| Ordnance QF 4 inch gun Mk IV, XII, XXII | |
|---|---|
 Mk IV gun from HMS Lance at the Imperial War Museum, London | |
| Type |
Light Naval gun Submarine gun |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1911-1940s |
| Used by |
 United Kingdom |
| Wars |
World War I World War II |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2,750 pounds (1,250 kg) barrel & breech |
| Barrel length | 160 inches (4.064 m) bore (40 calibres) |
|
| |
| Shell |
Mk IV : Separate QF 31 pounds (14.06 kg); Mk XII & XXII : Fixed QF 31 pounds (14.06 kg), 35 pounds (15.88 kg) from 1944[1] |
| Calibre | 4-inch (101.6 mm) |
| Breech | horizontal sliding block |
| Muzzle velocity |
Mk IV : 2,370 feet per second (720 m/s)[2] Mk XII & XXII : 1,873 feet per second (571 m/s) |
| Maximum firing range | 10,000 yards (9,100 m) |
The QF 4-inch gun Mk IV[3] was introduced in 1911 as a faster-loading light gun successor to the BL 4 inch Mk VIII gun, and was the main gun on most Royal Navy and British Empire destroyers in World War I.
Mk IV gun[]
Mk IV armed many British destroyers and some cruisers in World War I. It was used to arm merchant ships in World War II.
The guns armed the following warships :
- Forward class scout cruisers as re-gunned in 1911
- Sentinel class scout cruisers as re-gunned 1911-1912
- Pathfinder class scout cruisers as re-gunned 1911-1912
- Adventure class scout cruisers as re-gunned 1911-1912
- Acasta (K) class destroyers of 1911
- Laforey (L) class destroyers of 1913
- Yarrow M class destroyers laid down 1912 - 1915
- Admiralty M class destroyer of 1913
- Thornycroft M class destroyers laid down 1913 - 1915
- Hawthorn M class destroyer of 1914
- Talisman class destroyers of 1914
- Medea class destroyers of 1914
- Faulknor class leaders of 1914
- Marksman class destroyers of 1914
- Parker class leaders of 1915
- Yarrow Later M class destroyers of 1915
- R class destroyers of 1916
- S class destroyers of 1917
- Fundy class minesweepers of 1938 (guns from decommissioned Canadian S class destroyers)
Mk XII and XXII submarine gun[]
Mk XII gun on unidentified T class submarine circa. WWII
The Mk XII variant was developed for arming submarines from 1918, Mk XXII was developed to arm submarines during World War II. These submarine guns fired a heavier 35-pound projectile from late 1944.[1] Mk XII and XXII equipped :
- L class
- Odin ("O") class
- Parthian ("P") class
- River (or Thames) class
- Grampus (or Porpoise) class
- Triton ("T") class
- S class
- Some of the Amphion ("A" or Acheron) class
Surviving guns[]
- The Mk IV gun from HMS Lance which fired the first British shot of World War I on 5 August 1914 is on display at the Imperial War Museum, London.
See also[]
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era[]
- 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun : Slightly more powerful German equivalent WWII submarine gun
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 DiGiulian
- ↑ 2,370 ft/s for Mk IV gun with 31 lb (14 kg) projectile in WWI, using 5 lb 1 oz 12 drams cordite MD size 16 propellant (Treatise on Ammunition, 10th Edition 1915)
- ↑ Mk IV = Mark 4. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the fourth model of 4-inch QF naval gun. Variants Mk XII = Mark 12, Mk XXII = Mark 22.
References[]
- Tony DiGiulian, British 4"/40 (10.2 cm) QF Marks IV, XII and XXII
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to QF 4 inch Mk IV naval gun. |
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The original article can be found at QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII and the edit history here.