QF 3-pounder Vickers

Ordnance QF 3-pounder Vickers
On a Royal Navy monitor circa. 1918
TypeNaval gun, Anti-aircraft gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1905–1940
WarsWorld War I, World War II
Production history
DesignerVickers
Designed1902–03
ManufacturerVickers
Produced1905–?
No. built600
VariantsMk I Mk II
Specifications
Mass1,323 lb (600 kg) in total
Barrel length8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) bore (50 calibres)

Shell47×360mmR 3.3 lb (1.50 kg) shell.
Calibre47 mm (1.85 in)
Breechsemi-automatic vertical block
Carriagethree-leg platform
Elevation−5° to +12°
Traverse360°
Rate of fire20 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity2,575 ft/s (785 m/s) (HE)
Effective firing range2,000 yd (1,829 m)(AA)
Maximum firing range5,600 yd (5,100 m) at 12° elevation;
15,000 ft (4,600 m) (AA ceiling)
Sightstelescopic

The Ordnance QF 3-pounder Vickers (47 mm / L50) was a British artillery piece first tested in Britain in 1903. It was used on Royal Navy warships. It was more powerful than and unrelated to the older QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss, with a propellant charge approximately twice as large, but it initially fired the same Lyddite and steel shells as the Hotchkiss.[1]

  1. ^ Treatise on ammunition 10th Edition 1915. War Office, UK. Page 404