View source for QF 4.7-inch Mk I–IV naval gun

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = QF 4.7-inch gun Mk I – IV
| image              = QF 4.7-inch gun deck mounting.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = Typical naval deck mounting, 1890s
| origin             = United Kingdom
| type               = [[Naval gun]]<br />[[Field gun|Medium field gun]]<br />[[Coastal artillery|Coastal defence gun]]
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_artillery       = yes
| is_ranged          = yes
| is_explosive       = yes
| is_UK              = yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1887–1920
| used_by            = Naval:<br />United Kingdom<br />
[[Kingdom of Italy]]<br />
[[Empire of Japan]]<br />
Canada<br /> <!-- See HMCS Rainbow (1891) -->
Field:<br />United Kingdom<br />Canada<br />[[Union of South Africa]]<br />Australia
Coastal defence:<br />United Kingdom<br />United States<br />Canada<br />
| wars               =
[[First Sino-Japanese War]]<br />[[Second Boer War]]<br />[[World War I]]<br />[[Italo-Turkish War]]<br />[[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]]<br />[[World War II]]
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = [[Armstrong Whitworth#Elswick Ordnance Company|Elswick Ordnance]]
| design_date        = ca. 1885
| manufacturer       = [[Armstrong Whitworth#Elswick Ordnance Company|Elswick Ordnance]]<br />[[Vickers]] Sons and Maxim
| unit_cost          =
| production_date    =
| number             = 1,167<ref>[http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_47-40_mk1.htm British 4.7"/40 (12&nbsp;cm) QF Marks I to IV and Japanese 4.7"/40 (12&nbsp;cm) Type 41] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111060957/http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_47-40_mk1.htm |date=11 January 2008 }}, Navweaps.com. Accessed 7 April 2008.</ref>
| variants           = Mark I, II, III, IV, VI
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label         =
| weight             = Barrel & breech 4,592 lb (Mk I–III); 4,704 lb (Mk IV)<ref name="Hogg&Thurston1972Page111">Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 111.</ref>
| length             =
| part_length        = 4.8 meters<ref name="Hogg&Thurston1972Page111" />
| width              =
| height             =
| diameter           =
| crew               = 10
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
| cartridge          = [[British ordnance terms#Separate QF|Separate loading QF]]; WWI : [[Armor-piercing shot and shell|AP]], [[Shrapnel shell|Shrapnel]], [[List of British ordnance terms#Common lyddite|Common Lyddite]], [[List of British ordnance terms#Common pointed|Common pointed]], [[List of British ordnance terms#HE|HE]] {{convert|45|lb|kg|sigfig=4}}<ref group="note">Various shell weights, both heavier and lighter than {{convert|45|lb|kg|sigfig=3}}, were tried. Early Mk I–IV Common Lyddite shells weighed {{convert|46|lb|9|oz|kg|sigfig=3}}. Subsequent Mks V, VI, VII beginning October 1909, weighed {{convert|45|lb|kg|sigfig=3}}. [http://www.gwpda.org/naval/brassey/b1894012.htm ''Brassey's Naval Annual'' of 1894] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607204744/http://www.gwpda.org/naval/brassey/b1894012.htm |date=7 June 2011 }} quotes a 45-pound projectile, based on "List of Service Ordnance 1891, corrected by Official Card List 1892". ''Text Book of Gunnery'' 1902 only gives figures for {{convert|45|lb|kg|sigfig=3}} projectiles. All shells used in the First World War are believed to be {{convert|45|lb|sigfig=3}}. Sources: Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 242; ''Treatise on Ammunition'' 10th Edition 1915, pages 45, 165, 170, 188, 217.</ref>
| caliber            = {{convert|4.724|in|mm|0}}
| action             =
| rate               = 5–6 rounds per minute
