QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun

Ordnance QF 4 inch gun Mk XVI
Twin Mk XVI on HMCS Haida
Type	Naval gun Naval anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1936-^[1]-1950s
Used by	Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy Royal Australian Navy South African Navy
Wars	World War II Korean War
Specifications
Weight	Barrel & breech 4,495 lb (2,039 kg)
Barrel length	180 inches (4,572 mm) (45 cal))

Shell	Fixed QF 35 pounds (15.88 kg) HE 38.25 pounds (17.35 kg) S.A.P.
Calibre	4-inch (101.6 mm)
Breech	vertical sliding block
Recoil	hydro - pneumatic 831 millimetres (33 in)
Elevation	mounting dependent (-10 to 80 deg on H.A. twin mark XIX mount)^[2]
Traverse	mounting dependent
Rate of fire	15–20 rounds per minute^[3]
Muzzle velocity	2,660 feet per second (811 m/s)
Maximum firing range	19,850 yards (18,150 m) at 45 degrees elevation AA Range: 39,000 feet (11,890 m) at 80 degrees elevation^[3]
Filling weight	9 pounds (4.08 kg)

The QF 4 inch Mk XVI gun^{[note 1]} was the standard British Commonwealth naval anti-aircraft and dual-purpose gun of World War II.

Service

The crew of a 4-inch dualmount on HMS Berwick preparing for action in 1943.

The Mk XVI superseded the earlier QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun on many Royal Naval ships during the late 1930s and early 1940s, increasing the high-explosive projectile weight from 31 pounds (14 kg) to 35 pounds (16 kg). These guns were usually mounted on HA/LA Mark XIX twin mountings, although several Australian frigates and corvettes had single-gun Mk XX mountings.

As secondary armament (list not complete):

HMS Hood
HMS Rodney
HMS Barham, HMS Malaya, HMS Warspite
Revenge-class battleships
County-class cruisers
HMS Exeter
Swiftsure-class cruisers
Crown Colony-class cruisers
Edinburgh-class cruisers
Southampton-class cruisers (Town-class)
Arethusa-class cruisers
Perth-class cruisers
Leander-class cruisers
HMS Effingham
HMS Danae (ORP Conrad)
Tribal-class destroyers

As main armament (list not complete):

Aircraft carriers: HMS Furious, HMS Unicorn
Escort carriers: Nairana-class escort carriers, HMS Pretoria Castle, HMS Activity
C-class cruisers (converted to anti-aircraft cruisers)
Abdiel-class minelayers
L and M-class destroyer (the first series L: HMS Gorham, Lance, Legion, Lively)
HMS Petard (modified)
Weapon-class destroyers
V and W-class destroyers (after WAIR modification - 15 ships)
HMS Wallace (after WAIR modification)
Hunt-class destroyers
Some Bathurst-class corvettes (single-gun Mk XX mounting)
Black Swan-class sloops
Egret-class sloops
Bittern-class sloop (modified)
Grimsby-class sloop (modified)
Bay-class frigates
River-class frigates (part of Canadian-built)
8 auxiliary AA defence ships
Some landing ships

Allied ships modified in the United Kingdom:

ORP Błyskawica (Polish)
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck (Dutch)
HNLMS Isaac Sweers (Dutch)
4 French Elan-class avisos and Chamois-class avisos

The South African Navy Loch-class frigates (HMSAS Good Hope, HMSAS Natal and HMSAS Transvaal) each had two of these guns mounted on a twin Mark XIX on their foredeck between 1944 and 1976.

Ammunition

Twin guns of HMAS Swan bombarding shore positions in New Guinea, February 1945
Single Mk XX mounting on HMAS Barcoo, 1945
Gunners of HMS Glasgow clearing empty cartridges after a shoot
Gunners of V-class destroyer HMS Vivien displaying anti-aircraft rounds, 1940
A round in a fuze setter on HMS Belfast

Surviving examples

On HMCS Haida, Hamilton, Ortario, Canada.
Naval Museum of Alberta, Canada
On HMS Belfast, London.
Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower, Gosport, Hampshire, UK
On ORP Błyskawica, Gdynia (re-bored to 100 mm).
A pair at South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg
A pair in a turret from INS Haifa (K-38), at Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum, Haifa, Israel.
Two single guns on HMAS Diamantina, Brisbane, Australia
One twin gun at the Marinemuseet, Horten, Norway.

One twin gun in the Aldhurst military vehicles collection, Surrey England

Notes

↑ Mk XVI = Mark 16. Britain used Roman numerals to denote marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. Mark XVI indicates this was the sixteenth model of QF 4 inch gun.

References

↑ "British 4"/45 (10.2 cm) QF HA Marks XVI, XVII, XVIII and XXI". NavWeaps. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
↑ "THE 4-in. Q.F. MARK XVI* GUNS ON THE H.A. TWIN MARK XIX MOUNTING.". maritime.org. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
1 2 Britain: 4"/45 (10.2 cm) QF Mark XVI and Mark XVI* NavWeapons. Updated 21 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun.

B.R. 257. Handbook for the 4 inch Q.F. Mark XVI* Gun on the H.A. Twin Mark XIX And Single Mark XX Mountings. G3821/41 Naval Ordnance Department, Admiralty, July 1941.
Tony DiGiulian, British 4"/45 (10.2 cm) QF HA Marks XVI, XVII, XVIII and XXI
Youtube video clip of demonstration of loading and firing on HMS Belfast
Youtube video clip of demonstration of loading and firing on HMS Belfast : closeup Note : for safety reasons, cartridges are seen being loaded without the normal attached shell.

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 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 pdr 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 pdr 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)

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