Hi folks,

CMK have this offering of a WW1 US Navy 102mm. Am I correct in thinking this is the Mk 9?



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%22/50_caliber_gun

My understanding is that many of these (Mk 9s) found their way to the UK as part of the Lend Lease in WW2.

I'd like to use it in a coastal defense setting and wonder if anyone would have any data on same.

Many thanks

Al

/they also do a British gun similar to this....

but it's your dio, do what looks right yo you

Hi Jon,

Thanks, didn't know that. There seems to be reasonably strong evidence that these came across as part of lend lease, fitted to merchant shipping and used in coastal defence.

More reading required.

Cheers

Al

This is the other kit Jon mentioned.



Al

Interesting looking Kit Al, correct me if I am wrong. but looks very much like a 4" MkV, also fitted in place of a bank of Torpedo tubes to a number of Destroyer classes to give them (not very effectively) a heavy high angled gun.

Si

Hi Simon,

You may well be correct. I need to find some more decent photographs or diagrams of both gun types.

Cheers

Al

Hi folks,

My interest in the Naval Cannons stems from some pictures I found in Life Magazine a few years back. Can anyone tell me what kind of beast this one is and whether or not the British 4 inch HA was deployed in Singapore? The US version I believe would be OK for home waters under Lend Lease.



For discussion purposes only.

Many thanks

Al

Hi Al

Not what you're looking for, but it seems that the British Mk V variant was also fitted to the Australian Navy light cruiser Sidney :





Full size

According to Wikipedia, several Mk V guns were also mounted in forts to guard the estuary of the River Humber from 1915 to 1928.

H.P.

Alan, I believe that is the 4"/50 cal gun that was used on USN four stack destroyers. The Number 1 mount was usually the only one that had the shield on it. Campbeltown diorama anyone? Al

Hi,

Thanks HP as always. I'd seen some on ships and had though about a flat deck build Al, but being a land lubber at heart a coastal defence option was in my mind ever since I saw the pic from Singapore.

Mind you I bough both kits so could go both ways .

I'll see what other info pops up.

Cheers

Alan

Here's another option (even though the gun may not be exactly the same...) :

Kent, 1940 :



H.P.

Talking about 4-inch guns used for coastal defense, four such guns were emplaced in Western Australia : two at Geraldton in 1942 and two at Beacon Battery-Garden Island in 1943. These were the only such guns used in the coastal defence role in Australia. Guns in the Western Australian batteries were Mk 9, Models 5 and 6.

(from http://www.artillerywa.org.au/RAAA/artwa1.html )

H.P.

Just came across another LIFE picture (from http://malayacommand.blogspot.fr/2011/08/hong-kong-singapore-royal-artillery-2.html) :

"HKSRA (Hong Kong Singapore Royal Artillery) Gunners manning a 3 inch Anti Aircraft gun on the coast of Singapore cir 1939.":



Looks like the gun in your post Alan

It could be a 12-pdr [3"/45 (76.2 cm)] 20cwt QF HA gun :

WW1 picture :



Circa 1937 in Australia



More info here : http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_3-45_mk1.htm

More pics on Wikipedia

H.P.

Hi H-P,

Thanks for the links and additional information, much appreciated.

I'll read up on the Australian option and the truck mounted gun says just how desperate things were back in 1940.

Cheers

Al

The Singapore gun certainly looks like a 12 pdr to me. I scratch built 2 to 1/72 scale for my HMS Gorgon about a lot of years ago and another 2 for HMS Scarab about 3 years later. If you can turn the barrels the rest of the mount is easy, I still have drawings somewhere if you want some.

Hi All,

OK, the truck-mounted gun is actually a British 4"50 cal. Mk 7 which probably came out of storage after being mounted on an early dreadnought: Here's a picture:



Key things here are the squarish carriage, and the recuperator mounted to the top of the barrel. The US 4"50 cal used on Clemson class DD's had the recuperator mounted below the gun.

US Clemson class DD's that were lend-leased to Britain didn't begin refitting in the UK until 1941, and in most cases, since these were navalized, they were then remounted on merchant ships since they were built to resist salt corrosion. Placing them on land, while possible, would have been frowned upon by the RN due to the need of modern weapons on merchant ship.

Jon