| velocity           = Gunpowder : {{convert|1786|ft/s|m/s}}<ref group="note">The gun used gunpowder propellant when first introduced in the 1880s. Muzzle velocity was {{convert|1786|ft/s|m/s}} with {{convert|12|lb|kg|sigfig=3}} [[British ordnance terms#Gunpowder|"SP" (gunpowder)]] firing a {{convert|45|lb|kg|sigfig=4}} projectile. "Instructions for 4.724-inch 120&nbsp;mm Quick Firing Armstrong Gun and Automatic Centre Pivot Mounting", 1880s, Range Table.</ref><ref>''Text Book of Gunnery'', 1902.</ref><br />
Cordite : {{convert|2150|ft/s|m/s}}<ref>{{convert|2150|ft/s|m/s}} firing a {{convert|45|lb|kg|sigfig=4}} projectile, with {{convert|13|lb|4|oz|kg|sigfig=3}} Cordite size 20 propellant, at {{convert|60|°F|°C|abbr=on}}. ''Text Book of Gunnery'' 1902.</ref>
| range              =
| max_range          = {{convert|10000|yd|m}} at 20°, {{convert|12000|yd}} at 24°<ref group="note">12,000 yds at 24° with 45 lb shell is quoted by Hall, December 1971. Tony Bridgland, ''Field Gun Jack versus the Boers'' (pages 7–8) quotes a range of {{convert|12000|yd}} being achieved at 24° in trials of the improvised field carriage at Simonstown in October 1899, and refers to ''[[The Times]]'' reporting this figure. {{convert|10000|yd|m}} at 20° in WWI is quoted by Hogg & Thurston page 111, referring to the maximum elevation of Mk I field carriage. Hogg & Thurston 1972 page 235 quote {{convert|11800|yd}} at 30° on CP (centre pintle mount) for the coast defence gun. Lighter and heavier shells were tried early in the gun's career, but by WWI {{convert|45|lb|abbr=on}} was the standard shell weight.</ref>
| feed               =
| sights             =
<!-- Artillery specifications -->
| breech             = Single motion [[interrupted screw]]
| recoil             = {{convert|12|in|mm|0}} (carriage Mk I)
| carriage           =
| elevation          = -6° – 20° (Mk I field carriage)<ref name="Hogg&Thurston1972Page111" />
| traverse           = 0°
<!-- Explosive specifications -->
| filling            =
| filling_weight     =
| detonation         =
| yield              =
}}
The '''QF 4.7-inch gun''' Mks I, II, III, and IV<ref group="note">Mk I = Mark 1, Mk II = Mark 2, Mk III = Mark 3, Mk IV = Mark 4. Britain used [[Roman numerals]] to denote marks (models) of ordnance until after the [[World War II|Second World War]]. Hence, these were the first four models of British QF 4.7-inch gun.</ref> were a family of British [[Quick-firing gun|quick-firing]] {{convert|4.724|in|mm|0|adj=on}} [[naval artillery|naval]] and [[coastal defence and fortification|coast defence]] guns of the late 1880s and 1890s that served with the navies of various countries. They were also mounted on various wheeled carriages to provide the [[British Army]] with a long-range gun. They all had a barrel of 40 [[Caliber (artillery)|calibres]] length.
The gun was originally designed to replace the older [[BL 5-inch gun Mk I – V|BL 5-inch (127&nbsp;mm) naval guns]]. It was optimised for the modern [[smokeless propellant]]s, such as [[cordite]], and could be loaded and fired far more rapidly than the BL 5-inch gun while firing a shell only slightly lighter.
==Design and development==
The guns were designed and manufactured by the [[Elswick Ordnance Company]], part of [[Armstrong Whitworth]]. They were developed to exploit the new "[[British ordnance terms#QF|QF]]" technology, which involved loading the propellant charge in a brass case with integrated primer in its base. This allowed a faster rate of fire than the older "Breech Loading" system, where the propellant was loaded in cloth bags and then a separate friction or percussion tube fitted into the breech for firing. The brass case sealed the breech, allowing a lighter mechanism, and at the same time disposed with the necessity of washing or sponging any smouldering fragments left from the previous shot, which could ignite the charge (then of [[Gunpowder|black powder]]) prematurely. The QF principle had proved successful with the much smaller [[QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss]] and [[Nordenfelt]] QF 3 and 6 pounders from 1885 onwards.
