View source for 1-inch Nordenfelt gun

{{about|the anti-torpedo boat gun|the rifle calibre "machine gun"|Nordenfelt gun}}
{{Infobox Weapon
|name= 1 inch Nordenfelt gun
|image=[[File:Nord 2.JPG|300px]]
|caption=Four-barrel version
|origin={{flagicon|United Kingdom}}
|type= [[Naval gun]]
<!-- Type selection -->
|is_ranged=YES
|is_bladed=
|is_explosive=
|is_artillery=YES
|is_vehicle=
|is_UK=YES
<!-- Service history -->
|service=1880 - 1890s
|used_by=Many navies
|wars=
<!-- Production history -->
|designer=Helge Palmcrantz
|design_date=
|manufacturer=Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company
|production_date=
|number=
|unit_cost=
|variants=
<!-- General specifications -->
|weight={{convert|447|lb|kg}}<ref name=TBG1887>British service Mk III 4-barrel version. Text Book of Gunnery, 1887. Table XVI</ref>
|length= 
|part_length={{Convert|35.48|in|mm}}<ref name=TBG1887/>
|width=
|height=
|crew=
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> 
|cartridge={{Convert|7.25|oz|kg}} solid steel bullet with brass jacket<ref name=TBG1887/>
|caliber={{convert|1|in|mm|sing=on|sigfig=4}}
|action= 
|rate=
|velocity={{Convert|1464|ft/s|m/s}}<ref name=TBG1887/>
|range= 
|max_range=
|feed= 
|sights= 
<!-- Artillery specifications -->
|breech=
|recoil=
|carriage=
|elevation=
|traverse=
}}

The '''1 inch Nordenfelt''' was an early rapid-firing light gun intended to defend larger warships against the new small fast-moving [[torpedo boat]]s in the late 1870s - early 1880s.

==Description==
The gun was an enlarged version of the successful rifle-calibre Nordenfelt hand-cranked "machine gun" designed by Helge Palmcrantz and was intended to combine its rapid rate of fire with a projectile capable of deterring attacking torpedo boats. The gun fired a solid steel bullet with hardened tip and brass jacket : under the terms of the St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868, exploding shells weighing less than 400 grams were not allowed to be used in warfare between the signatory nations.

[[File:1-InchNordenfelt4BarrelGunNavalActionDrawing.jpg|thumb|left|<center>Woodcut depicting [[Royal Navy]] gunners in action with four-barrel model. The gun captain, left, is operating the training handwheel</center>]]
The gun was used in one, two and four-barrel versions. The ammunition was fed by gravity from a hopper above the breech subdivided into separate columns for each barrel. The gunner loaded and fired the multiple barrels by moving a lever on the right side of the gun forward and backwards. Pulling the lever backwards extracted the fired cartridges, pushing it forward then loaded fresh cartridges into all the barrels, and the final part of the forward motion fired all the barrels, one at a time in quick succession. Hence the gun functioned as a type of [[volley gun]], firing bullets in bursts, compared to the contemporary [[Gatling gun]] and the true [[machine guns]] which succeeded it such as the [[Maxim gun]], which fired at a steady continuous rate. 

The gunner was occupied with manually operating the loading and firing lever, while the gun captain aimed the gun and operated the elevation and training handwheels.

It was superseded for anti-torpedo boat defence in the mid-1880s by the new generation of [[Hotchkiss et Cie|Hotchkiss]] and Nordenfelt "[[British ordnance terms#Fixed QF|QF]]" guns of 47-mm and 57-mm calibre firing exploding "[[British ordnance terms#Common Pointed|common pointed]]" shells weighing 3 - 6 pounds.
{{clearleft}}

==Ammunition==
<gallery>
File:1-inchNordenfeltCartridgeMkVIDiagram1894.jpg|<center>British Mk VI [[British ordnance terms#Round|round]] (left) and blank round (right)</center>
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of naval guns]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?/p4013coll11,222 Text Book of Gunnery, 1887. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE]

==External links==
*[http://www.cerberus.com.au/fclick/fclick.php?id=139 Description, Drill, Ammunition. Manual for Victorian Naval Forces 1887, pages 41 - 52] from HMVS Cerberus website
*[http://www.victorianshipmodels.com/antitorpedoboatguns/Nordenfelt/nordenfelt1inch4.html 1 inch 4-barrel Nordenfelt Mk III Machine-Gun] History, technical details, animations
*[http://www.victorianshipmodels.com/antitorpedoboatguns/Nordenfelt/nordenfelt1inch2.html 1 inch 2-barrel Nordenfelt Machine-Gun]  History, technical details, animations

{{VictorianEraBritishNavalWeapons}}

[[Category:Naval guns of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:25 mm artillery]]