Ordnance BL 4-inch Mk IX gun | |
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![]() On Flower-class corvette HMCS Calgary in World War II | |
Type | Naval gun |
Service history | |
In service | 1917–1945 |
Used by | ![]() ![]() Contents
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Wars | World War I World War II |
Production history | |
No. built | 2,382 [1] |
Specifications | |
Mass | 2 tons barrel & breech [2] |
Barrel length | 180 inches (4.572 m) bore (45 calibres) |
Shell | 31 pounds (14.1 kg) |
Calibre | 4 inches (101.6 mm) |
Breech | Welin interrupted screw |
Elevation | -10 degrees to +30 degrees [3] |
Rate of fire | 10-12 rpm [3] |
Muzzle velocity | 800 metres per second (2,600 ft/s) [2] |
Maximum firing range | 12,660 metres (13,850 yd) [2] |
The BL 4-inch Mk IX naval gun [note 1] was a British medium-velocity naval gun introduced in 1917 as secondary armament on the Renown-class battlecruisers and Glorious-class "large light cruisers", but which served most notably as the main armament on Flower-class corvettes throughout World War II.
The gun was based on the barrel of the QF 4-inch Mk V and the breech mechanism of the BL 4-inch Mk VIII [4] and was first introduced in World War I on capital ships as secondary armament in triple-gun mountings, intended to provide rapid concentrated fire. This turned out to be unworkable in practice. Jane's Fighting Ships of 1919 commented, "4-inch triples are clumsy and not liked. They are not mounted in one sleeve; have separate breech mechanism, a gun crew of 23 to each triple". [5] Guns were thereafter used in single-gun mountings, typically on smaller ships as the main armament.
In World War II the gun was employed on many small warships such as Flower-class corvettes and minesweepers, primarily for action against surfaced submarines.
This was the last BL 4 inch gun in British service: all subsequent guns have used charges in metal cartridges "QF". It was succeeded on new small warships built in World War II by the QF 4-inch Mk XIX gun which fired a slightly heavier shell at much lower velocity and had a high-angle mounting which added anti-aircraft capability.
The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 40-millimetre (1.6 in) British autocannon, used as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing. This QF 2-pounder was not the same gun as the Ordnance QF 2-pounder, used by the British Army as an anti-tank gun and a tank gun, although they both fired 2-pound (0.91 kg), 40-millimetre (1.6 in) projectiles.
The BL 16-inch Mark I was a British naval gun introduced in the 1920s and used on the two Nelson-class battleships. A breech-loading gun, the barrel was 45 calibres long meaning 45 times the 16-inch (406 mm) bore – 60 ft (18 m) long.
The BL 14-inch Mk VII naval gun was a breech loading (BL) gun designed for the battleships of the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. This gun armed the King George V-class battleships during the Second World War.
The QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun was a common, versatile 3-inch (76.2 mm) calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, exported to allied countries, and used for land service. In British service "12-pounder" was the rounded value of the projectile weight, and "12 cwt (hundredweight)" was the weight of the barrel and breech, to differentiate it from other "12-pounder" guns.
The QF 4 inch Mk V gun was a Royal Navy gun of World War I which was adapted on HA mountings to the heavy anti-aircraft role both at sea and on land, and was also used as a coast defence gun.
The QF 4 inch Mk XVI gun was the standard British Commonwealth naval anti-aircraft and dual-purpose gun of World War II.
The BL 6-inch gun Marks II, III, IV and VI were the second and subsequent generations of British 6-inch rifled breechloading naval guns, designed by the Royal Gun Factory in the 1880s following the first 6-inch breechloader, the relatively unsuccessful BL 6-inch 80-pounder gun designed by Elswick Ordnance. They were originally designed to use the old gunpowder propellants but from the mid-1890s onwards were adapted to use the new cordite propellant. They were superseded on new warships by the QF 6-inch gun from 1891.
The QF 4-inch gun Mk IV was the main gun on most Royal Navy and British Empire destroyers in World War I. It was introduced in 1911 as a faster-loading light gun successor to the BL 4 inch Mk VIII gun. Of the 1,141 produced, 939 were still available in 1939. Mk XII and Mk XXII variants armed many British interwar and World War II submarines.
The BL 4-inch gun Mk VII was a British high-velocity naval gun introduced in 1908 as an anti-torpedo boat gun in large ships, and in the main armament of smaller ships. Of the 600 produced, 482 were still available in 1939 for use as coastal artillery and as a defensive weapon on Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS) during the Second World War.
The Breech Loading 5.5-inch Mk I was a naval gun used by the British Royal Navy during both World Wars.
The BL 5-inch guns Mk I – Mk V were early British 5-inch rifled breechloading naval guns after it switched from rifled muzzle-loaders in the late 1870s. They were originally designed to use the old gunpowder propellants. The 5-inch calibre was soon discontinued in favour of QF 4.7-inch.
The BL 6-inch Mark XI naval gun was a British 50 calibres high-velocity naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on cruisers and secondary armament on pre-dreadnought battleships from 1906 onwards.
The BL 6-inch Mark XII naval gun was a British 45 calibre naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on light cruisers and secondary armament on dreadnought battleships commissioned in the period 1914–1926, and remained in service on many warships until the end of World War II.
The BL 4.7-inch, 45-calibre gun was a British medium-velocity naval gun introduced in 1918 for destroyers, intended to counter a new generation of heavily armed destroyers that Germany was believed to be developing.
The 50 calibre BL 6 inch gun Mark XXIII was the main battery gun used on the Royal Navy and British Commonwealth's conventional (non-anti-aircraft) light cruisers built from 1930 through the Second World War, and passed into service with several other navies when ships were disposed of after the end of the War.
The 4.7 inch QF Mark IX and Mark XII were 45-calibre, 4.7-inch (120 mm) naval guns which armed the majority of Royal Navy and Commonwealth destroyers in World War II, and were exported to many countries after World War II as the destroyers they were mounted on were sold off.
The QF 4-inch Mk XIX gun was a British low-velocity 4-inch 40-calibre naval gun used to arm small warships such as Bathurst and Castle-class corvette and some River-class frigate in World War II, mainly against submarines.
The BL 6-inch Mk XXII gun was a British high-velocity 6-inch 50-calibre wire-wound naval guns deployed on the Nelson-class battleships from the 1920s to 1945.
The 152 mm /55 Model 1934–1936 were built for the Italian Navy in the years before World War II. These guns were used on the Duca degli Abruzzi-class Light cruisers, which were the final series of the Condottieri-class cruisers as their primary armament and as secondary armament on the Littorio-class battleships.