The first QF gun of this class was designated Pattern "M" in Elswick and was submitted to the Admiralty in 1886.<ref name="navweaps.com" /> Initially designed for a {{Convert|36|lb|kg|adj=on}} projectile which was lengthened to {{Convert|45|lb|kg}} after exhaustive experimentation,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxcyjD2Tdj0C&pg=PA343 |title=The Engineer |date=1891 |publisher=Morgan-Grampian (Publishers) |language=en}}</ref> it was actually adopted not by the UK but by Italy as M1889 (see below).<ref name="navweaps.com" />
They soon became a major export item and hence were actually of 4.724&nbsp;inches (120mm) calibre to meet the requirements of metricised navies: 4.7&nbsp;inch is an approximation used for the British designation. The guns, Mark I to Mark III, were Pattern P, Pattern Q and Pattern T respectively according to Elswick nomenclature. All three differed in detail of construction but were of the tube and [[hoop gun|hoop]] types. The Mark IV differed from these by incorporating a [[British ordnance terms#Wire-wound|wire wound]] element to its construction. As first built, all used a three-motion screw [[Breech-loading weapon|breech]], some were altered later by modifying the three-motion screw becoming "A" subtypes, or by fitting a single motion breech ("B" type). Army guns altered to use a bagged charge with a 3-inch steel (instead of the more usual [[brass]]) breech-sealing case were renumbered as Mark VI.<ref name="navweaps.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_47-40_mk1.htm |title=British 4.7"/40 (12&nbsp;cm) Elswick 4.7"/40 (12&nbsp;cm) QF Marks I, II, III, IV and VI |access-date=27 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111060957/http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_47-40_mk1.htm |archive-date=11 January 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==United Kingdom service==
===Royal Navy service===
British [[pre-dreadnought]]s and [[cruiser]]s of the period used these guns. Total production was 154 Mark I, 91 Mark II, 338 Mark III and 584 Mark IV. The Royal Navy received 776 of these guns directly. The Army transferred a further 110 to the Navy.
The {{sclass|Latona|minelayer}} gave up their guns to produce high-angle anti-aircraft guns to defend London.<ref name="navweaps.com" />
By the [[World War I|First World War]], the guns were obsolete for warship use, but many were re-mounted on merchant ships and troopships for defence against enemy submarines and commerce raiders.
===British Army service===
In land service, limited numbers were mounted for use as fixed [[coast artillery]]. In addition, some Mark IV guns were mounted on converted 40-Pr Rifled Breech Loading Gun carriages for use by batteries of the [[Royal Garrison Artillery]] (Volunteers) from the early 1900s. The 1st Ayrshire and Galloway Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) received a number of these guns in 1903 to provide armament for their three heavy batteries.<ref>Lt Gen Sir James Moncrieff Grierson, Records of the Scottish Volunteer Force 1859–1908, William Blackwood & Sons Ltd, 1909, p146</ref> These batteries were semi-mobile and equipped with limbers, which could be drawn by horses or gun tractors. They continued in use with artillery units of the [[Territorial Force]], with some being used into the First World War.
===Second Boer War (1899–1902)===
[[File:QF 4.7-inch gun Colenso.jpg|thumb|300px|Gun on "Percy Scott" carriage at the [[Battle of Colenso]] ]]
British forces in the [[Second Boer War]] were initially outgunned by the long range Boer artillery. [[Percy Scott|Captain Percy Scott]] of [[HMS Terrible (1895)|HMS ''Terrible'']] first improvised timber static siege mountings for two {{convert|4.7|in|mm|adj=on}} guns from the Cape Town coastal defences, to counter the Boers' "[[155 mm Creusot Long Tom|Long Tom]]" gun during the [[Siege of Ladysmith]] in 1899–1900.<ref name="Hall">Hall 1971.</ref> Captain Scott then improvised a travelling carriage for 4.7-inch guns removed from their usual static coastal or ship mountings to provide the army with a heavy field gun. These improvised carriages lacked recoil buffers and hence in action drag shoes and attachment of the carriage by cable to a strong point in front of the gun were necessary to control the recoil.<ref name="Hall" /> They were manned by Royal Navy crews and required up to 32 [[oxen]] to move.<ref name="Hall" />
===First World War===
====South-West Africa Campaign (1914–1915)====
[[File:British4.7InchNavalGunPercyScottCarriageSWAfricaSandWWI.jpg|thumb|right|In sand, [[South West Africa campaign]], WWI. Note oxen.]]
