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The Mk XVI superseded the earlier QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun on many Royal Naval ships during the late 1930s and early 1940s, increasing the high-explosive projectile weight from 31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):
- HMS Hood
- HMS Rodney
- HMS Barham, HMS Malaya, HMS Warspite
- Revenge-class battleships
- County-class cruisers
- HMS Exeter
- Swiftsure-class cruisers
- Crown Colony-class cruisers
- Edinburgh-class cruisers
- Southampton-class cruisers (Town-class)
- Arethusa-class cruisers
- Perth-class cruisers
- Leander-class cruisers
- HMS Effingham
- HMS Danae (ORP Conrad)
As main armament (list not complete):
- Aircraft carriers: HMS Furious, HMS Unicorn
- Escort carriers: Nairana-class escort carriers, HMS Pretoria Castle, HMS Activity
- C-class cruisers (converted to anti-aircraft cruisers)
- Abdiel-class minelayers
- Tribal-class destroyers
- L and M-class destroyer (the first series L: HMS Gorham, Lance, Legion, Lively)
- HMS Petard (modified)
- Weapon-class destroyers
- V and W-class destroyers (after WAIR modification - 15 ships)
- HMS Wallace (after WAIR modification)
- Hunt-class destroyers
- Some Bathurst-class corvettes (single-gun Mk XX mounting)
- Black Swan-class sloops
- Egret-class sloops
- Bittern-class sloop (modified)
- Grimsby-class sloop (modified)
- Bay-class frigates
- River-class frigates (part of Canadian-built)
- 8 auxiliary AA defence ships
- Some landing ships
Allied ships modified in the United Kingdom:
- ORP Błyskawica (Polish)
- HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck (Dutch)
- HNLMS Isaac Sweers (Dutch)
- 4 French Elan-class avisos and Chamois-class avisos
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
- Twin guns of HMAS Swan bombarding shore positions in New Guinea, February 1945
- Single Mk XX mounting on HMAS Barcoo, 1945
- Gunners of HMS Glasgow clearing empty cartridges after a shoot
Gunners of V-class destroyer HMS Vivien displaying anti-aircraft rounds, 1940 A round in a fuze setter on HMS Belfast
See also
- QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun : Royal Navy anti-aircraft predecessor
- List of naval anti-aircraft guns
- List of naval guns
Surviving examples
- On HMCS Haida, Hamilton, Ortario, Canada.
- Naval Museum of Alberta, Canada
- On HMS Belfast, London.
- Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower, Gosport, Hampshire, UK
- On ORP Błyskawica, Gdynia (re-bored to 100 mm).
- A pair at South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg
- A pair in a turret from INS Haifa (K-38), at Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum, Haifa, Israel.
- Two single guns on HMAS Diamantina, Brisbane, Australia
- One twin gun at the Marinemuseet, Horten, Norway.
One twin gun in the Aldhurst military vehicles collection, Surrey England
Notes
- ↑ 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
- ↑ "British 4"/45 (10.2 cm) QF HA Marks XVI, XVII, XVIII and XXI". NavWeaps. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
- ↑ "THE 4-in. Q.F. MARK XVI* GUNS ON THE H.A. TWIN MARK XIX MOUNTING.". maritime.org. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun. |
- B.R. 257. Handbook for the 4 inch Q.F. Mark XVI* Gun on the H.A. Twin Mark XIX And Single Mark XX Mountings. G3821/41 Naval Ordnance Department, Admiralty, July 1941.
- Tony DiGiulian, British 4"/45 (10.2 cm) QF HA Marks XVI, XVII, XVIII and XXI
- Youtube video clip of demonstration of loading and firing on HMS Belfast
- Youtube video clip of demonstration of loading and firing on HMS Belfast : closeup Note : for safety reasons, cartridges are seen being loaded without the normal attached shell.