The Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6 pounder gun Mk I and Mk II or QF 6 pounder 8 cwt were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1885 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
s and later
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s. There were many variants produced, often under license which ranged in length from 40 to 58 calibers, but 40 caliber was the most common version.
6-pounders were widely used by the navies of a number of nations and often used by both sides in a conflict. Due to advances in torpedo delivery and performance, 6-pounder guns were rapidly made obsolete and were replaced with larger guns aboard most larger warships. This led to their being used ashore during
World War I
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
coastal defense guns, the first
tank gun
A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are high-velocity, large-caliber artilleries capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high-explosive anti-tank, and cannon-launched guided projectiles. Anti-aircraft guns can also ...
s and as
anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
s, whether on improvised or specialized
HA/LA mounts. 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 ...
6-pounder guns were put back in service to arm small warships and as coastal defense guns. The last ships to carry 6-pounders were the
Aegir-class offshore patrol vessels of the
Icelandic Coast Guard
The Icelandic Coast Guard (, or simply ) is the Icelandic defence service responsible for search and rescue, maritime safety and security surveillance, and law enforcement in the seas surrounding Iceland. The Coast Guard maintains the Iceland ...
which replaced them in 1990 with
Bofors 40 mm Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors:
*Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s
...
autocannon
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 (bull ...
s.
Operational history
Argentine service
Argentina adopted the 40 caliber Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1890s, to arm its four
Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
s, purchased from Italy. The Argentinians were at that time engaged in a
naval arms race A naval arms race is a situation in which two or more countries continuously construct warships that are consistently more powerful than warships built by the other country built in the previous years. These races often lead to high tension and near ...
with Chile. The last ships from this class were retired from service on 2 August 1954.
Argentinian ships armed with 6-pounder guns include:
*
ARA ''General Belgrano''
*
ARA Garibaldi
ARA ''Garibaldi'' was one of four armored cruisers purchased by the Argentine Navy from Italy.
Design and description
''Garibaldi'' had an overall length of , a beam of , and a mean draft (ship) of . She displaced at normal load. The ship wa ...
*
ARA Pueyrredón
ARA ''Pueyrredón'' was one of four armored cruisers purchased by the Argentine Navy from Italy in the 1890s.
Design and description
''Pueyrredón'' had an overall length of , a beam of , and a mean draft (ship) of . She displaced at normal l ...
*
ARA San Martin
ARA may refer to:
Media and the arts
* American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences
* '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia
* Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Ac ...
Brazilian service
Brazil adopted the 40 caliber Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1890s, to arm its
coastal defense ship
Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of Littoral (military), coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized ...
s,
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
s and torpedo-gunboats. The Brazilians also used the competing Nordenfelt 6 pounders in lesser numbers. The last Brazilian ship retired was the coastal defense ship ''Marshal Floriano'' in 1936. The former Brazilian coastal defense ship ''Marshal Deodoro'' was sold to Mexico in 1924 and renamed ''Anáhuac'', which was retired in 1938.
*
Marshal Deodoro-class coastal defense ship
The ''Deodoro'' class were two French-designed and built coastal defense battleships built for the Brazilian Navy in the late 1890s. Upon their completion, ''Scientific American'' called them small vessels of a type "built only for second-rate na ...
s
* Brazilian cruiser Republica
*
Brazilian cruiser Almirante Barroso
* Brazilian torpedo gunboat Tiradentes
Chilean service
Chile adopted the 40 caliber Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1890s, to arm a
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
, an armored cruiser, and several protected cruisers. The last of these ships was retired in 1933.
*
Chilean battleship Capitán Prat
''Capitán Prat'' was a unique ironclad battleship of the Chilean Navy built in the late 1880s and completed in 1890. Armed with a main battery of four guns in four single turrets, ''Capitán Prat'' was the first battleship in the world to be ...
*
Chilean cruiser Esmeralda
* Chilean cruiser Presidente Errázuriz
*
Chilean cruiser Ministro Zenteno
*
Chilean cruiser O'Higgins
*
Chilean cruiser Presidente Pinto
Chinese service
China adopted the Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1880s, to arm its protected cruisers. During the
First Sino-Japanese war
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
, ships on both sides were armed with Hotchkiss 6-pounder guns. Surviving 6-pounder guns were in Chinese service aboard
gunboats
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...
and
auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, u ...
during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
and
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 ...
.
*
Zhiyuen-class cruisers
*
Chinese cruiser ''Jingyuen''
French service
Despite originating in France the 6-pounder was not widely used by the French. Like the British, who paired their
QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss
The QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss or in French use Canon Hotchkiss à tir rapide de 47 mm were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1886 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. T ...
guns with the larger 6-pounder, the French often paired their 3-pounders with the more powerful
Canon de 65 mm Modèle 1891
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western can ...
. This gun is sometimes referred to as a 9-pounder in English publications. During World War II a few
Flower-class Corvettes (''Aconit, Commandant Drogou, Commandant Détroyat, Commandant d`Estienne d`Orves, Mimosa, Renoncule, Roselys'') 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 Armistice a ...
were armed with two 6-pounder guns.