The same guns mounted on "Percy Scott" carriages were used by South African forces against German forces in the [[South-West Africa campaign]] in the First World War. Guns were landed at [[Lüderitz Bay]] in October 1914 and later at [[Walvis Bay]] in February 1915 and moved inland across the desert in support of South African troops.
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====Western Front (1914–1917)====
[[File:NLS Haig - Heavy gun in action.jpg|thumb|A gun on a Mk I "Woolwich" carriage, [[Sausage Valley]], Somme 1916]]
[[File:Captured QF 4.7-inch gun WWI LOC ggbain 19654 HR.jpg|thumb|{{center|Germans with captured QF gun, on "Woolwich" carriage, in Belgium}}]]
Up to 92 QF 4.7-inch guns on more modern Mk I "[[Royal Arsenal|Woolwich]]" carriages dating from June 1900 with partially effective (12-inch) recoil buffers, and on heavier "converted" carriages from old [[RML 40 pounder gun]]s, went to France with [[Royal Garrison Artillery]] units, mostly of the [[Territorial Force]], in 1914–1917.
They figured prominently in the early battles, such as [[Battle of Neuve Chapelle|at Neuve Chapelle]] in March 1915 where there were 32, and only 12 [[60-pounder]]s, assigned to counter-battery fire. General Farndale reports that counter-battery fire there failed to deal with the German artillery, but ascribes the failure to the as yet imprecise nature of long range map shooting, and the difficulty of maintaining forward observers on the flat terrain.<ref>Farndale 1986, pages 87, 88.</ref>
By the [[Second Battle of Artois|Battle of Aubers Ridge]] on 9 May 1915, the barrels of the 28 guns of the 3rd and 8th Heavy Brigades and the [[West Riding Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery|1st West Riding]] and [[Highland (Fifeshire) Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery|1st Highland]] Heavy Batteries engaged were now so worn that [[driving band]]s were stripped off shells at the muzzle, limiting accuracy.<ref>Farndale 1986, page 104.</ref> In addition, two guns in the [[armoured train]] "Churchill" were in action at Aubers Ridge. Thirty-three 60-pounders were available. Counter-battery fire again failed due to the inaccuracy of the worn-out guns and also because the army still lacked accurate means of locating enemy guns,<ref>Farndale 1986, pages 106, 107.</ref> as air observation and reporting and use of radio was only beginning.
The inaccuracy through wear and the relatively light shell diminished their usefulness in the developing trench warfare, and they were replaced by the modern 60-pounder guns as they became available. At the [[Battle of the Somme]] in June–July 1916, there were 32 4.7-inch guns and 128 60-pounders engaged.<ref>Farndale 1986, page 144.</ref> However, the last were not withdrawn until April 1917. Guns withdrawn from the Western Front were redeployed to other fronts, such as Italy and [[Serbia]].<ref>Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 110.</ref>
====Battle of Gallipoli (1915)====
[[File:4.7inchGunDraggedIntoPositionAnzac1915.jpeg|thumb|Dragging the gun up to its position at Anzac, July 1915]]
[[File:4.7inchGunInEmplacementGallipoli.jpeg|thumb|Gun in emplacement at Anzac, Gallipoli]]
A 4.7-inch gun was used by the 1st Heavy Artillery Battery, a joint unit of Australians and [[Royal Marines]], on [[Gallipoli]] to counter long range Turkish fire from the "Olive Grove" (in fact "Palamut Luk" or Oak Grove)<ref>Mallett 1999.</ref> between Gaba Tepe and Maidos. Lt-Colonel Rosenthal, commanding 3rd Australian Field Artillery Brigade, noted : "I had made continual urgent representations for two 4.7-inch guns for right flank to deal with innumerable targets beyond the range of 18-prs., but it was not till 11 July that one very old and much worn gun arrived, and was placed in position on right flank, firing its first round on 26 July.<ref>Rosenthal 1920.</ref>" This gun was destroyed and left behind at the withdrawal from Gallipoli but later salvaged as a museum piece.<ref>Mallett 2005.</ref> The burst barrel is on display at the Australian War Memorial.
