QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun

Ordnance QF 4 inch gun Mk XVI

Twin Mk XVI on HMCS Haida
Type Naval gun
Naval anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin  United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1936-[1]-1950s
Used by Royal Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
South African Navy
Wars World War II
Korean War
Specifications
Weight Barrel & breech 4,495 lb (2,039 kg)
Barrel length 180 inches (4,572 mm) (45 cal))

Shell Fixed QF 35 pounds (15.88 kg) HE
38.25 pounds (17.35 kg) S.A.P.
Calibre 4-inch (101.6 mm)
Breech vertical sliding block
Recoil hydro - pneumatic 831 millimetres (33 in)
Elevation mounting dependent (-10 to 80 deg on H.A. twin mark XIX mount)[2]
Traverse mounting dependent
Rate of fire 15–20 rounds per minute[3]
Muzzle velocity 2,660 feet per second (811 m/s)
Maximum firing range 19,850 yards (18,150 m) at 45 degrees elevation
AA Range: 39,000 feet (11,890 m) at 80 degrees elevation[3]
Filling weight 9 pounds (4.08 kg)

The QF 4 inch Mk XVI gun[note 1] was the standard British Commonwealth naval anti-aircraft and dual-purpose gun of World War II.

Service

The crew of a 4-inch dualmount on HMS Berwick preparing for action in 1943.

The Mk XVI superseded the earlier QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun on many Royal Naval ships during the late 1930s and early 1940s, increasing the high-explosive projectile weight from 31 pounds (14 kg) to 35 pounds (16 kg). These guns were usually mounted on HA/LA Mark XIX twin mountings, although several Australian frigates and corvettes had single-gun Mk XX mountings.

As secondary armament (list not complete):

As main armament (list not complete):

Allied ships modified in the United Kingdom:

The South African Navy Loch-class frigates (HMSAS Good Hope, HMSAS Natal and HMSAS Transvaal) each had two of these guns mounted on a twin Mark XIX on their foredeck between 1944 and 1976.

Ammunition

See also

Surviving examples

One twin gun in the Aldhurst military vehicles collection, Surrey England

Notes

  1. Mk XVI = Mark 16. Britain used Roman numerals to denote marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. Mark XVI indicates this was the sixteenth model of QF 4 inch gun.

References

  1. "British 4"/45 (10.2 cm) QF HA Marks XVI, XVII, XVIII and XXI". NavWeaps. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  2. "THE 4-in. Q.F. MARK XVI* GUNS ON THE H.A. TWIN MARK XIX MOUNTING.". maritime.org. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  3. 1 2 Britain: 4"/45 (10.2 cm) QF Mark XVI and Mark XVI* NavWeapons. Updated 21 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
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