Vickers S
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The Vickers 40 mm Class S gun, also known simply as the "S gun", was a 40 mm (1.57 in) airborne
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 ...
designed by
Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...
for use as aircraft armament. It was primarily used 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 ...
by British aircraft to attack ground targets. It was largely replaced by the
RP-3 The RP-3 (from Rocket Projectile 3 inch) was a British air to ground rocket projectile introduced during the Second World War. The "3 inch" designation referred to the nominal diameter of the rocket motor tube. The use of a warhead gave rise to ...
rocket from 1943 on.


Development

The Vickers 40 mm Class S gun was developed in the late 1930s as defensive weapon for bomber aircraft. The
ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
was based on the 40x158R cartridge case of the 40 mm naval QF 2-pounder anti-aircraft gun (known as the "pom-pom"). The gun itself was derived from the Coventry Ordnance Works 37 mm gun which used a long-recoil operation to fire a projectile. The Vickers S was tested in a turret mounting on a Mark II Vickers Wellington; this was not adopted for service. In March 1941, researchers with the Fighter Interception Unit at RAF Tangmere fitted the fourth prototype Mk I Bristol Beaufighter night fighter with the Vickers S, installed asymmetrically, in the place of one of the standard 20 mm cannon. In August, the Rolls-Royce 40 mm cannon ("R" model) was also trialled in the same Beaufighter. Both cannons were assessed when fired in the air and on the ground. In October, the Vickers S was recommended for any future service use, although it was never incorporated into production Beaufighters. The reasons for this have remained unclear, although it may have reflected the perception that a single 40 mm cannon lacked advantages over the 2x20 mm configuration. In addition,
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, fitted with two Vickers S were trialled virtually simultaneously in North Africa, in the anti-tank role and this concept was also rejected.


Combat history

Early operations by the
Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 ...
in the North Africa campaign demonstrated that existing weapons were ineffective against newer German vehicles like the
Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight oth ...
medium tank. In April 1941 a group formed to study the issue, considered a series of 37 and 40 mm weapons including the "S", the Rolls-Royce cannon ("BF" variant), and the US-built
M4 autocannon The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm (1.46 in) recoil-operated autocannon designed by John Browning, Browning Arms Company. The weapon, which was built by Colt's Manufacturing Company, Colt, ...
, all firing
armour-piercing Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate either body armour or vehicle armour. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armour carried on many warsh ...
ammunition. The Rolls-Royce"BF" was initially selected, although it used drum-fed ammunition rather than the "S" belt system that was considered more reliable. About 200 BF guns were produced, but after a series of misfires and ammunition explosions, the decision was made to introduce
ground attack In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement ...
variants of the Hawker Hurricane (designated Hawker Hurricane variants#Hurricane IID, Mark IID) with the "S". This had the added advantage that it carried 15 rounds of ammunition, compared to the "BF"'s 12. Mark IID and Mark IV Hurricanes could mount one "S" under each wing, in conformal
gun pod A gun pod is a detachable pod or pack containing machine guns, autocannons, revolver cannons, or rotary cannons and ancillaries, mounted externally on a vehicle such as a military aircraft which may or may not also have its own guns. Description ...
s. The weight of the guns and ammunition, along with the dust filters and other equipment needed for desert operations, slowed the aircraft by a significant . By October 1941 it was decided that the autocannon would not be suitable in the future, and the same research group turned their attention to rockets, eventually leading to the introduction of the
RP-3 The RP-3 (from Rocket Projectile 3 inch) was a British air to ground rocket projectile introduced during the Second World War. The "3 inch" designation referred to the nominal diameter of the rocket motor tube. The use of a warhead gave rise to ...
in 1943. The weapon was cleared for service on the Hurricane in April 1942 and formed up with
No. 6 Squadron RAF Number 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 at RAF Lossiemouth. It was previously equipped with the SEPECAT Jaguar, SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3 in the close air support and tactical reconnaissance roles, and was post ...
at
RAF Shandur The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in May. The weapon's champion, Wing Commander Stephen Dru Drury, trained the pilots on using the weapon, as it had so much recoil that the aircraft slowed significantly when fired. This caused the nose to drop, and while flying at a typical altitude of during the approach, firing without first re-adjusting the flight path was dangerous. The pilots eventually concluded that the guns could be fired twice before the aircraft flew past the target, although on rare occasions a third shot was possible. Claims by pilots using the Vickers S included 47 tanks destroyed (of 148 tanks hit), as well as nearly 200 other vehicles. However, the Hurricane IID was poorly protected for the ground attack role and ground fire caused heavy losses. Mark IV Hurricanes - operational from 1943 - had improved armour around their engine, cockpit and fuel tanks. In addition, 40 mm ammunition was seldom effective against vehicles as well-armoured as the
Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
heavy tank. From 1944, Hurricanes armed with the Vickers S served in the South East Asian theatre. In most cases HE ammunition was used against road vehicles and rivercraft. Assessments carried out in South East Asia showed a relatively high level of accuracy: an average of 25% of shots fired at tanks hit their target. By comparison, "60 lb" RP-3 rocket projectiles only hit 5% against tank-sized targets. However, 40 mm HE rounds were twice as accurate as AP rounds, possibly because the lower weight and higher velocity of the HE round gave it ballistics similar to that of the .303 in (7.7 mm)
Browning machine gun Browning machine guns are a family of machine gun designs by John Browning, a prolific weapon designer. These include: * M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun, based on a design dating to 1889, was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to ent ...
s that were used for sighting.