Irish service
A 6-pounder gun was fitted to the single
Vickers Mk. D tank used by the
Irish Army
The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...
between 1929 and 1940. When the tank was scrapped in 1940 the gun was removed and used as an
anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
weapon.
Italian service
Italy adopted the 40 caliber Hotchkiss 6-pounder in 1886 to arm its armored cruisers, battleships, protected cruisers,
torpedo boats
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
and
torpedo cruiser
A torpedo cruiser is a type of warship that is armed primarily with torpedoes. The major navies began building torpedo cruisers shortly after the invention of the locomotive Whitehead torpedo in the 1860s. The development of the torpedo gave rise ...
s. The Italians also adopted the competing 43 caliber
Nordenfelt 6 pounder gun and by 1909 the Nordenfelt had replaced the Hotchkiss in service.
This was the opposite of the British who replaced their Nordenfelt guns with Hotchkiss guns.
*
Etna-class cruiser
The ''Etna'' class was a series of protected cruisers that were built in the late 1880s for the Regia Marina (the Royal Italian Navy). The four ships built were slightly enlarged copies of the Elswick Works' design for the protected cruiser . ' ...
s
*
Goito-class cruiser
The ''Goito'' class was a group of four torpedo cruisers built for the Italian ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) in the 1880s. The members of the class were , , , and . They were among the first torpedo cruisers built for the Italian fleet, and wer ...
s
*
Regioni-class cruisers
*
Vettor Pisani-class cruisers
*
Italian battleship Emanuele Filiberto
The ''Emanuele Filiberto'' was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Italian Navy ( it, Regia Marina) during the 1890s. Her keel was laid down in October 1893 and she was launched in September 1897; work was completed in April 1902. She h ...
*
Italian cruiser Marco Polo
*
Italian cruiser Piemonte
''Piemonte'' was a unique protected cruiser built for the Italian ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) in the 1880s by the British shipyard Armstrong Whitworth. She was the first major warship armed entirely with quick-firing (QF) guns and she was al ...
*
Italian cruiser Calabria
''Calabria'' was a small protected cruiser built for the Italian ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) in the 1890s, intended for service in Italy's overseas empire. She was laid down in 1892, launched in 1894, and completed in 1897, and was armed wit ...
*
Italian cruiser Dogali
''Dogali'' was a unique protected cruiser built for the Italian ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) in the 1880s. Notably, she was the first warship equipped with triple-expansion engines. The ship was originally ordered by the Greek Navy and named '' ...
*
Italian cruiser Giovanni Bausan
was a protected cruiser of the Italian (Royal Navy) that was designed and built by Sir W G Armstrong Mitchell & Co.'s Elswick Works in England in the mid-1880s. The finished ship entered service in May 1885. She was the first ship of this ...
*
Italian cruiser Marco Polo
Japanese service
Japan adopted the 40 caliber Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1880s to arm its
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s, protected cruisers and
unprotected cruiser
An unprotected cruiser was a type of naval warship in use during the early 1870s Victorian or pre-dreadnought era (about 1880 to 1905). The name was meant to distinguish these ships from “protected cruisers”, which had become accepted in ...
s. The Japanese versions of the 6-pounder were known as ''Yamanouchi'' guns and were largely identical to their British equivalents.
Ships on both sides of the First Sino-Japanese war and
Russo-Japanese war
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
were armed with Hotchkiss 6-pounder guns. The 6-pounder was the standard secondary and tertiary armament on most Japanese destroyers built between 1890 and 1920, and was still in service as late as the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
.
*
Akatsuki-class destroyers
*
Harusame-class destroyer
The was a class of seven torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ''Harusame'' class of destroyers were the first destroyers to be built in Japan.
Background
The ''Harusame''-class destroyers were part of the 1894 Imp ...
s
*
Ikazuchi-class destroyer
The was a class of six torpedo boat destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which were built in Britain in 1897-99. All were named after celestial phenomena.
Background
In the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese navy came to understand th ...
s
*
Matsushima-class cruisers
*
Murakumo-class destroyer
The ("Gathering Clouds") were a class of six torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) of the Imperial Japanese Navy, built in Britain in 1897–99. The class is also sometimes referred to as the ("Daybreak"). All were named after celestial phenomena.
B ...
s
*
Naniwa-class cruisers
*
Shirakumo-class destroyer
The was a class of two torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) of the Imperial Japanese Navy, built in Britain in 1901–02.
Background
The ''Shirakumo''-class destroyers were ordered under the 1900 fiscal budget as a follow-on to the earlier . Both we ...
s
*
Suma-class cruiser
The two were protected cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. While more lightly armed and armored than many of its contemporaries, their small size and relatively simple design facilitated their construction and their relatively high ...
s
*
Japanese cruiser Izumi
The Chilean cruiser ''Esmeralda'' was the first protected cruiser, a ship type named for the arched armored deck that protected its most vital areas, including its propulsion plant and magazines.
