Ordnance QF 4 inch gun Mk IV, XII, XXII | |
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Type | Light Naval gun Submarine gun |
Place of origin | United Kingdom |
Service history | |
In service | 1911-1940s |
Used by | United Kingdom |
Wars | World War I World War II |
Production history | |
No. built | 1,141 [1] |
Specifications | |
Mass | 2,750 pounds (1,250 kg) barrel & breech |
Barrel length | 160 inches (4.064 m) bore (40 calibres) |
Shell | Mk IV : Separate QF 31 pounds (14.06 kg); Mk XII & XXII : Fixed QF 31 pounds (14.06 kg), 35 pounds (15.88 kg) from 1944 [2] |
Calibre | 4-inch (101.6 mm) |
Breech | horizontal sliding-block |
Elevation | PIX Mount -10° to +20° CPIII Mount -10° to +30° [1] |
Muzzle velocity | Mk IV : 2,370 feet per second (720 m/s) [3] Mk XII & XXII : 1,873 feet per second (571 m/s) |
Maximum firing range | 11,580 yards (10,590 m) at +30° [1] |
The QF 4-inch gun Mk IV [note 1] 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. [1] Mk XII and Mk XXII variants armed many British interwar and World War II submarines.
[[File:QF 4 inch Mk IV gun HMS Satyr WWI IWM SP 1497.jpg|thumb|{{center|On R-class destroyer HMS Satyrc. 1917–1918]] [[File:QF 4 inch Mk IV gun recoiling on HMAS Wilcannia AWM 304887.jpeg|thumb|{{center|Gun recoiling after firing, on Australian auxiliary anti-submarine vessel HMAS Wilcannia c. 1943]]
Mk IV armed many British destroyers and some cruisers in World War I. It was used to arm merchant ships in World War II.
The guns armed the following warships :
The Mk XII variant was developed for arming submarines from 1918, Mk XXII was developed to arm submarines during World War II. These submarine guns fired a heavier 35 pounds (16 kg) projectile from late 1944. [2] Shortly after the end of hostilities, the Mk XXII was superseded in new British submarines by the lighter QF 4 inch Mk XXIII. [4]
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