====Salonika front====
Several {{convert|4.7|in|mm|adj=on}} guns mounted on "Percy Scott" carriages served with British and Serb forces in the [[Macedonian front (World War I)|Salonika (Macedonian) campaign]] from January 1916 onwards.
==Italian service==
In Italian service, QF 4.7-inch guns were known as '''120/40 A 1889''' and '''120/40 A 1891'''. Italian guns produced under license by [[Gio. Ansaldo & C.|Ansaldo]] were similar in construction to the British Mk I*. They armed [[auxiliary cruiser]]s, [[dreadnought battleship]]s, [[ironclad]]s, [[predreadnought battleship]]s, [[protected cruiser]]s and [[torpedo cruiser]]s of the [[Regia Marina]]. They saw action aboard ships in the [[Italo-Turkish War]], [[World War I]], [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] and [[World War II]].
==Japanese service==
===First Sino-Japanese War===
Japanese belted cruiser [[Japanese cruiser Chiyoda|''Chiyoda'']] launched in 1890 was armed with ten QF 4.7-inch Guns in single mounts, mounted one each in the bow and stern, and four on each side in [[sponson]]s. This was one of the first naval use of this gun. After ''Chiyoda'', the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] aggressively introduced quick-firing guns in their cruisers. Six Japanese cruisers that fought [[Battle of the Yalu River (1894)|Battle of the Yalu River]] in 1894 had a total of 60 QF 4.7-inch guns. Along with eight QF 6-inch guns, overwhelming superiority in quick-firing guns of the [[Combined Fleet|Japanese Fleet]] gave it tactical advantage over the Chinese [[Beiyang Fleet]] and was one of the decisive factors of the Naval Battle.
===Licensed products===
The Japanese '''Type 41 4.7-inch/40 (12&nbsp;cm)''' naval gun was a license-produced copy of the Elswick Mark IV. Initially, a number were procured directly from Elswick in England. After the turn of the century, production in Japan was under the designation "Mark IVJ". The gun was re-designated as Type 41 on 25 December 1908, after the 41st year in the reign of Japanese [[Emperor Meiji]]. It was further re-designated in centimeters on 5 October 1917 as part of the standardization process for the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] to the [[metric system]]. Although finally classified as a "12 cm" gun the bore was unchanged at 4.724&nbsp;inches.
During the First World War, the Japanese Navy transferred 24 original Elswick-built and 13 Mark IVJ to Britain as part of their military assistance to the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] under the [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance]].<ref>{{cite web | last = DiGiulian | first = Tony | url = http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_47-40_mk1.htm | title = 4"/40 (12&nbsp;cm) 41st Year Type | work = NavWeaps.com | access-date = 27 January 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080111060957/http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_47-40_mk1.htm | archive-date = 11 January 2008 | url-status = live}}</ref> In 1940, some of these weapons were emplaced in [[British anti-invasion preparations of World War II|British coastal defence batteries]]; for instance, at [[Mersea Island]] in [[Essex]].<ref>http://unlockingessex.essexcc.gov.uk/custom_pages/monument_detail.asp?kids=1&monument_id=31487{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
It was the standard [[secondary armament|secondary]] or tertiary armament on most Japanese cruisers built between 1900 and 1920, and was the primary armament on a number of [[destroyer]]s, including the {{sclass|Umikaze|destroyer|4}}. Some units were still in service as late as the [[Pacific War]].
