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QF 4-inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII

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Ordnance QF 4 inch gun Mk IV, XII, XXII
QF 4 inch gun HMS Lance South Kensington 1926 IWM Q 45231.jpg
Mk IV gun from HMS Lance at Imperial War Museum Naval Gallery in South Kensington, London 1926
TypeLight Naval gun
Submarine gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1911-1940s
Used byUnited Kingdom
WarsWorld War I
World War II
Production history
No. built1,141[1]
Specifications
Mass2,750 pounds (1,250 kg) barrel & breech
Barrel length160 inches (4.064 m) bore (40 calibres)

ShellMk 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[2]
Calibre4-inch (101.6 mm)
Breechhorizontal sliding-block
ElevationPIX Mount -10° to +20°
CPIII Mount -10° to +30°[1]
Muzzle velocityMk IV : 2,370 feet per second (720 m/s)[3]
Mk XII & XXII : 1,873 feet per second (571 m/s)
Maximum firing range11,580 yards (10,590 m) at +30°[1]

The QF 4-inch gun Mk IV[note 1] was the main gun on most Royal Navy and British Empire destroyers in World War I. It was introduced in 1911 as a faster-loading light gun successor to the BL 4 inch Mk VIII gun. Of the 1,141 produced, 939 were still available in 1939.[1] Mk XII and Mk XXII variants armed many British interwar and World War II submarines.

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Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 per cent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.

Destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or battle group and defend them against powerful short-range attackers. They were originally developed in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War.

World War I

World War I

World War I or the First World War, often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.

Mk IV gun

On R-class destroyer HMS Satyr c.  1917–1918
On R-class destroyer HMS Satyr c.  1917–1918
Gun recoiling after firing, on Australian auxiliary anti-submarine vessel HMAS Wilcannia c.  1943
Gun recoiling after firing, on Australian auxiliary anti-submarine vessel HMAS Wilcannia c.  1943

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 :

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R-class destroyer (1916)

R-class destroyer (1916)

The first R class were a class of 62 destroyers built between 1916 and 1917 for the Royal Navy. They were an improvement, specifically in the area of fuel economy, of the earlier Admiralty M-class destroyers. The most important difference was that the Admiralty R class had two shafts and geared turbines, compared with the three shafts and direct turbines of the Admiralty M class, but in appearance the R class could be distinguished from its predecessors by having the after 4-inch gun mounted in a bandstand. The Admiralty ordered the first two of this class of ships in May 1915. Another seventeen were ordered in July 1915, a further eight in December 1915, and a final twenty-three in March 1916.

HMAS Wilcannia

HMAS Wilcannia

HMAS Wilcannia was a 1,049-ton anti-submarine and patrol vessel of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Forward-class cruiser

Forward-class cruiser

The Forward-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent much of the first decade of their careers in reserve. When the First World War began in August 1914 they were given coastal defence missions, Foresight in the English Channel and Forward on the coast of Yorkshire. The latter ship was in Hartlepool when the German bombarded it in December, but never fired a shot. The ships were transferred to the Mediterranean in 1915 and then to the Aegean in mid-1916 where they remained until 1918. They survived the war, but were scrapped shortly afterwards.

Sentinel-class cruiser

Sentinel-class cruiser

The Sentinel-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent about half of the first decade of their careers in reserve and were based in home waters when on active duty. When the First World War began in August 1914 they were given coastal defence missions on the north eastern coast of Britain. The ships were transferred to the Mediterranean in 1915 and then to the Aegean in mid-1916 where they remained until the end of the war in late 1918. Skirmisher was paid off in 1919 and was scrapped the following year, but Sentinel supported the British attempt to intervene in the Russian Civil War for a few months after the end of the war. She also returned home in 1919, but served as a training ship for a few years before she was broken up in 1923.

Pathfinder-class cruiser

Pathfinder-class cruiser

The Pathfinder-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent much of the first decade of their careers in reserve. When the First World War began in August 1914 they were given coastal defence missions, Pathfinder on the coast of Scotland and Patrol on the coast of Yorkshire. The latter ship was badly damaged when the Germans bombarded Hartlepool in December. She spent the rest of the war in British waters. The ship was paid off in 1919 and sold for scrap the following year. Pathfinder was sunk by a German submarine shortly after the war began, the first sinking of a British warship during the war by a German submarine.

