Ordnance QF-6 pounder Hotchkiss

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss
Early model from the Elswick Ordnance Company
Caliber: 57 mm
(2.224 inch)
Barrel length: 2.28 m
(caliber length 40)
Weight: 385 kg

(without ammunition)

Ammunition supply: 500 AP + HE per gun (monitors)
Grenade weight: 4.4 kg
Bullet weight: 2.72 kg (HE)
2.72 kg (AP)
Muzzle velocity: 538 m / s
Elevation range: Minimum −15 °
Maximum + 90 ° (depending on the mount)
Range: Sea target: 7,955 m
Air target : 3,050 m
Turning speed: only manually
Increase speed: only manually
Rate of fire: 20 - 25 rounds / min
drive manually

The QF-6 pounder Hotchkiss was a light gun developed by Hotchkiss et Cie in caliber 57 mm. It was introduced in 1884 to combat torpedo boats , and from the late 1880s it was used by many countries as a naval gun and for coastal defense. In the First World War it was used to arm the first British tanks and was on cruisers of Arethusa- and C-class submarines and the monitors mounted M15 to M33.

User countries

United Kingdom

The British armed forces introduced the gun with a caliber length of 40 (2.28 m) under the name Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6 pounder gun Mk I and Mk II or also QF 6 pounder 8 cwt . Manufactured under license from Elswick Ordnance Company .

Use as a ship gun

The original purpose was to combat the new steam-powered torpedo boats that were put into service from the late 1870s. The Model Mk I, introduced in 1885, did not have a recoil damping system. Such a system, consisting of a pair of damping and forewood cylinders, was introduced with the Model Mk II from 1890.

During the First World War , the Navy developed several modifications and a version with a one-piece tube that was easier to manufacture and was called the 6 pdr single tube . Originally only a special cartridge with a reduced propellant charge could be used for these guns, but in 1917 they were fitted with Type A tubes as the Mk I +++ and could use standard ammunition.

After the war, the gun was judged to be dispensable for combat use, but remained in use as a salute cannon and for training purposes. Many of these weapons were reactivated in World War II to equip small ships for coastal combat and anti-submarine combat. Others saw their use in coastal defense. The ships so armed also included the first models of the famous Fairmile D motor cannon boats , some of which were not converted to the more modern 6 pdr MkIIA self-loading cannon until late 1944 .

Use as a tank cannon

A classic gun bay, as it was used in unit ships of the line and the first tanks
German soldiers with captured Mk II, the unwieldy length of the cannon is clearly visible

The gun served as armament for the first British tanks , Mk I - Mk III Type Male (male). In 1916 the British faced the problem of quickly introducing a new class of weapons that had not yet been tried and tested on the battlefield. The existing Hotchkiss 6-pounder naval gun seemed to best meet the requirements. Then each of the two side gun bay of the Male types was equipped with a cannon that could fire forward and to the side. ( Female tanks were armed only with machine guns). It quickly became apparent, however, that the gun was too long for practical use in the side core, as it could get stuck on obstacles or even come into contact with the ground when the tank moved over uneven terrain. The British therefore decided to shorten the gun barrel rather than relocating the installation site. From 1917 the gun in the Mk IV tanks was replaced by the shorter Ordnance QF-6-pounder-6-cwt cannon.

Use for air defense

At the beginning of the First World War , Great Britain did not have any artillery specially designed for air defense. Therefore in 1916 up to 72 6-pounders were mounted on pedestal mountings, which had a corresponding leveling area, and set up at key positions for short-range defense. At the end of the war, there is no evidence that they were still used in this role, probably because the German bombing raids were carried out at heights beyond the range of these guns.

Iceland

The 57 mm Hotchkiss naval gun was used by the Icelandic Coast Guard , and was the main armament of most patrol vehicles from the 1920s onwards. From 1990 it was completely replaced by 40 mm Bofors guns . During the Cod Wars , these guns were used to incapacitate a number of foreign trawlers , although the net cutter was preferred and used whenever possible. The gun was also used on several occasions for self-defense against various attackers.

Japan

On most Japanese destroyers built between 1890 and 1920, the 57 mm Hotchkiss naval gun was the standard secondary or tertiary armament. It was used well into the Pacific War.

Russia

Starting in 1904, the Russian Navy tested various versions of the 57 mm Hotchkiss naval gun, purchased by France, with caliber lengths of 40, 50 and 58 as a replacement for the existing five-barreled 37 mm and 47 mm Hotchkiss revolver cannons. After the tests were completed, these weapons were transferred to the army.

United States

The United States Navy introduced various versions of the 57 mm Hotchkiss naval gun as secondary armament for larger ships to ward off torpedo boat attacks from 1880 . The first guns of this type were bought from Hotchkiss et Cie in France . Later versions were made by Driggs-Schroeder and Davis (recoilless version) and the US Navy took control of the designs. The version description of these weapons initially corresponded to the names of the manufacturers, but was then replaced by the version names of the US Navy. The Mk. 3 corresponded to a Hotchkiss Mk. 1 and the US Mk. 7 to the Hotchkiss Mk. 2. All of the original Hotchkiss 6-pounders used by the USA had a caliber length of 45 (2.565 m). The guns were retired as obsolete from 1910, but many were reactivated for arming smaller ships with the start of World War I.

literature

Web links

Commons : QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 25 rounds / min is the manufacturer's specification from Elswick Ordnance for their caliber 40 model. Quoted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1901
  2. ^ A b Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 36-39
  3. ↑ See Reynolds 'MGB 658'
  4. ↑ Angur Konstm. "British Motor Torpedo Boats 1939-45". P. 35. Osprey, Oxford 2003. ISBN 978-1-84176-500-6
  5. ↑ Routledge 1994, p. 17
  6. ↑ Routledge 1994, page 27
  7. ↑ Tony DiGiulian, Russian 57 mm / 40, 57 mm / 50 and 57 mm / 58 (2.244 ") 6-pdr (2.72 kg) Hotchkiss guns