Constructed by the British shipbuilder Armstro ...
*
Japanese cruiser Unebi
was a protected cruiser built in France for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) by Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde during the 1880s as the Japanese were not yet able to build warships of her size in Japan. Completed in 1886, the ship disappeare ...
*
Japanese cruiser Takao
Russian service
The Russians began purchasing 40 caliber 6-pounders from France starting in 1904 to replace its 3-pounder and 1-pounder guns in the anti-torpedo boat role. In addition to 40 caliber guns, 50 and 58 caliber guns were also produced under license at the
Obukhov State Plant
Obukhov State Plant (also known Obukhovski Plant, russian: Государственный Обуховский Завод, Gosudarstvennyy Obukhovskiy Zavod) is a major Russian metallurgy and heavy machine-building plant in St. Petersburg, Russi ...
.
These were installed on torpedo cruisers and
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s built from 1905 to 1917. Beginning in 1909–1910 most larger surface ships began replacing their 6-pounders with
75mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892
The 75 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892 was a Russian naval gun developed in the years before the Russo-Japanese War that armed the majority of warships of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. The majority of sh ...
and
102mm 60 caliber Pattern 1911 guns when combat experience in the Russo-Japanese war showed the 6-pounders were almost as ineffective as the 3-pounder and 1-pounder guns they had replaced. In 1911–12 a number were turned over to the Army for use as
coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...
, and later in 1914 some were converted into anti-aircraft guns. In addition to the Hotchkiss guns there were also Nordenfeld Guns which were used as
ranging guns for coastal defenses. Finland, a successor state to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, inherited a number of 6-pounders and used them throughout the
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
and World War II in the coastal artillery role.
*
Bars-class submarines
*
Morzh-class submarine
The ''Morzh''-class submarines were built for the Black Sea Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy shortly before World War I.
Background
The class was originally conceived as part of an ambitious programme of naval construction devised by the Naval ...
s
*
Narval-class submarines
*
Finn-class torpedo cruisers
*
Okhotnik-class torpedo cruisers
*
Ukrayna-class torpedo cruisers
*
Vsadnik-class torpedo cruisers
Spanish service
Spain adopted both the 40-caliber Hotchkiss 6-pounder and the 42-caliber Nordenfelt 6-pounder in the 1880s to arm its armored cruisers, battleships, protected cruisers and unarmored cruisers. Seven ships (1 battleship, 3 unarmored cruisers and 3 protected cruisers) carried the Hotchkiss guns and eleven (8 unarmored cruisers and 3 protected cruisers) carried the Nordenfelt guns. Ships on both sides of the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
were armed with various 6-pounder guns (Driggs-Schroeder, Hotchkiss and Nordenfelt). The Spanish cruiser ''Isla de Cuba'', which was captured by the United States during the Spanish–American War and served as the
USS ''Isla de Cuba'' until sold to Venezuela in 1912 and renamed ''Mariscal Sucre'', was the last ship decommissioned and scrapped in 1940.
*
Torpedo gunboat ''Destructor''
*
Alfonso XII-class cruiser
The ''Alfonso XII'' class of unprotected cruisers was a series of three ships built during the 1880s for service with the Spanish Navy. They were named for a Spanish king and two Spanish queens.
Description
The ''Alfonso XII'' class had three ...
s
* Isla de Luzón-class cruisers
*
Spanish battleship Pelayo
''Pelayo'' was a battleship of the Spanish Navy which served in the Spanish fleet from 1888 to 1925. She was the first battleship and the most powerful unit of the Spanish Navy at the time. Despite its modern design for the time, ''Pelayo'' and th ...
United Kingdom service
The UK adopted a 40 calibre (i.e. 90 inch barrel) version as ''Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6 pounder gun''Mk I and Mk II or ''QF 6 pounder 8 cwt''. It was manufactured under licence by the
Elswick Ordnance Company
The Elswick Ordnance Company (sometimes referred to as Elswick Ordnance Works, but usually as "EOC") was a British armaments manufacturing company of the late 19th and early 20th century
History
Originally created in 1859 to separate William A ...
. They were originally mounted from 1885 onwards for use against the new (steam-driven)
torpedo boats
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
which started to enter service in the late 1870s.
The UK also adopted the competing 42 calibre ''Ordnance QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt'' at the same time as the QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss, but the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
was not satisfied with the special Nordenfelt ammunition and fuzes. Following the explosion in 1900 of an ammunition ship due to defective fuses, Britain replaced Nordenfelt fuzes with the Hotchkiss designs and Nordenfelt guns were phased out in favor of the Hotchkiss guns and were declared obsolete by 1919.
The original 1885 Hotchkiss Mk I was a
built-up gun A built-up gun is artillery with a specially reinforced barrel. An inner tube of metal stretches within its elastic limit under the pressure of confined powder gases to transmit stress to outer cylinders that are under tension.Fairfield (1921) p.1 ...
with a barrel, jacket and a locking hoop screwed to the front of the jacket. The Mk I lacked a recoil system, but the Mk II of 1890 introduced a hydraulic recoil mechanism with a pair of hydro-spring cylinders.
