The QF 4-inch gun Mark XXIII was introduced in late 1945 as a deck gun for

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s. It was the last type of gun to be fitted to British submarines, finally being retired in 1974.

Development and service

Development of the Mark XXIII began in 1942, as a lighter replacement for the QF 4-inch gun Mark XXII, which was based on a gun introduced in 1911. It was too late to see service in

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 ...

, but was fitted to ''Amphion''-class submarines that completed after October 1945. It was also fitted to some T-class submarines. Between 1955 and the early 1960s, the ''Amphion''-class boats were modernised with new streamlined

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

s and casings. This work included the removal of the deck gun, although the underlying supports for the gun mountings were retained in case they were required. This facility was put to use during the British involvement in the

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from 1962 to 1966, when the flotilla of ''Amphion''-class submarines which were deployed in the conflict were again fitted with Mark XXIII guns. These were used to counter blockade-running Indonesian

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and other small vessels. HMS ''Andrew'' retained her gun into the 1970s; the last firing was on 2 December 1974.

Surviving examples

HMS ''Andrew's'' Mark XXIII gun is preserved at the

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References

External links

* Technical drawing o
the 4-in. QF MARK XXIII Gun on 4-in. S2 (Submarine) Mounting
(John Lambert Plans and Drawings)
HMS Andrew gun removal
1975 photograph on Flickr. {{DEFAULTSORT:QF 04-inch Mk 23 Naval guns of the United Kingdom 100 mm artillery World War II naval weapons of the United Kingdom