QF 4.7 inch Mk V naval gun

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QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk V
300px
On troopship SS Orca, March 1919
Type Naval gun
Coast defence gun
Place of origin  United Kingdom Japan
Service history
In service 1900–1945
Used by British Empire
Wars World War I
World War II
Production history
Designer Elswick Ordnance
Designed ca. 1895
Variants Mark V, Mark V*
Specifications
Weight Barrel & breech 5,936 pounds (2,693 kg)[1]
Barrel length 212.6 inches (5.40 m) (45 cal)[1]

Shell Separate loading QF 45 pounds (20.41 kg) Common Pointed, Lyddite
Calibre 120-millimetre (4.72 in)
Breech single motion interrupted screw
Recoil 8 inch[1]
Muzzle velocity 2,350 feet per second (720 m/s)[2]
Maximum range 16,500 yards (15,100 m)[1]

The QF 4.7 inch Gun Mark V originated as a 120-mm 45 calibres long naval gun produced for export by the Elswick Ordnance Company in the 1890s and used by various countries.[3]

United Kingdom service

The Royal Navy did not adopt the gun, but several were adopted by the army as coast defence guns around the United Kingdom from 1900 onwards[1].

During World War I, the UK acquired 620 [3] of a version of the guns manufactured in Japan, and mounted them as anti-submarine guns on merchant ships and troop ships, under the designation Mark V*.

On 10 March 1917 the crew of a single gun on the merchant ship SS Otaki fought a notable action against the heavily-armed German commerce raider SMS Möewe. They managed to set the Möewe on fire and inflicted severe damage before the Otaki was sunk. Otaki's commander Archibald Bisset Smith went down with his ship and was eventually awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for refusing to surrender his ship.

Many of these guns were again used in World War II to arm merchant ships and troop ships.

See also

Notes

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References

External links

Template:GreatWarBritishNavalWeapons
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 108.
  2. 2,350 ft/second, firing a 45 lb projectile, using 8 lb 10 oz Cordite MD size 16 propellant. Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 108
  3. 3.0 3.1 DiGiulian