During
World War I
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 ...
the navy required many more guns and an
autofretted, mono-block barrel version was developed to simplify manufacture and identified as "6 pdr Single Tube". Initially these guns were only allowed to be fired with a special lower charge, but in 1917 they were relined with A tubes as Mk I+++ which enabled them to use the standard 6-pounder ammunition.
[Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 36-39]
After World War I the gun was considered obsolete for combat use, but continued in use as a
saluting gun
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...
and as
sub-calibre training guns. Of the 3,984 produced it was estimated that 1,640 still existed in 1939.
With the onset of World War II the remaining guns were rushed back into service for anti-submarine defence,
E-boat
E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...
defence and for
coastal defence
Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...
. New non-recoil Mk VI, Mk VI* and Mk VI** mountings were built with elevations between -10° to +70°. These mountings were used on early models of the
Fairmile D Motor Gunboats,
Motor Launch
A Motor Launch (ML) is a small military vessel in Royal Navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high-speed air-sea rescue. Some vessels for water police service are also known as motor launches.
...
es and
Flower-class corvette
The Flower-class corvetteGardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 62. (also referred to as the ''Gladiolus'' class after the lead ship) was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine ...
s. Some of which were not re-armed with the modern
6-pdr Mk IIA with auto-loader until late 1944.
Royal Navy ships armed with QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns include:
*
A-class destroyers
*
Admiral-class ironclad
The British Royal Navy's ironclad Admiral-class battleships of the 1880s followed the pattern of the in having the main armament on centreline mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. This pattern was followed by most following British de ...
s
*
Adventure-class cruiser
The ''Adventure''-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent about half of the first decade of their careers in reserve and were based in home waters wh ...
s
*
Apollo-class cruiser
The ''Apollo'' class were second-class protected cruisers designed by Sir William White and built for the Royal Navy in the late 19th century. Twenty-one ships of this class were built, making it the largest single class of steel cruisers eve ...
s
*
B-class destroyer
B class may refer to:
Ships
* Burak-class corvette, B-class corvette of the Turkish Navy
* A- and B-class destroyer, B-class destroyer, launched in 1930 for the British Royal Navy
* B-class destroyer (1913), British torpedo boat destroyers
* B- ...
s
*
Banff-class sloop
The ''Banff''-class sloop was a group of ten warships of the Royal Navy. Built as United States Coast Guard Lake-class cutters, in 1941 these ships were loaned to the Royal Navy as antisubmarine warfare escort ships. The transfers took place at ...
s
*
British H-class submarine
The British H-class submarines were Holland 602 type submarines used by the Royal Navy. The submarines constructed for the British Royal Navy between 1915 and 1919 were designed and built in response to German boats which mined British wate ...
s
*
C and D-class destroyer
The C and D class was a group of 14 destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. As in previous years, it was originally intended to order a complete flotilla comprising eight destroyers—plus a flotilla leader as the ninth unit ...
s
*
C-class cruiser
The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in a sequence of seven groups known as the ''Caroline'' class (six ships), the ''Calliope'' class (two ships), the ''Cambrian'' class (four ships), the ' ...
s
*
C-class destroyers
*
Castle-class trawlers
*
CD-class naval drifter
The CD-class naval drifters were armed naval drifters constructed in 1917 for the Royal Navy in Canada. 100 were ordered for use in British waters during World War I numbered from ''CD 1'' to ''CD 100'', of which 42 were transferred to the Royal Ca ...
s
*
Centurion-class battleship
The ''Centurion''-class battleships were a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. They were rated as second-class battleships because they were less heavily armed and armoured than the first-class battleshi ...
s
*
Conqueror-class monitor
The ''Conqueror'' class battleships were ironclad warships which served in the Victorian Royal Navy, and whose main weapon was designed to be the ram.
Description
The class consisted of two ships, and . At the time of their inception and desig ...
s
*
D-class destroyers
*
Daring-class destroyers
*
Devastation-class ironclad
The two United Kingdom, British ''Devastation''-class battleships of the 1870s, and , were the first class of ocean-going capital ship that did not carry sails, and the first which mounted the entire main armament on top of the hull rather than ...
s
*
Dryad-class torpedo gunboats
*
E and F-class destroyer
The E and F-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. The ships were initially assigned to the Home Fleet, although they reinforced the Mediterranean Fleet during the Italian invasion of Abyssin ...
s
*
Fly-class gunboat
The Fly-class river gunboats (or small China gunboats), collectively often referred to as the "Tigris gunboat flotilla", were a class of small well-armed Royal Navy vessels designed to patrol the Tigris river during the Mesopotamian Campaign dur ...
s
*
G and H-class destroyer
The G- and H-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Six additional ships being built for the Brazilian Navy when World War II began in 1939 were purchased by the British and named the ''Havan ...
s
*
Indefatigable-class battlecruisers
*
Lion-class battlecruisers
*
M15-class monitor
The ''M15'' class comprised fourteen monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915.