Aircraft weapons of comparable role and era

; *37 mm Ho-203 – automatic ground-attack/anti-bomber gun *57 mm Ho-401 – automatic ground-attack gun ; *30 mm
MK 103 The Rheinmetall-Borsig MK 103 ("MK" - '' Maschinenkanone'') was a German 30 mm caliber autocannon that was mounted in German combat aircraft during World War II. Intended to be a dual purpose weapon for anti-tank and air-to-air fighting, it was d ...
– automatic anti-tank/anti-bomber gun *37 mm
BK 3,7 The Bordkanone 3,7 (BK 3,7) ("on-board cannon 3.7") was a German anti-tank/bomber autocannon of World War II and based on the earlier 3.7 cm Flak 18 made by Rheinmetall. It was mounted on Luftwaffe aircraft such as the Junkers Ju 87 G-1 ...
– automatic anti-tank/ground-attack gun *50 mm
BK 5 The Rheinmetall ''Bordkanone'' 5, or BK-5, was a WWII-era German 50 mm autocannon primarily intended for use against Allied heavy bombers, such as the United States Army Air Forces's (USAAF) Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The shells had a hig ...
– automatic anti-tank/anti-bomber gun *50 mm
MK 214A The MK 214A was a calibre auto-cannon designed by Mauser Werke AG, for use on Messerschmitt Me 262 and Me 410 bomber-destroyers. Intended for use on the Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a/U4, Mauser designed the MK 214, derived from the 5 cm Pak 38 anti- ...
– automatic anti-tank/anti-bomber gun ; *37 mm
NS-37 The Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 (russian: Нудельман - Суранов НС-37) was a aircraft cannon, which replaced the unreliable Shpitalny Sh-37 gun. Large caliber was planned to allow destruction of both ground targets (including armoure ...
– automatic anti-tank/anti-bomber gun *45 mm
NS-45 The Nudelman-Suranov NS-45 was an enlarged version of the Soviet Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 aircraft autocannon. It was evaluated for service on 44 Yakovlev Yak-9K aircraft during World War II, but proved to stress the airframes too much. The NS-45 w ...
– automatic anti-tank/anti-bomber gun ; * 57 mm akan m/47 – automatic anti-ship/ground-attack gun ; * 40 mm Rolls-Royce Class BH – automatic anti-tank/ground-attack gun (development rival to the Vickers 40 mm Class S gun) *57 mm QF 6pdr Class M – autoloaded anti-ship gun (part of the same naming family as the Vickers 40 mm Class S)


Footnotes


References


Citations


External links

{{Commons category, Vickers S *Anthony G Williams
37MM AND 40MM GUNS IN BRITISH SERVICE
40 mm artillery Aircraft guns Vickers Autocannon Anti-tank weapons Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942