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Ordnance QF 4 inch gun Mk XIX
HMAS Cowra gun crew (109986)
Crew of HMAS Cowra at gun drill, Tarakan Island, June 1945
Type Dual-purpose gun
Service history
Used by

Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom Royal Navy
Canada Royal Canadian Navy

AustraliaRoyal Australian Navy
Wars World War II
Specifications
Barrel length 160 inches (4.064 m) bore (40 calibres)

Shell Fixed QF HE, Starshell
Shell weight 35 pounds (16 kg)
Calibre 4-inch (101.6 mm)
Breech horizontal sliding block
Muzzle velocity 396 metres per second (1,300 ft/s)[1]
Maximum firing range 8,870 metres (9,700 yd)[1]

The QF 4-inch Mk XIX gun[2] was a British low-velocity 4-inch 40-calibre naval gun used to arm small warships such as Bathurst and Castle class corvettes and some River-class frigates in World War II, mainly against submarines.[3]

Description[]

It succeeded the higher-velocity World War I-era BL 4-inch Mk IX (typically deployed on Flower class corvettes in the escort role), increasing the shell weight from 31 to 35 pounds and its high-angle mounting added some anti-aircraft capability and allowed it to fire starshells to illuminate the battle area at night.

Ammunition[]

Surviving examples[]

  • On HMAS Castlemaine at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia.
  • On the parade ground at the Irish Naval Service Base, Haulbowline, Co. Cork, Ireland

Notes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/119171x53535/8330/a0.htm : quotes from John Campbell, "Naval Weapons Of World War Two", Annapolis : Naval Institute Press, 1985, ISBN 0-87021-459-4
  2. Mk XIX = Mark 19. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the nineteenth model of British QF 4-inch gun
  3. DiGiulian

References[]

External links[]


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