| Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60 | |
|---|---|
 British Bofors 40 mm L/60 on Mk VII naval mounting, Priddy's Hard, Gosport, United Kingdom | |
| Type | Autocannon |
| Place of origin | Sweden |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1934–present |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | See Wars |
| Production history | |
| Designer | AB Bofors |
| Designed | 1930 |
| Manufacturer | Bofors Defence (1932–2000) Zastava Arms (1970–present) Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur (1960-present) United Defense Industries (2000–2006) BAE Systems AB (2006–present) |
| Produced | 1932–present |
| No. built | >60,000 (L/60)[1] |
| Variants | See variants |
| Specifications (L/60) | |
| Barrel length | 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) |
| Crew | 4[2] (dependent on use) |
| Shell | 40 × 311 mm R |
| Shell weight | 0.9 kg (2 lb 0 oz) |
| Caliber | 40 mm |
| Barrels | 1 or 2[2] |
| Action | Automatic extraction and integrated cam-operated recoil powered autoloader |
| Breech | Vertical sliding-wedge |
| Carriage | 522 kg (1,151 lb) |
| Elevation | −5°/+90°, 55°/s |
| Traverse | Full 360°, 50°/s |
| Rate of fire | 140 round/min at low elevation angles 120 round/min at high elevation angles |
| Muzzle velocity | 850–880 m/s (2,800–2,900 ft/s)[a] |
| Maximum firing range | 7,160 m (23,490 ft) |
The Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60 (often referred to simply as the "Bofors 40 mm gun", the "Bofors gun" and the like,[3][4] see name) is an anti-aircraft autocannon, designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors. The gun was designed as an intermediate anti-aircraft gun, filling the gap between fast firing close-range small calibre anti-aircraft guns and slower firing long-range high calibre anti-aircraft guns. For its time, the Bofors 40 mm L/60 was perfectly suited for this role and outperformed competing designs in the years leading up to World War II in both effectiveness and reliability.[5][3]
It entered the export market around 1932[5] and was in service with 18 countries by 1939.[6] Throughout World War II it became one of the most popular and widespread medium-weight anti-aircraft guns. It was used by the majority of the western Allies and some Axis powers such as Nazi Germany and Hungary.
In the post-war era, the Bofors 40 mm L/60 design was not suitable for action against jet-powered aircraft, so Bofors developed a new 40 mm replacement design with significantly more power—the Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/70, also known under the generic name 'Bofors 40 mm gun'—which was adopted by many nations during the Cold War and was selected as NATO-standard in November 1953.[7] The Bofors 40 mm L/60 would however continue to see service long after becoming obsolete as an anti-aircraft weapon due to the massive number of surplus guns from WWII, and a small number of Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns remain in service today. Some weapons saw action as late as the Gulf War and Yugoslav Wars.
- ^ McCollum, Ian (24 August 2018). "Swedish Antiaircraft Artillery: Bofors 40mm Automatic Gun M1". Youtube. Forgotten Weapons. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Bofors 40mm (Series) Towed Anti-Aircraft Gun / Air Defense Gun - Sweden". www.militaryfactory.com. Military Factory. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.[better source needed]
- ^ a b "The Bofors gun that revolutionised air defences". saab.com. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
The big breakthrough came at firing tests in Belgium in 1935 against a British competitor. It was found that the Bofors gun could be moved more than twice as quickly as the competitor's gun and that it scored three times as many hits when firing on aerial targets. The Belgian officers were amazed. The demonstrations in Belgium took place in the presence of representatives from the French War Ministry. It soon resulted in an order from the French Army, which was quite remarkable. Traditionally, France bought no guns from abroad.
- ^ "Sweden Bofors 40 mm/60 (1.57") Model 1936". NavWeaps.Com. 14 January 2011. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ "40 Bofors anti-aircraft gun". basart.artillerie.asso.fr. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "40mm Luftvärnsautomatkanon m/48/ Bofors 40mm AA-gun model 1948". tfd.chalmers.se. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
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