Design
The ships of this class were ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction. They were designed ...
s
*
M29-class monitor
The ''M29'' class comprised five monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915.
The ships of this class were ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction. The contract for construction w ...
s
*
Marathon-class cruiser
The ''Marathon''-class cruiser was a class of second class cruiser of the Royal Navy ordered under the naval programme of 1887. The class was a smaller version of the .
Three of the ships, ''Melpomene'', ''Magicienne'' and ''Marathon'', were ...
s
*
Orlando-class cruisers
*
River-class destroyers
*
Royal Sovereign-class battleship
The ''Royal Sovereign'' class was a group of eight pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. The ships spent their careers in the Mediterranean, Home and Channel Fleets, sometimes as flagships, although several wer ...
s
*
Stour-class destroyer
Two ''Stour'' class destroyers served with the Royal Navy. They were built by Cammell Laird in 1905 and purchased by the Admiralty in 1909 to replace losses. and displaced 570 tons, were 220 feet long and their Normand boilers generated 7,0 ...
s
*
Trafalgar-class ironclad
The two ''Trafalgar''-class battleships of the British Royal Navy were late-nineteenth-century ironclad warships. Both were named after naval battles won by the British during the Napoleonic Wars under the command of Admiral Nelson
Vice-Ad ...
s
*
Surprise-class cruisers
*
Victoria-class battleship
The Royal Navy's ''Victoria'' class (or ''Sans Pareil'' class) of the 1880s was the first class of ironclad warship (sometimes described as a battleship) which used triple expansion steam engines, previous classes having used compound engines.
...
s
*
Warrior-class cruiser
The ''Warrior'' class consisted of four armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. After commissioning, all four sister ships were assigned to the Channel and Home Fleets until 1913 when was transfe ...
s
Tank service
The 6-pounder was used to equip Male versions of the early British
Mk I - Mk III tanks. In 1916 the British Army was faced with the difficulty of quickly providing a new class of weapon. The existing Hotchkiss 6-pounder naval gun appeared to most closely meet the need (a compact enough weapon to fit into a tank
sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercraft
On watercraft, a spon ...
with a sufficient high explosive shell). A single gun was mounted in each sponson, i.e. two per Male tank able to fire forwards or to the side. Tanks armed only with
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s were designated as 'Female'.
The gun turned out to be too long for practical use as the end of the barrel could come into contact with the ground or other obstacles as the tank traveled over uneven ground. The British chose to shorten the gun rather than change its location and replaced it in 1917 in the
Mark IV tank
The Mark IV (pronounced ''Mark four'') was a British tank of the First World War. Introduced in 1917, it benefited from significant developments of the Mark I tank (the intervening designs being small batches used for training). The main improv ...
onwards by the shorter
QF 6 pounder 6 cwt Hotchkiss
The Ordnance QF 6-pounder 6 cwt Hotchkiss Mk I and Mk II was a shortened version of the original QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss naval gun, and was developed specifically for use in the sponsons of the later Marks of British tanks in World War I, from Ma ...
.
Anti-aircraft service
Britain lacked any dedicated
air-defence artillery early in
World War I
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 ...
and up to 72 6-pounders were adapted to high-angle pedestal mountings at key establishments in Britain for close air defence by 1916. They are not listed as still being in service in this role at the end of the war,
[Routledge 1994, Page 27] presumably because German bombing attacks were conducted from relatively high altitudes which would have been beyond the gun's range.
United States service
![Préparatifs de combat a bord du « Détroit » (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Pr%C3%A9paratifs_de_combat_a_bord_du_%C2%AB_D%C3%A9troit_%C2%BB_%281%29.jpg)
The history of the Hotchkiss 6-pounder (called the Rapid Fire gun rather than Quick Firer in the US) in
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
service is a complex story. It was used in conjunction with another maker's design, its primary rival being the Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounder. Oddly, one shipbuilding and naval supply company,
Cramp & Sons, had a license to build both the Hotchkiss and
Driggs-Schroeder
Driggs-Schroeder was the name of several naval guns designed by US Navy officers William H. Driggs and Seaton Schroeder for the United States Navy in the late 1880s, fitted on ships built in the 1890s. Some Driggs-Schroeder weapons were also ado ...
and sold both to the Navy in parallel. It appears that Hotchkiss type guns had an edge in production in the first half of the 1890s, but by 1895 Driggs-Schroeders were being produced in quantity to equip a considerable number of newly commissioned ships. The initial purchases by the Navy were in small lots each year and there was no mass-production of these guns like one would see in smaller weapons. The Navy made certain that the ammunition for both the Hotchkiss and Driggs-Schroeder guns were identical.
There is no question that the Driggs-Schroeders were predominant in the new protected and armored cruisers that were being commissioned by 1895. However,
USS ''Texas'', a second class battleship commissioned in 1895, carried a mixed 6-pounder complement of ten Driggs-Schroeders and two Hotchkiss guns.