==United States service==
[[File:4.7 In Ft. San Jacinto - NARA - 278147.jpg|thumb|{{center|Battery Hogan under construction, [[Fort San Jacinto]], [[Harbor Defense Command|Harbor Defenses of Galveston]], Texas.}}]]
In 1898, the [[United States Army]] acquired 35 British QF 4.7-inch guns; these were designated "4.72-inch Armstrong guns". Eighteen were 40 caliber Mark IV weapons, thirteen were 45 caliber, and four were 50 caliber; apparently the 45 and 50 caliber guns were non-standard export models.<ref name="guncards1">Gun and Carriage cards, [[National Archives and Records Administration]], Record Group 156, Records of the [[Chief of Ordnance]], Entry 712</ref><ref>[http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/197955/8330/a0.htm List of Elswick guns at NavalHistory.flixco.info]</ref> These and the nine [[QF 6-inch /40 naval gun|6-inch Armstrong guns]] acquired at the same time appear to have been purchased to rapidly arm [[Seacoast defense in the United States|coast defense]] [[battery (artillery)|batteries]] with modern quick-firing medium-caliber weapons due to the outbreak of the [[Spanish–American War]]. It was feared that the Spanish fleet might bombard US [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] ports. The massive [[Board of Fortifications|Endicott program]] of coast defenses was still years from completion, and most existing defenses dated from the 1870s with muzzle-loading weapons. By the end of 1899, 34 of the 4.7-inch guns had been deployed at 17 forts on the East and [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coasts]];<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RUtZAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA3780|title=Congressional serial set, 1900, ''Report of the Commission on the Conduct of the War with Spain'', Vol. 7, pp. 3778-3780, Washington: Government Printing Office|last1=In The War With Spain |first1=United States. Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Dept |year=1900 }}</ref> the remaining gun (40 caliber) was retained for testing at the [[Sandy Hook Proving Ground]] at [[Fort Hancock, New Jersey]].<ref name="guncards1" /><ref name="BerhowForts1">Berhow, pp. 86–87, 200–226</ref><ref name="CDSG1">{{Cite web |url=http://cdsg.org/fort-and-battery-list/ |title=US fort and battery list at the Coast Defense Study Group website |access-date=13 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927192336/http://cdsg.org/fort-and-battery-list |archive-date=27 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FWiki1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.fortwiki.com/ |title=FortWiki, lists all US and Canadian forts |access-date=26 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107003312/http://fortwiki.com/ |archive-date=7 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The projectiles listed in US manuals for these weapons were a common cast iron practice round, a common steel explosive round, a strong-headed steel explosive round, and a shrapnel round with a time/percussion [[fuze]], each {{convert|45|lbs}}.<ref name="4740p11-14">{{cite book |last=U. S. Army Ordnance Department |author-link=United States Army Ordnance Corps |title=Instructions for Mounting, Using, and Caring for 4.72-inch gun, Armstrong, 40 caliber |publisher=[[Government Printing Office]] | year=1917 |location=Washington, D.C. | pages=11–14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrxBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25}}</ref> The maximum ranges on mounts with 15-degree elevation were {{convert|8312|yds}} (40 caliber gun),<ref name="4740p11-14" /> {{convert|9600|yds}} (45 caliber gun),<ref name="4745p11-14">{{cite book |last=U. S. Army Ordnance Department |author-link=United States Army Ordnance Corps |title=Instructions for Mounting, Using, and Caring for 4.72-inch gun, Armstrong, 45 caliber |publisher=[[Government Printing Office]] | year=1917 |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] | pages=11–14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehRAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA27}}</ref> and {{convert|9843|yds}} (50 caliber gun).<ref name="4750p11-14">{{cite book |last=U. S. Army Ordnance Department |author-link=United States Army Ordnance Corps |title=Instructions for Mounting, Using, and Caring for 4.72-inch gun, Armstrong, 50 caliber |publisher=[[Government Printing Office]] | year=1917 |location=Washington, D.C. | pages=11–14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tpstAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA27}}</ref> The 40 caliber gun used 7.5 pounds of [[nitrocellulose]] powder, while the 45 and 50 caliber guns used 10.5 pounds of nitrocellulose in a larger case.<ref name="4740p11-14" /><ref name="4745p11-14" /><ref name="4750p11-14" />
