- Deck gun
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- "Deck gun" can also mean a type of big water nozzle used for firefighting.
Deck gun from HMS Andrew
A deck gun is a type of artillery cannon mounted on the deck of a ship or submarine.
The deck gun was used as a defensive weapon against smaller boats or ships and in certain cases where torpedo use was limited. Typically a crew of three; gunner, loader, and layer, operated the gun, while others were tasked with bringing ammunition. A small locker box held a few rounds for the initial use. With a well-drilled, experienced crew, the rate of fire of a deck gun could be 15 to 18 aimed shots per minute.
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History
The deck gun was first used during World War I by the Germans and proved its worth in cases where the U-boat needed to conserve torpedoes or to attack enemy vessels that were straggling behind the convoy. Often the submarine captains considered the deck gun as their main weapon, using torpedoes only when absolutely necessary. Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière used deck gun on 171 of his 194 sinkings.[citation needed]
In early World War II, the German and American submarine commanders favoured the deck gun because of unreliability of the torpedoes. The deck gun became less effective as convoys became larger and better equipped, and merchant ships were armed. Surfacing became also dangerous in the vicinity of convoy because of the improved radars and direction finders. (See Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships and United States Navy Armed Guard). Deck guns were eventually ordered removed by the head of the German U-boat command (BdU) during World War II. Some deck guns stayed around on ships, but today they are no longer in use.
Two notable deck guns from German U-boats used in World War II were the 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Schnelladekanone and the 10.5 cm (4.1 in) Schnelladekanone. The 88 mm was the first of these two notable German deck guns to be used. It had ammunition that weighed about 30 lb (14 kg) and was of the projectile and cartridge type. The 88 mm deck gun had the same controls on both sides of the gun so that the two crewman that were in charge of firing it could control it from either side. The 105 mm evolved from the 88 mm in a sense that it was more accurate and had more power due to the 51 lb (23 kg) ammunition it fired.
Another notable deck gun was the 6-inch (152 mm)/53 caliber Mark XII on the USS Narwhal and USS Nautilus, which were the biggest deck guns to be equipped on any submarine and which offered highly destructive firepower. Larger guns were fitted to some submarines but these were turret mountings. The London Naval Treaty of 1930 restricted submarine guns to a maximum of 6 inches.
In the Royal Navy, the Amphion-class submarine HMS Andrew was the last British submarine to be fitted with a deck gun (a 4-inch QF gun). HMS Andrew was scrapped in 1977.
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