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Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60
HMS Smaland, 57 mm turret (cropped)
Swedish Bofors 57 mm SAK 60 (57 mm akan m/50) on the destroyer HSwMS Småland (J19)
Type Naval Gun
Place of origin Sweden
Service history
In service 1952 – 1990
Used by Dutch Navy
Swedish Navy
French Navy
Production history
Designed 1950
Manufacturer Bofors
Specifications
Mass Traversing mass: 24 t (53,000 lb)
Barrel length 60 calibres (3.420 m)
Crew 8

Shell 57 mm x 438 mm
Calibre 57 mm
Elevation -9°/+90°, 30°/s
Traverse -360°, 30°/s
Rate of fire 2 × 130 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 850 – 920 m/s
Effective firing range 13000 metres (max)
5000 metres (practical)
5500 meters AA ceiling

Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60 (Swedish language: 57 mm sjöautomatkanon L/60

(57 mm SAK 60)),[1][2] also known as 57 mm/60 (2.25") SAK Model 1950[3] and the like (full English product name: Bofors 57 mm Automatic A.A. Gun L/60 In Stabilized Twin Turret),[4] was a twin-barreled 57 mm (2.2 in) caliber fully automatic dual purpose naval artillery piece designed by the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors from the end of the 1940s to the early 1950s to meet a request from the Dutch Navy.[1] Besides the Dutch Navy, the weapon was also adopted by the Swedish and the French Navy, most predominantly by the latter.[3]

Design[]

The Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60 is at its core a scaled up version of the famous Bofors 40 mm L/60 anti-aircraft gun, but constructed as a twin-gun system sharing the same receiver/mantle with ammunition feeding from the sides into each gun.[1] The guns were water-cooled and fed by large 80-cartridge magazines that allowed several long bursts to be fired without reloading.[3]

Use in the Dutch Navy[]

Koningin Juliana aanwezig bij het indienststellen van de kruiser Hr. Ms

Dutch Bofors 57 mm SAK 60 on the cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter (C801).

The Dutch were the initial users of the Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60. As part of rebuilding the Dutch Navy post WWII, the Dutch Navy had requested several naval gun systems to be developed by Bofors for their next generation of naval-vessels,[5] one being a twin-barreled 57 mm dual-purpose gun for the planned De Zeven Provinciën-class cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter (C801) and HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (C802).[1] This request led to the creation of the Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60, which entered active service with the Dutch Navy in 1953 mounted on the cruisers Hr.Ms. de Ruyter (C801) and Hr.Ms. De Zeven Provinciën (C802).

Use in the Swedish Navy[]

Bofors double 57 mm automatic gun of HMS Småland (J19) (cropped 2)

Swedish 57 mm akan m/50 on the destroyer HSwMS Småland (J19).

Following the Dutch example, the Swedish navy decided to acquire the new 57 mm system for a new generation of destroyers in 1950. In Swedish service the weapon was fitted to the Halland-class destroyers HSwMS Halland (J18) and HSwMS Småland (J19), both of which entered service in 1956.[1] The weapon was initially designated 57 mm automatkanon m/50 (57 mm akan m/50),[6] meaning "57 mm autocannon m/50", but around 1970 the weapon was redesignated to 57 mm torndubbelautomatpjäs m/50 (57 mm tdblapjäs m/50),[7][8] meaning "57 mm turret double automatic piece m/50" (literal).

The gun was in use until the Halland-class destroyers were taken out of service.

Use in the French Navy[]

Frans vlootbezoek aan Amsterdam de oorlogsschepen aan de Oostelijke Handelskade, Bestanddeelnr 929-8235 (cropped)

Two French Le Normand-class frigates fitted with 57mm/60 mle 51 turrets on the bow.

The Bofors 57 mm L/60 naval gun was also purchased by the French Navy and came to serve on a number of naval-vessels under the designation 57mm/60 modèle 1951 (57mm/60 mle 51) from 1952 onward, although primarily post 1956.[3] The French navy version of the system featured a French designed naval mount that maintained the system in mechanical equilibrium, even when firing.[3]

In French service the gun notably armed light escorts as main guns and larger ships as secondary guns. The following French ships were armed with the 57mm/60 mle 51 system:[3]

See also[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Bofors automatic 57mm Dual-Purpose guns". http://www.tfd.chalmers.se/~m95perm/vapen/kanon/div/57mm_sak.html. 
  2. "030306_SAK57_Mk3.pdf". Bofors Luftvärnsförening (Bofors Anti-Aircraft Association). 2003. http://www.boflv.se/arkiv/030306_SAK57_Mk3.pdf. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "57 mm/60 Modèle 1951 on NavWeaps.com". http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNFR_57-60_m1951.php. 
  4. (in Swedish) Bofors. Karlskoga, Sweden: AB Bofors, Karlskoga (Boforskoncernen). 1958. p. 87. 
  5. "120 mm Bofors naval guns". http://www.tfd.chalmers.se/~m95perm/vapen/kanon/div/12cm_akan_m50.html. 
  6. (in Swedish) Amreg Fl, Ammunitionsregister för flottan, 1955. Stockholm, Sweden: Ammunitionssektionen, Marinförvaltningens Artilleribyrå. 1955. 
  7. (in Swedish) Amreg Marinen, Ammunitionsregister för marinen, 1962, ändringar 1965. Stockholm, Sweden: Kungliga Marinförvaltningen. 1965. 
  8. (in Swedish) AMKAT, Ammunitionskatalog, Data och bilder, Marinen, 1977 års utgåva. Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). 1977. 

External links[]

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