The Ordnance QF 3 pounder 2 cwt gun was a 47 mm British tank gun based on the
Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers
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 propella ...
naval gun, mounted on
Vickers-built tanks in the 1920s and 1930s. The gun was produced in 31
calibre (59 inch) and 40 calibre (74 inch) versions. The weapon only fired a solid shot, and was stated in the requirements of the A6 series of Vickers Medium tanks to have the ability to penetrate the armour of contemporary hostile tanks at a range of 1000 yards. The Vickers Medium Mark I was equipped with the Ordnance Quick Firing 2cwt Mark I version of the weapon, whilst from the Vickers Medium Mark II the Mark II version of the 3-pounder was utilized.
Even though other European countries still fielded similar weapons (e. g.,
Cannone da 47/32) at the start of the Second World War (and quite a few years into it), due to its comparatively low muzzle velocity the 3-pounder was considered obsolete by the war start by the British, with the
Ordnance QF 2-pounder replacing it as the standard tank gun of British tanks.
Usage
*
Vickers Medium Mark I
*
Vickers Medium Mark II
*
Medium Mark III
*A6E1
*
Vickers A1E1 Independent
*
Vickers 6-Ton
See also
*
List of tank main guns
References
* Anthony G Williams
38-47 MM CALIBRE CARTRIDGES*David Fletcher, British Battle Tanks: World War I to 1939''
', Oxford: Osprey Publishing
QF 3 pounder
World War II tank guns
World War II artillery of the United Kingdom
Tank guns of the United Kingdom
Military equipment introduced in the 1920s
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