Adventure-class cruiser

Adventure-class cruiser

The Adventure-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent about half of the first decade of their careers in reserve and were based in home waters when on active duty. During this time Attentive was involved in two collisions. When the First World War began in August 1914 the ships were given coastal defence missions on the English Channel. Attentive was transferred to Ireland in mid-1915, but Adventure remained with the Dover Patrol for another three years. They were assigned convoy escort duties in the Atlantic Ocean in 1918 before being separated when Attentive was transferred to the Mediterranean and Adventure was tasked to support the British intervention in North Russia. The sisters returned home a few months after the end of the war in November 1918 and were sold for scrap in 1920.

Acasta-class destroyer

Acasta-class destroyer

The Acasta class was a class of twenty destroyers built for the Royal Navy under the Naval Programme of 1911 - 1912 that saw service during World War I. They were the last class of Royal Navy destroyers to have mixed names with no systematic theme When the class was designated as "K", names beginning with that letter were allocated to the ships but never used. The class saw extensive wartime service and seven were lost, including four at the Battle of Jutland.

Laforey-class destroyer (1913)

Laforey-class destroyer (1913)

The Laforey class was a class of 22 torpedo boat destroyers of the Royal Navy, twenty of which were built under the Naval Programme of 1912–13 and a further two under the 2nd War Emergency Programme of 1914. As such they were the penultimate pre-war British destroyer design. All served during World War I during which three were lost; the survivors were all scrapped in 1921-23.

Admiralty M-class destroyer

Admiralty M-class destroyer

The M class, more properly known as the Admiralty M class, were a class of 85 destroyers built for the Royal Navy of United Kingdom that saw service during World War I. All ships were built to an identical – Admiralty – design, hence the class name. 18 other vessels which were officially included within the 'M' class were built to variant designs by three specialist builders – 10 by Yarrow, 6 by Thornycroft, and 2 by Hawthorn Leslie; these are covered in other articles.

Hawthorn M-class destroyer

Hawthorn M-class destroyer

The Hawthorn M Class were a class of two destroyers built for the Royal Navy under the pre-war 1913-14 Programme for World War I service.

Medea-class destroyer

Medea-class destroyer

The Medea class were a class of destroyers that were being built for the Greek Navy at the outbreak of World War I but were taken over and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service. All were named after characters from Greek mythology as result of their Greek heritage.

Faulknor-class flotilla leader

Faulknor-class flotilla leader

The Faulknor class were a class of flotilla leaders that were under construction in the United Kingdom for the Chilean Navy at the outbreak of World War I. Six ships were ordered by Chile, of which the first two were delivered to Chile before the outbreak of the war. The remaining four ships were purchased by the British, taken over and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service. In common with Royal Navy convention, they were named after famous Royal Navy captains of the past, in this case the members of the Faulknor family.

Mk XII and XXII submarine gun

Mk XII gun on unidentified T-class submarine, during World War II
Mk XII gun on unidentified T-class submarine, during World War II

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 pounds (16 kg) projectile from late 1944.[2] Shortly after the end of hostilities, the Mk XXII was superseded in new British submarines by the lighter QF 4 inch Mk XXIII.[4]

Mk XII and XXII equipped submarines

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British T-class submarine

British T-class submarine

The Royal Navy's T class of diesel-electric submarines was designed in the 1930s to replace the O, P, and R classes. Fifty-three members of the class were built just before and during the Second World War, where they played a major role in the Royal Navy's submarine operations. Four boats in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy were known as the Zwaardvisch class.

British L-class submarine

British L-class submarine

The British L-class submarine was originally planned under the emergency war programme as an improved version of the British E-class submarine. The scale of change allowed the L class to become a separate class.

Odin-class submarine

Odin-class submarine

The Odin-class submarine was a class of nine submarines developed and built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the 1920s. The prototype, Oberon, was followed by two boats originally ordered for the Royal Australian Navy, but transferred to the RN in 1931 because of the poor economic situation in Australia, and six modified boats ordered for the RN. Three modified boats were built for the Chilean Navy as the Capitan O'Brien-class submarines in 1929.

Parthian-class submarine

Parthian-class submarine

The Parthian-class submarine or P class was a class of six submarines built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. They were designed as long-range patrol submarines for the Far East. These boats were almost identical to the Odin class, the only difference being a different bow shape.