USS ''Maine'', an armored cruiser, exclusively carried Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounders although it had a mixed one pounder battery of both Driggs-Schroeder and Hotchkiss. Ships known to have carried exclusively Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounders are
USS ''Olympia'',
''Brooklyn'',
''New York'', and
''Columbia''. Although from photographs of particular guns on the vessels in question, it appears that the battleships , , and carried exclusively Hotchkiss 6-pounders with carrying Driggs-Schroeders. Unlike her 8-inch guns, the preserved retains her Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounders. She is at the
Independence Seaport Museum
The Independence Seaport Museum (formerly the Philadelphia Maritime Museum) was founded in 1961 and is located in the Penn's Landing complex along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collections at the Independence Seaport Muse ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
Beginning in 1910 6-pounder guns were replaced by
3"/50 caliber gun
The 3"/50 caliber gun (spoken "three-inch fifty-caliber") in United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). Different guns (identifi ...
s aboard US Navy ships. However smaller ships such as
US Coast Guard cutters,
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
s and
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
s continued to use 6-pounders in the years between World War I and World War II.
*
Amphitrite-class monitor
The ''Amphitrite''-class monitors were a class of four U.S. Navy monitors ordered in the aftermath of the ''Virginius'' affair with Spain in 1873.Swann, pp. 141–142. The four ships of the class included , , , and . A fifth ship originally of ...
s
*
Arkansas-class monitors
*
Bainbridge-class destroyer
The ''Bainbridge''-class destroyers were a class of United States Navy Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBDs) built between 1899 and 1903. The first class so designated, they comprised the first 13 of 16 TBDs authorized by Congress in 1898 following the ...
s
*
Cincinnati-class cruiser
The ''Cincinnati''-class cruisers were two small protected cruisers built for the United States Navy in the early 1890s.Burr, p. 16 They were smaller and more lightly armed and protected than most previous US cruisers, and were intended for comme ...
s
*
Columbia-class cruiser
The ''Columbia''-class cruisers were two protected cruisers constructed in 1890 and 1891 and used by the United States Navy.Bauer and Roberts, p. 145 They were lightly gunned ships with only moderate armor that were built for the speed needed to ...
s
*
Denver-class cruisers
*
Dubuque-class gunboat
The ''Dubuque'' class gunboats were a class of gunboats built by the United States prior to World War I. The class was designed in 1903. The United States Navy commissioned 2 ''Dubuque''-class gunboats in 1903. ''Dubuque''s had a design speed of 1 ...
s
*
Florida-class battleship
The ''Florida''-class battleships of the United States Navy comprised two ships: and . Launched in 1910 and 1909 respectively and commissioned in 1911, they were slightly larger than the preceding design but were otherwise very similar. This ...
s
*
Hawk-class minesweeper
The ''Hawk'' class were a minesweeper class of the United States Navy during World War II.
All three vessels were originally fishing trawlers acquired by requisition purchase from the General Sea Foods Corp. of Boston. They patrolled off the N ...
s
*
Illinois-class battleship
The ''Illinois'' class was a group of three pre-dreadnought battleships of the United States Navy commissioned at the beginning of the 20th century. The three ships, , , and , were built between 1896 and 1901. They were transitional ships; they ...
s
*
Indiana-class battleships
*
Kearsarge-class battleship
The ''Kearsarge''-class was a group of two pre-dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy in the 1890s. The two ships— and —represented a compromise between two preceding battleship designs, the low-freeboard (nautical), freeb ...
s
*
Montgomery-class cruiser
The ''Montgomery''-class cruisers were three unprotected cruisers built for the United States Navy in the early 1890s.Burr, p. 16 They had a thin water-tight protective deck, and also relied for protection upon their coal bunkers, cellulose packi ...
s
*
New Orleans-class cruiser
The ''New Orleans''-class cruisers were a class of seven heavy cruisers built for the United States Navy (USN) in the 1930s.
These ships participated in the heaviest surface battles of the Pacific War. ''Astoria'', ''Quincy'', and ''Vincenne ...
s
*
Tampa-class cutters
*
Treasury-class cutter
The Treasury-class cutter was a group of seven high endurance cutters launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. The class were called the "Treasury class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasu ...
s
*
Truxtun-class destroyer
Three ''Truxtun''-class destroyers were built for the United States Navy. Part of the original 16 destroyers authorized by Congress on 4 May 1898 for the fiscal year 1899 program, they were commissioned in 1902.Friedman, p. 10-19, 454 They were ...
s
*
Yorktown-class gunboat
The ''Yorktown'' class was a class of three steel- hulled, twin-screw gunboats built for the United States Navy beginning in 1887. All three ships of the class were named after cities near American Revolutionary War battles.
