QF 3-pounder Vickers

Naval gun, Anti-aircraft gun

Ordnance QF 3-pounder Vickers
On a Royal Navy monitor circa. 1918
Type	Naval gun, Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1905–1940
Wars	World War I, World War II
Production history
Designer	Vickers
Designed	1902–03
Manufacturer	Vickers
Produced	1905–?
No. built	600
Variants	Mk I Mk II
Specifications
Mass	1,323 lb (600 kg) in total
Barrel length	8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) bore (50 calibres)

Shell	47×360mmR 3.3 lb (1.50 kg) shell.
Calibre	47 mm (1.85 in)
Breech	semi-automatic vertical block
Carriage	three-leg platform
Elevation	−5° to +12°
Traverse	360°
Rate of fire	20 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	2,575 ft/s (785 m/s) (HE)
Effective firing range	2,000 yd (1,829 m)(AA)
Maximum firing range	5,600 yd (5,100 m) at 12° elevation; 15,000 ft (4,600 m) (AA ceiling)
Sights	telescopic

The Ordnance QF 3-pounder Vickers (47 mm / L50) was a British artillery piece first tested in Britain in 1903. It was used on Royal Navy warships. It was more powerful than and unrelated to the older QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss, with a propellant charge approximately twice as large, but it initially fired the same Lyddite and steel shells as the Hotchkiss.^[1]

Development

Starting in 1904, the Royal Navy bought over 154 of these for use as anti-torpedo boat weapons on capital ships and to arm smaller ships. British production of these guns started in 1905 at Vickers and by the time production stopped in 1936 a total of 600 weapons had been made.

Royal Navy use

RNAS gun on improvised anti-aircraft mounting, Tenedos, Dardanelles, 1915. Photo by Ernest Brooks.

By 1911 about 193 guns of this type were in service, and they became standard equipment in the Royal Navy until 1915. In that year, service during the First World War proved these weapons to be ineffective and they were quickly removed from most of the larger ships, some were mounted in armoured lorries as the main armaments of the Pierce-Arrow and Seabrook armoured lorries. During the interwar years they were widely used to arm light ships and river craft. A number of them were converted into anti-aircraft guns and by 1927 at least 62 guns had been converted.

References

Notes

^ Treatise on ammunition 10th Edition 1915. War Office, UK. Page 404

Bibliography

British Vickers 3-pdr (1.4 kg) (1.85"/50 [47 mm]) QF Marks I and II
Ian Buxton Big Gun Monitors: The History of the Design, Construction and Operation of the Royal Navy's Monitors

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to QF 3 pounder Vickers.

Tony DiGiulian, British Vickers 3-pdr (1.4 kg) (1.85"/50 (47 mm)) QF Marks I and II

British Empire naval weapons of the First World War

Monitor guns

Capital ship main armament

Armoured cruiser main armament

Secondary armament and
light cruiser main armament

Destroyer and
small cruiser armament

Merchant ship armament

Submarine guns

Anti-aircraft guns

Light weapons

Torpedoes

Mines

Spherical Mk I, II and III
Vickers Elia mine
Type H mine

Anti-submarine weapons

Type A Depth charge
Type B Depth charge
Type C Depth charge
Type D Depth charge
Type E Depth charge
Type F Depth charge
Type G Depth charge
Cruiser Mine
7.5-inch howitzer

Landing guns

QF 12-pounder 8 cwt

v t e British Empire artillery of the First World War
Armoured vehicle guns	QF 3-pounder Vickers QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder 6 cwt
Infantry guns	1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. gun, Mk II
Field artillery	BL 12-pounder 6 cwt QF 12-pounder 8 cwt QF 12-pounder 18 cwt QF 13-pounder BL 15-pounder BLC 15-pounder QF 15-pounder QF 18-pounder QF 4-inch gun Mk III BL 4-inch gun Mk VII QF 4.5-inch howitzer
Medium & heavy artillery	QF 4.7-inch gun BL 5-inch howitzer BL 5.4-inch howitzer BL 60-pounder gun BLC 6-inch siege gun BL 6-inch gun Mk VII BL 6-inch gun Mk XIX BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 8-inch howitzer Mk I – V BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI – VIII
Siege artillery	BL 7.5-inch Mk III naval gun BL 9.2-inch howitzer BL 9.2-inch Mk X naval gun BL 12-inch howitzer BL 12-inch Mk X naval gun BL 15-inch howitzer
Mountain artillery	RML 2.5-inch mountain gun BL 10-pounder mountain gun BL 2.75-inch mountain gun QF 2.95-inch mountain gun QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer
Mortars	Garland trench mortar 3-inch Stokes mortar Vickers 1.57-inch mortar 2-inch medium mortar Newton 6-inch mortar 9.45-inch Heavy Mortar
Smoke and chemical weapons	4-inch Stokes Mortar Livens Projector Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector
Anti-aircraft guns	QF 1-pounder pom-pom QF 2-pounder "pom-pom" Mk II 75 mm AA gun QF 12-pounder 12 cwt QF 13-pounder 6 cwt QF 13-pounder Mk IV QF 13-pounder 9 cwt QF 3-inch 20 cwt QF 18-pounder QF 4-inch Mk V
Coastal artillery	QF 12-pounder 12 cwt QF 4-inch naval gun Mk I – III BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun BL 9.2-inch Mk IX – X naval gun RML 9-inch
Railway guns	BL 9.2-inch railway gun BL 12-inch railway gun BL 12-inch railway howitzer BL 14-inch railway gun

v t e British Commonwealth naval weapons of the Second World War
Monitor guns	BL 15-inch
Capital ship main armament	BL 14-inch BL 15-inch BL 16-inch
Heavy cruiser main armament	BL 7.5-inch Mk VI BL 8-inch Mk VIII
Secondary armament and light cruiser main armament	QF 4-inch Mk V QF 4.5-inch QF 5.25-inch BL 5.5-inch BL 6-inch Mk XII BL 6-inch Mk XXII BL 6-inch Mk XXIII
Minesweeper, Sloop, Corvette, Frigate and Destroyer armament	QF 6-pounder 10 cwt QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mk V QF 4-inch Mk IV BL 4-inch Mk IX QF 4-inch Mk XVI QF 4-inch Mk XIX QF 4.5-inch BL 4.7-inch Mk II QF 4.7-inch Mk IX & XII QF 4.7-inch Mk XI
Submarine guns	QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mk V QF 3-inch 20 cwt QF 4-inch Mk XII & XXII
Anti-aircraft weapons	Unrotated projectile Holman Projector 20 mm Oerlikon QF 2-pounder "pom-pom" Mk VIII 40 mm Bofors QF 3-inch 20 cwt QF 4-inch Mk V QF 4-inch Mk XVI QF 4.5-inch QF 4.7-inch Mk VIII
Light weapons	.303 Lewis machine gun .50 Vickers Mk III machine gun QF 3-pounder Vickers
Torpedoes	21-inch Mk VII 21-inch Mk VIII 21-inch Mk X 21-inch Mk XI 24.5-inch Mk I
Anti-submarine weapons	Thornycroft depth charge thrower Hedgehog Squid
Small craft armament	Molins 6-pounder Vickers K machine gun 18-inch torpedo
Foreign-sourced weapons	20 mm Oerlikon 40 mm Bofors 3-inch 23 caliber gun (US) 3-inch 50 caliber gun (US) 4-inch 50 caliber Mark 9 gun (US) 5-inch 51 caliber Mark 8 gun (US) Y-gun depth charge projector (US) Mark 8 torpedo (US)