QF 4.5 inch ship gun Mk I – V
| QF 4.5 inch Mk I-V | |
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| Caliber: | 113 mm (4.45 inch) |
| Barrel length: | 5.086 m (caliber length 45) |
| Weight: | 2850 kg (without ammunition) |
| Ammunition supply: | 400 (HE and SAP together) per gun |
| Grenade weight: | 39.5 kg ( HE ) 41.6 kg (SAP) |
| Bullet weight: | 25 kg (HE) 23 kg (SAP) |
| Elevation range: | Minimum -5 ° maximum + 80 ° |
| Range: | Effective: 9600 m max. 18,950 m |
| Turning speed: | 20 ° / s |
| Increase speed: | 20 ° / s |
| Rate of fire: | 12-20 rounds / min |
| drive | Hydraulic motors |
The QF 4.5 inch (113 mm) was a British naval gun . The caliber length is 45 (5.08 m). It was the Royal Navy's standard medium barrel weapon against sea, land and air targets from 1938 to the 1970s.
Officially, the caliber is given as 4.5 inches, which would correspond to 114 mm. However, this is only a rounded figure, the caliber is exactly 4.45 inches, which corresponds to 113 mm.
development
Since 1916, the QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) gun had been the standard medium-caliber weapon of the Royal Navy and was mainly used on destroyers . Its possible use in air defense was limited, however, as there was neither a mount with an elevation range of more than 55 ° nor a corresponding fire control device. In addition, the detonators had to be set by hand.
The QF 4.5-inch (113-mm) L / 45 gun was originally developed as a multi-purpose weapon for aircraft carriers and modernized battleships and battlecruisers . It was later also envisaged as a destroyer weapon to replace the ubiquitous QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) gun. Regardless of the smaller caliber, it fired a heavier shell and was therefore more effective.
variants
Mark I.
Introduced after the failure of a 5-inch gun to develop. By using a grenade cartridge, where the projectile and propellant charge were combined and correspondingly heavy, it was physically exhausting for the operating crews to achieve the desired rate of fire with the gun, which had to be loaded manually. The gun was mostly mounted in twin turrets of the Mark III type.
Mark II
Introduced into the British Army as an anti-aircraft gun. The caliber was reduced to 3.7 inches in order to be able to use the same ammunition as existing weapons.
Mark III
Identical to the Mark I except for the fire mechanism. The gun was mounted in twin turrets of the Mark II or Mark IV type.
Mark IV
Two-part ammunition used (charge and projectile separate). Specially designed for smaller warships and mounted on BD Mark IV, CP Mark V and UD Mark VI carriages.
Mark V
Further development of the Mark IV with remote-controlled drive and higher rate of fire thanks to an automatic loading system.
A total of around 800 guns of different types were manufactured.
use
units
(List incomplete)
- Dido class (light cruisers Scylla and Charybdis )
- various aircraft carriers ( Illustrious class , Implacable class , Audacious class )
- the various auxiliary units
- the Z-class destroyers
- the Daring-class destroyers
