Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers
| Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers | |
|---|---|
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers |
| Manufacturer designation: | Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers |
| Manufacturer country: |
 United Kingdom
|
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Vickers |
| Development year: | 1908 |
| Start of production: | 1910 |
| Number of pieces: | 600 |
| Model variants: | Mk I, Mk II |
| Weapon Category: | Rapid Fire Gun |
| Technical specifications | |
| Overall length: | 2.51 m |
| Pipe length: | 2.35 m |
| Caliber : | |
| Caliber length : | 50 |
| Weight ready for use: | 295 kg |
| Cadence : | 25 rounds / min |
| Elevation range: | −5 ° / +30 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 360 ° |
| Furnishing | |
| Ammunition supply: | Single shot |
| Drive: | Manually |
The QF 3 pounder Vickers was a ship gun developed by the British manufacturer Vickers to defend against fast enemy ship units such as the torpedo boats that were just emerging at the time . The gun was used on many warships before and during the First World War as a rapid-fire gun for torpedo boat defense. Although more powerful than the QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss , the cannon was already obsolete at the beginning of the First World War, it was nevertheless used as a replacement for the also outdated QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss gun. The QF 3 pounder Vickers , like the QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss to be replaced , was removed from the heavy ship units of the Royal Navy during the First World War .
Development history and use
Developed as the successor to the QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss , the gun was first tested in 1910 and accepted by the Royal Navy. Starting from 1910 ships of the Royal Navy were equipped with this gun. The complete replacement of the QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss on existing warships of the Royal Navy was also sought, but could no longer be realized due to the beginning World War I. When it turned out at the beginning of the war that the gun was just as obsolete as its predecessor, a complete replacement was abandoned and the guns were removed from the heavy units of the Royal Navy. The gun remained on other warships, mainly cruisers, and was also attached to smaller units and merchant ships. Surplus guns were used up as light field guns .
The QF 3 pounder Vickers was used on the following ship units of the Royal Navy (excerpt):
- Bellerophon Class (1907) - battleships (replacing 3-PDR Hotchkiss)
- St. Vincent Class Battleships (Original Equipment)
- HMS Neptune (1909) - Battleship (original equipment)
- Colossus Class Battleships (Original Equipment)
- Orion-Class Battleships (Original Equipment)
- King George V Class (1911) Battleships (Original Equipment)
- Iron Duke Class Battleships (Original Equipment)
- HMS Erin - battleship
- HMS Canada - battleship
- Queen Elizabeth class - battleships (only as salute gun)
- Revenge class - battleships (only as salute gun)
- Town class - light cruisers
- Boadicea class - scout cruiser
- Blonde class - reconnaissance cruiser
- Active class - reconnaissance cruiser
- Flower class - sloop
Between the wars and the Second World War
The guns were no longer used on larger warships after the First World War, but were occasionally used as guns for smaller ship units until the end of the Second World War . The OQF 3pdr Vickers tank cannon was developed from the QF 3pdr Vickers and was used in the British tanks Vickers A1E1 Independent and Vickers Medium Mark I , Vickers Medium Mark II and the Vickers Medium Mark III .
literature
- Siegfried Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1905–1970. JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1970.
- Michael JH Taylor: Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. Studio, 1990, ISBN 1-85170-378-0 .
- Peter Chamberlain, Chris Ellis: Tanks of the World 1915-1945. Orion Books, 2002, ISBN 0-304-36141-0 .
Web links
- http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_3pounder_V_mk1.htm (accessed March 18, 2012)