1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. gun, Mk II
1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. Gun, Mk II | ||
---|---|---|
Breech Simple block | | |
Recoil | 7 to 7.5 in (148 to 159 mm) | |
Rate of fire | 50 rounds in 30 minutes from aircraft reported | |
Muzzle velocity | Incendiary: 800 ft/s (244 m/s) AP: 1,000 ft/s (305 m/s) HE: 780 ft/s (238 m/s) |
The 1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. gun, Mk II was a British light artillery piece designed during
Design
The gun was, for ease of use in trenches,
Vickers manufactured the gun at its plant in Crayford, England.
Operational history
The concept of using the 1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. gun, Mk II in the trenches was superseded by that of the
With the gun no longer wanted in the trenches, it was decided to adapt it for use on aircraft as an air-to-air weapon against
The gun was approved for aircraft use in 1917. For operational testing, it was fitted to F.E.2b aircraft of Nos. 100 and 102 squadrons, Royal Flying Corps, in April 1917. The squadrons tested it on night operations and reported mixed results. No. 102 Squadron's captain, T. J. C. Martin, an F.E.2b pilot, reported that his observer stopped a train after firing about 30 rounds at it, and that it took his observer 30 minutes to fire 50 aimed rounds; he submitted an enthusiastic report on the gun and its potential. No. 100 Squadron, however, reported problems with the gun: Its report stated, "Sometimes the shell does not leave the barrel for some time after the striker has been released;"[2] in one incident, a gunner who thought the gun had misfired was about to open the breech to remove what he thought was a hung round when the shell went off in a shower of sparks. This led the squadron to require gunners to wait five minutes before removing a misfire. The gun also suffered from weak
The British hoped that the gun would prove useful in attacking German airships over the United Kingdom, mounted on British fighters so as to be able to fire upward into an airship flying above the fighter. Plans to mount the gun on the
After the failure of both the F.B.25 and N.E.1 to win production orders, interest in operational employment of the 1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. gun, Mk II appears to have waned; moreover, the introduction of an incendiary round for use in machine guns had made aerial use of the gun less desirable.[4] The gun was withdrawn from use entirely, apparently after the end of World War I, except for use by specially trained personnel.[2]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d Williams, Anthony G., The Cannon Pioneers: The Early Development and Use of Aircraft Cannon,
This article is a summary of information in 'Flying Guns – World War 1: Development of Aircraft Guns, Ammunition and Installations 1914-32' by Anthony G Williams and Emmanuel Gustin.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Author's amendment and updating list, 28 July 1993, for Woodman, Harry, Early Aircraft Armament: The Aeroplane and the Gun up to 1918". Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ a b "37mm and 40mm Guns in British Service". Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ Flight p. 764 12 June 1919
References
- Author's amendment and updating list, 28 July 1993 Archived 30 December 2019 at the ISBN 1-84037-396-2.
- 37mm and 40mm Guns in British Service Archived 3 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- The Cannon Pioneers: The Early Development and Use of Aircraft Cannon Archived 29 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine