/CP Mk V mounting from Z-class destroyer INS Yaffo, at Clandestine Immigration andNaval Museum, Haifa, Israel.

New Zealand

Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret [6] (http://www.divewreck.co.nz/CantGunTorpTube.jpg) from HMNZSCanterbury at Devonport Naval Base, Devonport.Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret from HMNZS Taranaki at Te Papapa, Auckland.

United Kingdom

Single Mk IV/CP Mk V mountings on HMS Cavalier museum ship, at Chatham Historic Dockyard.Twin Mk V/Mk 6 turret at Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower in Gosport, Hampshire.

See also

List of naval guns by caliberList of anti-aircraft guns4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun The Royal Navy's current, but unrelated, 4.5 inch gun


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Wikimedia Commons hasmedia related to QF 4.5

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

5"/38 caliber gun : US Navy equivalent12.8 cm FlaK 40 : German heavy anti-aircraft gun firing heavier shell

References

Hughes, p.170.1. Campbell, p.512. Jane's Ammunition Handbook, 1999-2000 Edition.http://www.janes.com

3.

Routledge 1994, page 514. Destroyer Weapons of WW2, Friedman, p965. Naval Weapons of WW2, Campbell, p176. Routledge pg 3797. Routledge pg 2298. Routledge pg 1759. Routledge pg 16310. Maurice-Jones pg 25211. Maurice-Jones pg 25612. Routledge pg 7713.

Hogg pg 106 - 10714. http://news.navy.gov.au/en/May2014/Fleet/1065/Spectacle-Island---the-guardian-of-Navys-heart-and-soul.htm#.U3swZRd-_IU

15.

"RSL adds key gun mount to collection"(http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/rsl-adds-key-gun-mount-to-collection/512571.aspx). Bendigo Advertiser. 20 April 2007.Retrieved 19 November 2011.

16.

"TS Bendigo"(http://navyleag.customer.netspace.net.au/sd_05e.htm#Bendigo). Navy League of Australia -Victoria Division. 29 August 2005. Retrieved19 November 2011.

17.

Bibliography

Campbell, John. 1985, Naval Weapons of World War Two. Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press,c1985. ISBN 0-87021-459-4Tony DiGiulian, Page from Navweapons on Mk 2, 3, 4 and 5 (http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_45-45_mk1.htm)Tony DiGiulian, Page from Navweapons on Mk5, Mk 6 and Mk7 (http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_45-45_mk5.htm)Hogg, Ian V. 1998. "Allied Artillery of World War Two". The Crowood Press: London. ISBN1-86126-165-9Hughes, Robert. 1975. Flagship to Murmansk. Futura Publications Ltd: London. ISBN 0-86007-266-5Maurice-Jones, Colonel KW. 1957. "The History of Coast Artillery in the British Army". RoyalArtillery Institution: Woolwich. Reprinted by Naval & Military Press 2009.Routledge, Brigadier NW. 1994. "History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery - Anti-Aircraft Artillery1914-55". Brassey's: London. ISBN 1-85753-099-3

External links

Newsreel video of HMS Scylla fighting the Luftwaffe with her4.5 inch guns while protecting convoy PQ18


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inch Mk I - V naval gun.

Wikimedia Commons hasmedia related to QF 4.5inch anti-aircraft gun.

(http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=23105)Westwood Works in World War 2. The 4.5" Anti-Aircraft Gun(http://www.westwoodworks.net/HowItWas/WestwoodWorksInWW2/index.htm#45antiaircraft)

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Categories: 113 mm artillery Cold War artillery of the United KingdomWorld War II artillery of the United Kingdom World War II anti-aircraft guns Naval anti-aircraft gunsWorld War II naval weapons of the United Kingdom Naval guns of the United KingdomCoastal artillery

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amm 4.5inch qf mk i–v naval gun

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