- QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun
Infobox Weapon
name= Type 41 3-inch (7.62 cm) 40 calibre gun
caption=Type 41 3-inch (7.62 cm) 40 calibre gun onJapanese battleship Mikasa
origin=United Kingdom
type=Naval gun
Coast defence gun
is_ranged=yes
is_explosive=
is_artillery=yes
is_UK=yes
service=1894-1945
used_by=UK
ITA
JPN
wars=Second Boer War Russo-Japanese War World War I World War II
designer=
design_date=1893
manufacturer=Elswick Ordnance Company,Vickers ,
Japan Steel WorksCanadian Pacific Railway Gio. Ansaldo & C.
production_date=
number=
variants=
weight= 0.6 tons (510 kg)
length=convert|123.6|in|m|3|adj=on
part_length=convert|120|in|m|3|adj=on
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge=UK & Japan : Separate-loading QF
Italy : Fixed QF
caliber=convert|3|in|cm|2|adj=on
action=
rate= 15 rounds per minute
velocity= convert|2210|ft/s|m/s [2210 ft/sec in British service in 1902, using 1 lb 15 oz cordite Mk I size 15 propellant (Text Book of Gunnery 1902); 2258 ft/sec in British service in WWI using 2 lb cordite MD size 11 propellant (Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 55).]
range= convert|11750|yd|m|0|adj=on at 40° elevation
max_range=
feed=
sights=
breech=single-motion screw
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=mounting dependent
traverse=mounting dependentThe QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common 3
inch calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced byArmstrong Whitworth , Elswick and used onRoyal Navy warships.As the Type 41 3-inch (76.2 mm)/40 it was used on most early
battleships andcruisers of theImperial Japanese Navy , though it was commonly referred to by its UK designation as a “12-pounder” gun.United Kingdom service
United Kingdom Naval service
Mk I and II guns served on many Royal Navy
destroyer s up to and after World War I as secondary armament againstsubmarines andtorpedo boat s.In World War II many Mk V guns served on smaller escort ships such as destroyers and on
armed merchant ship s, on dual-purpose high-low angle mountings which allowed it to be also used as ananti-aircraft gun .econd Boer War (1899 - 1902) land service
The gun was primarily a high-velocity naval gun, with its heavy recoil suiting it to static mountings, hence it was generally considered unsuitable for use as a mobile field gun.Hogg and Thurston 1972, Page 54] An exception was made when the British Army were outgunned by the Boer artillery in South Africa and the Royal Navy was called on for help. Among other guns, 16 QF 12 pounder 12 cwt were landed from warships and were mounted on improvised field carriages designed by Captain
Percy Scott RN, with solid wooden trails and utilizing small-diameter Cape wagon wheels. Their 10,000 yard range provided valuable long-range fire support for the army throughout the war. They were known as "long twelves" to distinguish them from the BL 12 pounder 6 cwt and QF 12 pounder 8 cwt which had much shorter barrels and ranges. [Hall June 1978]Lieutenant Burne reported that the original electric firing system, while working well under ideal conditions, required support of an armourer and the maintenance and transport of charged batteries in the field, which was generally not possible. He reports switching to percussion tubes for firing and recommends percussion for future field operations. [Burne 1902, Chapter IX]
Another 6 guns were diverted from a Japanese battleship being built at Newcastle in January 1900, bought by Lady Meux and were equipped with proper field carriages by the Elswick Ordnance Company in Newcastle and sent to South Africa. Perhaps uniquely, the guns were donated directly to Lord Roberts, the British commander in South Africa and became his personal property.They were known as the "Elswick Battery" and were manned by men from Elswick, recruited by 1st Northumberland Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers). The Elswick guns served throughout the war. [Crook June 1969]
Coast Defence gun
Many guns were mounted on "pedestals" secured to the ground to defend harbours around the UK, and at many ports around the Empire, against possible attack by small fast vessels such as torpedo boats, until the 1950s. There were 103 of these guns (of a total 383 of all types) employed in coast defence around the UK as at April 1918. [Farndale 1988, Page 404] Many of these were still in service in World War II although they had by then been superseded by more modern types such as twin QF 6 pounder 10 cwt mounts.
Guns were traversed (moved from side to side) manually by the gunlayer as he stood on the left side with his arm hooked over a shoulder piece as he aimed, while he operated the elevating handwheel with his left hand and grasped the pistol grip with trigger in his right hand.
Army anti-aircraft gun
In
World War I a number of coast defence guns were modified and mounted on special wheeled traveling carriages to create a marginally-effective mobile anti-aircraft gun.United Kingdom ammunition
UK shells weighed 12.5 lb (5.67 kg) filled and fuzed.
The cordite propellant charge was normally ignited by an electrically-activated primer (in the base of the cartridge case), with power provided by a battery. The electric primer in the cartridge could be replaced by an adaptor which allowed the use of electric or percussion tube to be inserted to provide ignition.Japanese service
The Japanese Type 41 3-inch naval gun was a direct copy of the QF 12 pounder. The first guns were bought from the UK firms as "Elswick Pattern N" and "
Vickers Mark Z" guns. Thereafter production was in Japan under licence. [cite web
last = DiGiulian
first = Tony
url = http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_3-40_mk1.htm
title = 3"/40 (7.62 cm) 41st Year Type
work = NavWeaps.com] It was the standard secondary or tertiary armament on most Japanese warships built between 1890 and 1920, and was still in service as late as thePacific War .The gun was officially designated as “Type 41” from the 41st year of the reign of
Emperor Meiji on1908-12-25 . It was further re-designated in centimeters on1917-10-05 as part of the standardization process for the Imperial Japanese Navy to themetric system . Although finally classified as an "8cm" gun the bore was unchanged at 7.62 cm.The Type 41 3-inch naval gun fired a convert|12.5|lb|kg|1|adj=on high explosive shell.
urviving guns
*A gun of the Elswick Battery that served in the Second Boer War is displayed in the [http://firepower.org.uk Royal Artillery Museum, London]
*Another Elswick gun is with [http://www.army.mod.uk/101regtrav/203_elswick_battery_ra_v_/203_bty_history.htm 203 (Elswick) Battery RA (V)]
*Mk V anti-aircraft gun at [http://www.firepower.org.uk Royal Artillery Museum, London]
*Coast defence gun at [http://www.armymuseum.co.nz/ Army Memorial Museum, Waiouru, New Zealand]
*Mark IX gun located at Edmonton Sea Cadet Corps unit , London UK.
*OnBattleship Mikasa , Yokosuka, Japanee also
*
QF 12 pounder 12 cwt AA gun
*List of artillery#Naval_guns Notes
References
Books
* [http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?/p4013coll11,230 Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE]
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*Lieutenant C. R. N. Burne R.N., [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/25117 With the Naval Brigade in Natal (1899-1900). London: Edward Arnold, 1902]
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*Admiral Percy Scott, [http://www.archive.org/details/fiftyyearsinroya00scotuoft "Fifty Years in the Royal Navy"] published 1919External links
*cite web
last = DiGiulian
first = Tony
url = http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_3-40_mk1.htm
title = 3"/40 (7.62 cm) 41st Year Type
work = NavWeaps.com
*Major D Hall, [http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol043dh.html The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 4 No 3 June 1978. THE NAVAL GUNS IN NATAL 1899-1902]
*Major L.A. Crook, [http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol014lc.html The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 1 No 4 June 1969. "The Elswick Guns"]
* [http://www.army.mod.uk/101regtrav/203_elswick_battery_ra_v_/203_bty_history.htm 203 (Elswick) Battery History]
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