The Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925 was a widely used family of French anti-aircraft guns used by the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Design & Construction

The Modèle 1925 was a single gun mount while the later Modèle 1933 was a twin mount. Both were hand-loaded, semi-automatic guns with a low rate of fire compared to their clip-fed contemporaries. A combination of low rate of fire, low projectile weight and small numbers of guns per ship led to a reputation of it being a poor anti-aircraft weapon. Ship classes that carried Modèle 1925 & Modèle 1933 include: *

Aigle-class destroyer The ''Aigle''-class destroyers (''contre-torpilleurs'') were built for the French navy during the 1920s. They were very similar to the previous ''Guepard'' class, the only difference being improved machinery with higher pressure boilers, offering ...

s *

Bougainville-class aviso The ''Bougainville'' class was a group of colonial avisos, or sloops, built for the French Navy during the 1930s. They were designed to operate in the remote locations of the French Empire. Design and description The ''Bougainville''-class av ...

s *

Bourrasque-class destroyer The ''Bourrasque'' classalso known as ''Simoun'' class from the first ship completed was a group of twelve French Navy destroyers (''torpilleur'') laid down in 1923 and in service from 1926 to 1950. Along with the heavier , they were part of a pl ...

s *

Chacal-class destroyer The ''Chacal''-class destroyer, sometimes known as the ''Jaguar'' class, were a group of six large destroyers (''contre-torpilleurs'') built for the French Navy during the 1920s. Their primary role was scouting for the battleline. All were named ...

s *

Dunkerque-class battleship The ''Dunkerque'' class was a pair of fast battleships built for the French Navy in the 1930s; the two ships were and . They were the first French battleships built since the of pre-World War I vintage, and they were heavily influenced by the ...

s * Duquesne-class cruisers *

Guépard-class destroyer The ''Guépard''-class destroyers (''contre-torpilleurs'') were six ships of the French Navy, laid down in 1927 and commissioned in 1930. They were similar to the previous ''Chacal'' class, with a larger hull and with a slightly improved speed and ...

s *

L'Adroit-class destroyer The ''L'Adroit''-class destroyer was a group of fourteen French Navy destroyers (''torpilleur'') laid down in 1925–26 and commissioned from 1928 to 1931. They were the successors to the , with the same armament, but being slightly heavier overa ...

s *

La Melpomène-class torpedo boat The ''La Melpomène'' class was a group of 12 French torpedo boats built from 1933 to 1935. Ships in class After serving with Marine Nationale, the ships of the ''La Melpomène'' class saw service in World War II with the '' Kriegsmarine'', ''Ma ...

s *

Le Fantasque-class destroyer The ''Le Fantasque'' class of six large, very fast destroyers was ordered under the French naval programme of 1930. They served in World War II for both Vichy France and the Free French Forces. Design and description The ''Le Fantasque''-class shi ...

s * Le Fier-class torpedo boats *

Mogador-class destroyer The ''Mogador''-class large destroyers (''contre-torpilleurs'') of the French Navy were laid down in 1935 and commissioned in 1939. They were extremely fast, very large destroyers intended to act as scouts for the two fast s. The design evolved f ...

s *

Richelieu-class battleship The ''Richelieu'' class were fast battleships built for the French Navy between the 1930s and 1950s. Initially two ships were ordered in 1935 in response to Italian orders for the s the previous year. The ''Richelieu''s were based on the preced ...

s * Suffren-class cruisers * Vauquelin-class destroyers

Comparison of anti-aircraft guns

Career

Ships of the

Free French Navy The Free French Naval Forces (french: Forces Navales Françaises Libres, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. History In the wake of the Armistic ...

refitted in the United States during World War II had these guns replaced by 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon guns. Ships of the Vichy French Navy continued to carry the Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925 until the remnants of that force were captured or

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

during 1942. Ships salvaged by the Germans and Italians also replaced this gun with their equivalents.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT: World War II naval weapons Naval guns of France 37 mm artillery