The COW 37 mm gun was a British

automatic cannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large- caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles ( bu ...

that was developed during

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a large-calibre aircraft weapon. It was tested in several installations and specified for the

Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter The Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter was an attempt to produce a fighter aircraft armed with a heavy calibre gun. The Coventry Ordnance Works (COW) 37 mm automatic gun was used, which had been developed for this purpose some years earlier. Design a ...

for attacking bombers. The tests did not yield satisfactory results and the weapon did not enter general service except on a few flying boats. The design was later adapted as the basis of the

Vickers S The Vickers 40 mm Class S gun, also known simply as the "S gun", was a 40 mm (1.57 in) airborne autocannon designed by Vickers-Armstrongs for use as aircraft armament. It was primarily used during World War II by British airc ...

, which saw some service during the

Second World War 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 ...

as an anti-armour weapon.

Design and development

Coventry Ordnance Works Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns particularly naval artillery jointly owned by Cammell Laird & Co of Sheffield and Birkenhead, Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Glasgow and John Brown & Compa ...

had been set up in 1905 by a consortium of British shipbuilding firms (

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

and Fairfield) to compete with the duopoly of

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

and

Armstrong-Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

in producing naval guns. Besides the larger naval gun, COW worked at the smaller end on anti-aircraft guns. There was a demand for a weapon that could be mounted on an aircraft. Their first attempt at an automatic gun was a "1-pounder" (the nominal weight of the shell) from a rimless 37x94 cartridge. This developed into a 1½-pounder using a longer 37x190 cartridge in a five-round clip. The gun was ready to produce only as the

came to an end and was only in service briefly, having been fitted to a pair of Airco DH4s. After the war it was used in a number of different aircraft, mostly flying boats such as the

Blackburn Perth The Blackburn Perth was a British flying boat which was in service during the interwar period. It was essentially an upgraded Iris, and hence the largest flying-boat to serve with the Royal Air Force at the time (and the largest biplane flying ...

, where it was seen as being effective against small vessels. The

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

also requested fighter designs based around the weapon, such as the

, the

Vickers Type 161 The Vickers Type 161 was an unusual 1930s pusher biplane interceptor, designed to attack aircraft from below with a single upward-angle large calibre gun. The aircraft flew well but the concept was abandoned and only one was built. Development ...

and the unsuccessful

Bristol Bagshot The Bristol Bagshot, also known as the Type 95, was a prototype heavily armed British fighter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and first flown in 1927. Flight testing revealed serious problems, and the project was abandoned. Developme ...

heavy fighter. After Vickers acquired the Coventry Ordnance Works, the COW 37 mm was used for the development of the 40 mm Vickers S gun which was used by

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

s as an anti-tank weapon. In the Second World War, COW guns were used as the armament for the Mk III version of the

Armadillo armoured fighting vehicle The Armadillo was an extemporized improvised armoured fighting vehicle produced in Britain during the invasion crisis of 1940–1941. Based on a number of standard lorry (truck) chassis, it comprised a wooden fighting compartment protected by a ...

, the COW gun with its shield mounted on the rear part of the flatbed. The vehicle was used by the

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...

and later by the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...

Use

;Specification 4/24 *

Westland Westbury The Westland Westbury was a British twin-engined fighter prototype of 1926. Designed by Westland Aircraft it never entered service but played a useful role in the testing of the COW 37 mm gun. Only the two prototypes were completed. Developmen ...

- One in trainable mount, one fixed mounting *

- Two in trainable mountings ;Specification F9/27 *

One in fixed mounting *

- One in fixed mounting ;Flying boats *

Armstrong Whitworth Sinaia The Siddeley-Deasy Sinaia, also known as the Armstrong Whitworth Sinaia was a twin-engined biplane day bomber with gunners in rearwards extensions of the engine nacelles. Two examples were ordered by the Air Ministry but only one was completed. ...

Short Cromarty The Short N.3 Cromarty was a prototype British twin-engined biplane flying boat, designed towards the end of the First World War. Only a single example was built, which first flew in 1921 and was wrecked in 1922. Development In April 1917, th ...

Vickers Valentia The Vickers Valentia was a 1920s British flying boat designed during the First World War. History Three Valentia prototypes were built by the Vickers Company at their Barrow works (Walney Island perhaps), having been ordered in May 1918 as a ...

- tested *

Blackburn Iris The Blackburn Iris was a British three-engined biplane flying boat of the 1920s. Although only five Irises were built, it was used as a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft by the Royal Air Force, where it equipped a squadron for four ye ...

Short Sarafand The Short S.14 Sarafand was a British biplane flying boat built by Short Brothers. It was planned as a general reconnaissance aircraft for military service. When it was built in 1932 it was the largest aeroplane in the United Kingdom. The Saraf ...

- fitted *

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

- planned but not fitted

Notes

References

* I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972
"Armament"
''Flight'' 28 June 1934 p640

External links

"Flying Battleships"
''Popular Science'', December 1934, page 36 & page 37 show COW 37mm cannon
"C.O.W. 37mm cannon fitted to Blackburn Perth flying boat"
''YouTube'', shown being fired while moored on water {{WWIIBritishCommGuns Aircraft guns Autocannon Coventry Ordnance Works 37 mm artillery

Design and development

Use

See also

Notes

References

External links