QF 4.7 inch Mk V naval gun

QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk V
On troopship SS Orca, March 1919
Type	Naval gun Coast defence gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom Empire of Japan
Service history
In service	1900–1945
Used by	British Empire
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Elswick Ordnance
Designed	ca. 1895
Variants	Mark V, Mark V*
Specifications
Weight	Barrel & breech 5,936 pounds (2,693 kg)^[1]
Barrel length	212.6 inches (5.40 m) (45 cal)^[1]

Shell	Separate loading QF 45 pounds (20.41 kg) Common Pointed, Lyddite
Calibre	120-millimetre (4.72 in)
Breech	single motion interrupted screw
Recoil	8 inch^[1]
Muzzle velocity	2,350 feet per second (720 m/s)^[2]
Maximum firing range	16,500 yards (15,100 m)^[1]

The QF 4.7 inch Gun Mark V originated as a 120-mm 45-calibre-long naval gun produced for export by the Elswick Ordnance Company in the 1890s and used by various countries.^[3]

United Kingdom service

The Royal Navy did not adopt the gun, but several were adopted by the army as coast defence guns around the United Kingdom from 1900 onwards.^[1]

During World War I, the UK acquired 620 ^[3] of a version of the guns manufactured in Japan, and mounted them as anti-submarine guns on merchant ships and troop ships, under the designation Mark V*.

Many of these guns were again used in World War II to arm merchant ships and troop ships.

Notable actions

Main article: Action of 10 March 1917

On 10 March 1917 the crew of a single gun on the merchant ship SS Otaki fought a notable action against the heavily armed German commerce raider SMS Möewe. They managed to set the Möewe on fire and inflicted severe damage before the Otaki was sunk. Otaki's commander Archibald Bisset Smith went down with his ship and was eventually awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for refusing to surrender his ship.

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 108.
↑ 2,350 ft/second, firing a 45 lb projectile, using 8 lb 10 oz Cordite MD size 16 propellant. Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 108
1 2 DiGiulian

References

I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston (1972). British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan.
Tony DiGiulian. "British 4.7"/45 (12 cm) QF Mark V and Mark V*".

External links

Media related to QF 4.7 inch Mk V naval gun at Wikimedia Commons

British Empire naval weapons of the First World War

Monitor guns	BL 9.2 inch Mk VI BL 9.2 inch Mk VIII BL 9.2 inch Mk X BL 9.2 inch Mk XII BL 12 inch Mk VIII US 14 inch 45 cal BL 18 inch Mk I

Capital ship main armament	Vickers 10 inch 45 cal EOC 10 inch 45 cal BL 12 inch Mk VIII BL 12 inch Mk IX BL 12 inch Mk X BL 12 inch Mk XI & XII EOC 12 inch 45 cal Mk XIII BL 13.5 inch Mk V EOC 14 inch 45 cal Mk I BL 15 inch Mk I

Armoured cruiser main armament	BL 7.5 inch Mk I BL 9.2 inch Mk X BL 9.2 inch Mk XI

Secondary armament and light cruiser main armament	QF 12 pdr 18 cwt QF 14 pounder Maxim-Nordenfelt QF 14 pounder Mk I & II QF 4 inch Mk III BL 4 inch Mk VII QF 4 inch Mk V BL 4 inch Mk IX BL 5.5 inch Mk I QF 6 inch BL 6 inch Mk VII BL 6 inch Mk XI BL 6 inch Mk XII BL 6 inch Mk XIII-XVIII BL 7.5 inch Mk II - Mk V

Destroyer and small cruiser armament	QF 12 pdr 12 cwt Mk II QF 4 inch Mk III BL 4 inch Mk VIII QF 4 inch Mk IV BL 4.7 inch Mk I

Merchant ship armament	QF 4.7 inch Mk I - IV QF 4.7 inch Mk V*

Submarine guns	BL 4 inch Mk XI QF 4 inch Mk XII

Anti-aircraft guns	QF 2 pounder "pom-pom" Mk II QF 3 inch 20 cwt QF 4 inch Mk V

Light weapons	.303 Vickers machine gun QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss QF 3 pounder Vickers QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss

Torpedoes	18 inch Mk V - VIII 21 inch Mk II 21 inch Mk IV

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

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