QF 1-pounder pom-pom

QF 1 pdr Mark I & II ("pom-pom")
Mk II gun dated 1903, on anti-aircraft mounting, at the Imperial War Museum, London.[1]
TypeAutocannon
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1890s–1918
Used bySouth African Republic
British Empire
Khedivate of Egypt[2]
German Empire
Paraguay
Belgium
United States
Finland
Bolivia[3]
WarsMahdist War[4]
Spanish–American War
Second Boer War
1904 Paraguayan Revolution[5]
Herero Wars[6]
World War I
Finnish Civil War
Chaco War
Winter War
Production history
DesignerHiram Maxim
DesignedLate 1880s
ManufacturerMaxim-Nordenfelt
Vickers, Sons & Maxim
DWM
VariantsMk I, Mk II
Specifications
Mass410 pounds (186.0 kg) (gun & breech)
Length6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) (total)
Barrel length3 ft 7 in (1.09 m) (bore) L/29

Shell37 x 94R Common Shell
Shell weight1 lb (0.45 kg)
Calibre37-millimetre (1.457 in)
Barrels1
Actionautomatic, recoil
Rate of fire~300 rpm (cyclic)
Muzzle velocity1,800 ft/s (550 m/s)[7]
Maximum firing range4,500 yards (4,110 m) (Mk I+ on field carriage)[8]
Filling weight270 grains (17 g) black powder

The QF 1 pounder, universally known as the pom-pom due to the sound of its discharge,[9][10][11] was a 37 mm British autocannon, the first of its type in the world. It was used by several countries initially as an infantry gun and later as a light anti-aircraft gun.

  1. ^ Imperial War Museum (2012). "1 pdr Vickers Gun Mk II". Imperial War Museum Collections Search. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  2. ^ Knight, Ian, British Infantryman vs Mahdist Warrior: Sudan 1884–98: Osprey Publishing (2021)
  3. ^ Huon, Jean (September 2013). "The Chaco War". Small Arms Review. Vol. 17, no. 3. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  4. ^ Encyclopedia of African colonial conflicts. Timothy J. Stapleton. Santa Barbara, Calif. 2017. ISBN 978-1-59884-837-3. OCLC 950611553.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ "La Revolucion Paraguaya de 1904".
  6. ^ "THE REVOLVERKANONE AND THE MASCHINENKANONE IN THE HERERO WAR".
  7. ^ "Handbook of the 1-PR. Q.F. Gun", 1902. Page 19, Range Table for British Mk I gun. Muzzle Velocity of 1,800 ft/second, firing 1-pound projectile with 1 oz 90 grains Cordite.
  8. ^ Hogg & Thurston 1972, pp. 22–23
  9. ^ The Waverley pictorial dictionary (Volume SIX). London: Waverley Book Co. p. 3335.
  10. ^ "Weapons". Australian Boer War Memorial Committee. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  11. ^ "...my paper strength will be 2,400 mounted men, 6 guns, and 8 pom-poms". Brigadier Henry Rawlinson, 2 January 1902, in South Africa. From "The Life of General Lord Rawlinson of Trent", by Sir Frederick Maurice. London: Cassell, 1928