QF 4-inch ship gun Mk V
The QF 4 inch (102 mm) was a British naval gun from the First World War , which was adapted with suitable mounts for use as a heavy anti-aircraft gun on land and at sea. During the First World War it was also used in coastal defense. The caliber length was 45 (4.59 m). In the First World War, both two-part ammunition (load and projectile separated) for anti-tank guns and one-part cartridge ammunition (for air defense) were used as ammunition. All Mk Vs built from 1918 onwards used one-piece ammunition - so-called shell cartridges.
Areas of application
marine
This naval gun was introduced to replace the BL 4 inch Mk VII due to its higher rate of fire .
It was first used in 1914 as secondary armament on the light cruisers of the Arethusa class . It was quickly adapted for use in air defense and was typically mounted on cruisers and heavier combat ships.
From the 1930s onwards, it was replaced as an anti-aircraft gun on newbuildings of these classes by the QF 4 inch Mk XVI , but was still used on many destroyers and light cruisers during World War II .
country
At the beginning of the First World War , several guns were made available by the Navy for test purposes as anti-aircraft guns for home defense and to protect important objects. They were mounted on fixed platforms and proved to be quite successful after a one-piece cartridge was introduced in place of the original two-piece ammunition. The anti-aircraft mount allowed an elevation range of 80 °, but reloading was impossible above 62 °. This significantly reduced the maximum rate of fire. At the time of the armistice, 24 guns were in use in Great Britain and two in France for air defense. After the war ended, the guns were returned to the Navy.
Coastal defense
Between 1915 and 1928 several artillery pieces were installed in the coastal forts that guarded the mouth of the Humber .
variants
Mk XV
The Mark XV had the same performance data as the Mk V except for the modified locking mechanism . Two Mk-V guns were experimentally converted to the modified breech and used in the prototype of a twin mount that was installed on the tween deck of HMS Resolution for tests in 1931 . Of the six newly produced Mk XV cannons, four were placed in newly developed Mk XVIII twin mounts on the HMS Repulse in 1936 . However, tests showed a miserable rate of fire and the towers were removed again in 1938.
Mounts
The open construction of the mounts offered the operating teams little protection against adverse weather, which mainly had an effect on the rate of fire. All single mounts were aligned by hand.
units
(List incomplete)
Model Mk. V
- Mine layers
- Abdiel class
- destroyer
- J class
- K class
- N class
Web links
- Page from Navweapons about Mk V (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tony DiGiulian's webpage provides comprehensive information on this gun's Naval service. Tony DiGiulian: British 4 "/ 45 (10.2 cm) QF Mark V and Mark XV . January 13, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
- ↑ Hogg & Thurston 1972, p. 100
- ↑ Routledge 1994, p. 27
- ↑ Hogg & Thurston 1972, p. 98