The ships were jus ...
s
*
*
*
USS ''Atlanta''
*
*
USS ''Boston''
*
*
USS ''Chicago''
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
USS ''Paragua''
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
US Army service
The US Army also used the Hotchkiss 6-pounder, referred to as a "2.24-inch gun" in some period references. As the primary defender of
coastal fortifications
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
and harbors, the US Army had a need for lighter guns to supplement their shore batteries, particularly since land defense against infantry was a consideration in the 1890s. The Army was in an experimental phase like the Navy, testing new weapons in an era when military budgets were expanding after decades of Congressional stinginess.
It appears that the US Army and US Navy, while both using the "Mark" system, assigned their designations to different ordnance. References indicate that
Driggs-Schroeder
Driggs-Schroeder was the name of several naval guns designed by US Navy officers William H. Driggs and Seaton Schroeder for the United States Navy in the late 1880s, fitted on ships built in the 1890s. Some Driggs-Schroeder weapons were also ado ...
guns, manufactured by the American Ordnance Company and designated Mark II and Mark III, were adopted along with
Driggs-Seabury
Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company was founded in 1897 by William H. Driggs and Samuel Seabury, both US Navy officers, in partnership with William's brother Louis Labadie "L. L." Driggs, originally to produce guns for the US Army and US Navy design ...
weapons designated M1898 and M1900. In 1898–1901 a total of 97 weapons were acquired: 20 M1898, 40 M1900, 10 Mark II, and 27 Mark III guns. However, 17 M1898 and all ten Mark II guns were transferred for use on Army
troop transport
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
s in the Spanish–American War of 1898, leaving 70 weapons for land use. The mountings for the Army six pounders were called M1898 and M1898 (modified) "rampart mounts" or "parapet mounts", wheeled carriages with fittings that allowed them to be secured to
pintle mount
A weapon mount is an assembly or mechanism used to hold a weapon (typically a gun) onto a platform in order for it to function at maximum capacity. Weapon mounts can be broken down into two categories: static mounts and non-static mounts.
Static ...
s. Another reference has somewhat different figures.
[Williford, pp. 44-45] There were generally two of these guns issued per major fort, and eventually many of them became
saluting gun
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...
s at the post's flagpole.
A dozen were deployed at
Fort Ruger
Fort Ruger is a fort on the island of Oahu that served as the first military reservation in the Territory of Hawaii. Named after Civil War General Thomas H. Ruger and built in and around Diamond Head Crater, the fort was established by the Unite ...
in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
as part of the Land Defense Project of 1915–1919, while others were deployed in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
under this project.
Ammunition
The 6-pounder fired
Fixed QF 57x307R ammunition. A complete round weighed and its projectile weighed . The most common types of ammunition available for 6-pounder guns were
shrapnel
Shrapnel may refer to:
Military
* Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use
* Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material
Popular culture
* ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics)
* ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
,
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and
common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
shells. In World War II higher-yield
high explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
rounds were produced.
Image:QF6pdrCartridgesMkXIIIMkXIV.jpg, Mk XIV and XIII steel shell rounds with Mk V shell, 1914
Image:QF 6 pdr rounds 1890s.jpg, Common shell rounds with Mk II shell from 1891
Image:QF 6 pdr common shell 1891 closeup.jpg, QF 6-pounder common projectile 1891 close-up.
Image:QF 6 pounder steel shell base.jpg, Mk II Shell base, showing fuze hole
Image:HotchkissMkIVBasePercussionFuze.jpg, Mk IV base percussion fuze
Image:QF6pdrAmmoLabel1893.jpg, 6-pounder ammunition label from 1893
Photo gallery
Image:QF6pdrHotchkissDiagram.jpg, QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss diagram.
Image:57 45 Bridgeport.JPG, A 45 caliber 6-pounder at Kuivasaari
Kuivasaari (''Torra Mjölö'' in Swedish) is a Finnish island in the Gulf of Finland, near Helsinki.
Kuivasaari is located some out into the Gulf of Finland, due south of Helsinki city centre, and was for many years the outermost inhabited i ...
, Finland. The markings on this gun indicate it was produced by Driggs-Seabury
Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company was founded in 1897 by William H. Driggs and Samuel Seabury, both US Navy officers, in partnership with William's brother Louis Labadie "L. L." Driggs, originally to produce guns for the US Army and US Navy design ...
in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
.
Image:57 mm 58 caliber Hotchkiss Kuivasaari.JPG, A Russian 58 caliber 6-pounder gun, at Kuivasaari, Finland.
Image:German photo with English Tank.jpg, German troops with a captured Mk II tank, showing the unwieldy length of the gun barrel (projecting from sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercraft
On watercraft, a spon ...
on left side of tank).
Image:Austin anti-aircraft 01.jpg, A Russian Austin-Putilov armored car with a 6-pounder anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
.
Image:6 pounder Hotchkiss gun and crew USS Oregon.jpg, A 6-pounder gun and crew aboard the USS ''Oregon''.
Licensed production
*
Elswick Ordnance Company
The Elswick Ordnance Company (sometimes referred to as Elswick Ordnance Works, but usually as "EOC") was a British armaments manufacturing company of the late 19th and early 20th century
History
Originally created in 1859 to separate William A ...