River-class submarine

River-class submarine

The River class, or Thames class, were a class of submarines built for the Royal Navy. Operating during the Second World War, the three boats of the class comprised Thames, Severn and Clyde. All the submarines were named after rivers in the United Kingdom. One was lost during the war and the rest taken out of service following it.

Grampus-class submarine

Grampus-class submarine

The Grampus-class submarines were a group of minelaying submarines built for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. These boats are sometimes referred to as the Porpoise class from the single prototype, HMS Porpoise built in 1932. Five boats to a modified design were built between 1936 and 1938. The ships were all named after marine mammals.

British S-class submarine (1931)

British S-class submarine (1931)

The S-class submarines of the Royal Navy were originally designed and built during the modernisation of the submarine force in the early 1930s to meet the need for smaller boats to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, replacing the British H-class submarines. As part of the major naval construction for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, the S class became the single largest group of submarines ever built for the Royal Navy. A total of 62 were constructed over a period of 15 years, with fifty of the "improved" S class being launched between 1940 and 1945.

Amphion-class submarine

Amphion-class submarine

The Amphion class of British diesel-electric submarines were designed for use in the Pacific War. Only two were completed before the end of hostilities, but following modernisation in the 1950s, they continued to serve in the Royal Navy into the 1970s.

Surviving guns

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HMS Lance (1914)

HMS Lance (1914)

HMS Lance was a Laforey-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Launched a few months before the outbreak of the First World War and attached to the Harwich Force, Lance took part in several engagements during the war, including the sinking of the Königin Luise and the Battle off Texel. She was responsible for firing the first British shot of the war.

National Museum of the Royal Navy

National Museum of the Royal Navy

The National Museum of the Royal Navy was created in early 2009 to act as a single non-departmental public body for the museums of the Royal Navy. With venues across the United Kingdom, the museums detail the history of the Royal Navy operating on and under the sea, on land and in the air.

Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a national museum with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of the United Kingdom and its Empire during the First World War. The museum's remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. As of 2012, the museum aims "to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and 'wartime experience'."

Heugh Battery

Heugh Battery

The Heugh Gun Battery is located on the Headland at Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The museum bills itself as the only battlefield of World War I in Great Britain.

Hartlepool

Hartlepool

Hartlepool is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough named after the town which also governs the civil parishes of Greatham, Hart, Dalton Piercy and Elwick. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County Durham.

County Durham

County Durham

County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England. The ceremonial county was created from the historic County Palatine of Durham in 1853.

Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2), comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, but the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.

Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada

Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada

The Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans in Canada, also known as ANAVETS and ANAF for short, is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1840, with more than 18,000 members throughout Canada. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, direct relatives of members and also affiliated members. The ANAVETS club also accepts membership from any person who is interested.

Sidney, British Columbia

Sidney, British Columbia

Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It's 1 of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,583. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport, and about 6 km (4 mi) south of BC Ferries' Swartz Bay Terminal. The town is also the only Canadian port-of-call in the Washington State Ferries system, with ferries running from Sidney to the San Juan Islands and Anacortes. Sidney is located along Highway 17, which bisects the town from north to south. It is generally considered part of the Victoria metropolitan area.

Source: "QF 4-inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, September 19th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QF_4-inch_naval_gun_Mk_IV,_XII,_XXII.

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See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes
  1. ^ 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
  1. ^ a b c d Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.59.
  2. ^ a b DiGiulian
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ "Britain - 4"/33 (10.2 cm) QF Mark XXIII". www.navweaps.com. Tony DiGiulian. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  5. ^ "GUN WHICH FIRED THE FIRST SHOT AT SEA IN WW1 IS INSTALLED FOR NEW £4.5M REMEMBRANCE GALLERY". www.nmrn.org.uk. National Museum of the Royal Navy. 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Hartlepool in County Durham, England, United Kingdom - Naval Gun 4 inch". www.hmdb.org. Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  7. ^ "British Coastal Defences of the Falkland Islands". frontlineulster.co.uk. Frontline Ulster. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  8. ^ Skaarup, Harold A. (2012). Shelldrake: Canadian Artillery Museums and Gun Monuments. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-1469750002.
Sources

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