*
Obukhov State Plant
Obukhov State Plant (also known Obukhovski Plant, russian: Государственный Обуховский Завод, Gosudarstvennyy Obukhovskiy Zavod) is a major Russian metallurgy and heavy machine-building plant in St. Petersburg, Russi ...
*
William Cramp & Sons
William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century.
Company hi ...
Wars
*
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
*
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
*
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
*
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...
*
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
*
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
*
World War I
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 ...
*
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
*
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
*
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
*
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 ...
*
Cod Wars
The Cod Wars ( is, Þorskastríðin; also known as , ; german: Kabeljaukriege) were a series of 20th-century confrontations between the United Kingdom (with aid from West Germany) and Iceland about fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each o ...
Users
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Surviving examples
* Twin 6 pounder QF Guns Mk I on Pedestal Mount Mk I, Belmont Battery,
Fort Rodd Hill
Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site is a 19th-century coastal artillery fort on the Colwood, British Columbia side of Esquimalt Harbour, ( Greater Victoria/ Victoria BC Metropolitan Area). The site is adjacent to Fisgard Lighthouse National Hi ...
,
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
Surviving seacoast artillery at the Coast Defense Study Group
[Berhow, p. 235]
* One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk I (#502 Hotchkiss) on Garrison Carriage Mk I** (Hotchkiss Cone Mount), Fort Rodd Hill, Victoria, British Columbia
* One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk I (tube only), Fort Rodd Hill, Victoria, British Columbia
* One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk I (13980 & N1584) on Pedestal Mount Mk I (5110), Bay Street Armoury
Bay Street Armoury is located at 715 Bay Street in Victoria, British Columbia.
The Bay Street Drill Hall was completed in 1915. It was created to provide training facilities for local militia units such as the Fifth Regiment of artillery, as we ...
, Victoria, British Columbia
* One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk III on wheeled carriage, private tank museum, Mattituck, New York
Mattituck is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 4,219 at the 2010 census.
Located in the Town of Southold, Mattituck CDP roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name.
...
[
* One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk III on wheeled carriage, ]Virginia War Museum
The Virginia War Museum is located in Huntington Park on Warwick Blvd., Newport News, Virginia. The museum contains exhibits on American military history from 1775 to the present.Virginia War Museum. "Virginia War Museum" brochure, Winter 2007.
...
, Newport News, Virginia
Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...
[
* One 6 pounder QF Gun on wheeled carriage, Veterans' Memorial Park, ]Plymouth, Michigan
Plymouth is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. The population was 9,370 at the 2020 census. The city of Plymouth is surrounded by Plymouth Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Plymouth is a western suburb of Metro ...
[
* One 6 pounder QF Gun M1900 on wheeled carriage, ]Maquoketa, Iowa
Maquoketa () is a city in Jackson County, Iowa, United States. Located on the Maquoketa River, it is the county seat of Jackson County.
U.S. Route 61 adjoins the city, which therefore hosts traffic between Dubuque and the Quad Cities. Iowa Highwa ...
* Several 6 pounder RF Guns (Driggs-Schroeder) on , Independence Seaport Museum
The Independence Seaport Museum (formerly the Philadelphia Maritime Museum) was founded in 1961 and is located in the Penn's Landing complex along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collections at the Independence Seaport Muse ...
, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
* Three 6 pounder QF Gun 1892 on recoil mounts, Yacht Club Argentino, Buenos Aires
See also
* 5.2 cm SK L/55 naval gun : German equivalent
*QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt
The QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt was a light 57 mm naval gun and coast defence gun of the late 19th century used by many countries.
Note that this gun should not be confused with the short-barreled 57 mm Cockerill-Nordenfelt "Canon de capon ...
: Maxim-Nordenfelt equivalent
*Canon de 65 mm Modèle 1891
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western can ...
: French equivalent
Notes
Bibliography
Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE
*
* I.V. Hogg and L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972.
* LC Reynolds, Motor Gunboat 658. Cassell Military Paperbacks, London, 2002.
* Brigadier N.W. Routledge, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55. London: Brassey's, 1994
*
*
*
External links
* DiGiulian, Tony
British 6-pdr / 8cwt (2.244"/40 (57 mm)) QF Marks I and II
* DiGiulian, Tony
* DiGiulian, Tony
Russian 57 mm/40, 57 mm/50 and 57 mm/58 (2.244")
Handbook of the 6 pounder Hotchkiss quick-firing gun Land service 1892
at State Library of Victoria
Handbook for Hotchkiss 6-pr and 3-pr. quick-firing guns 1896
at State Library of Victoria
{{DEFAULTSORT:QF 06 pounder Hotchkiss
Tank guns
Coastal artillery
57 mm artillery
Naval guns of China
Naval guns of Japan
Russo-Japanese war weapons of Japan
Russo-Japanese war weapons of Russia
Naval guns of the United Kingdom
World War I naval weapons of the United Kingdom
World War I artillery of the United Kingdom
Naval guns of the United States
Artillery of the United States