The [[United States Navy]] acquired two [[protected cruisers]] in 1898 with four British-made export-model 4.7-inch 50 caliber guns each, along with a 6-inch main battery. These were under construction for Brazil at Elswick, and the US acquired them partly to prevent their purchase by Spain, renaming them as the [[New Orleans-class cruiser (1896)|''New Orleans'' class]]. One source states the 6-inch guns were Elswick Pattern DD and the 4.7-inch guns were Pattern AA.<ref name="Conways1">Gardiner and Chesneau, p. 154</ref> Their guns were unique in the US Navy, and they were designated "4.7"/50 caliber Mark 3 Armstrong guns".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web |url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_47-50_mk3.htm |title=4.7"/50 Mark 3 Armstrong at NavWeaps.com |access-date=13 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930200702/http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_47-50_mk3.htm |archive-date=30 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> During refits at the [[Cavite Navy Yard]] in the [[Philippines]] in 1903, both ships had their 4.7-inch guns replaced with standard USN 5-inch guns; the 6-inch guns followed in 1907.<ref>{{cite book |last=Friedman|first=Norman |author-link=Norman Friedman |title=U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History |publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]] | year=1984|location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]] | pages=41–43 |isbn=978-0-87021-718-0}}</ref> At least some of the guns from these ships were emplaced in the [[Grande Island]]/[[Subic Bay]] area 1907–1910 and operated by the [[United States Marine Corps]] [[Advanced Base Force#1905-1910|Advanced Base Force]] until the [[United States Army Coast Artillery Corps|Coast Artillery Corps]]' modern defenses centered on [[Fort Wint]] were completed.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_6-50_mk5.htm |title=6"/50 Mark 5 Armstrong at NavWeaps.com |access-date=13 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008011759/http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_6-50_mk5.htm |archive-date=8 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> One gun each from {{USS|New Orleans|CL-22}} and {{USS|Albany|CL-23}} are preserved in [[Geneva, Illinois]].<ref name="waymark">{{Cite web |url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMB50_Kane_County_Soldier_Sailor_Monument |title=Kane County Soldier and Sailor Monument at www.waymarking.com |access-date=13 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222162319/http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMB50_Kane_County_Soldier_Sailor_Monument |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1913–1914, eight 4.7-inch 45 caliber guns were redeployed from the US to [[Fort Ruger]] and [[Fort Kamehameha]] in [[Hawaii]], including two spares.<ref name="BerhowForts1" /><ref name="CDSG1" /><ref name="FWiki1" /> The [[Board of Fortifications|Endicott and Taft fortification programs]] were largely complete by this time, with most 4.7-inch guns superseded by 6-inch guns. The four 4.7-inch 50 caliber guns at [[Fort Monroe]] were placed in reserve in 1914, with one transferring to Sandy Hook for tests and the others stored at the [[Augusta Arsenal]] in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref name="guncards1" />
The [[American entry into World War I|American entry into the war]] in 1917 saw more redeployment of 4.7-inch weapons. Eight Mark IV 40 caliber weapons from less-threatened forts were loaned to the [[Army Transport Service]] for the duration of hostilities and may have armed [[Troopship|troop transport]]s and [[cargo ship]]s; they were returned in 1919 and promptly disposed of.<ref name="guncards1" /> Two Mark IV 40 caliber weapons were redeployed from [[Fort Strong]] in [[Boston Harbor]] to [[Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge|Sachuest Point]] in Middletown, Rhode Island. The three 50 caliber guns stored at [[Augusta, GA]] were deployed to [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]] at Fort Brooke, as [[Castillo San Felipe del Morro]] (often called "Morro Castle") was known at the time.<ref name="guncards1" /><ref name="BerhowForts1" /><ref name="CDSG1" /> Following the war, all 4.7-inch weapons were withdrawn from service by the end of 1920, and all were disposed of by 1927. Other weapons deployed in limited quantity were also retired during this period. 24 weapons were given to various cities and towns or retained in Hawaii as war memorials; only six survive. Most of the remainder were probably donated during [[World War II|Second World War]] scrap drives.<ref name="guncards1" />
==Ammunition==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
QF 4.7-inch gun ammunition diagrams.jpg|Armour piercing and practice rounds
QF 4.7-inch gun cartridge diagram 1905.jpg|QF 4.7-inch gun cartridge diagram 1905
No17DAPercussionFuzeMkIII.jpg|No. 17 Direct Action Fuze Mk III
No89MkIT&PFuzeDiagram.jpg|No. 89 Mk I Time & Percussion Fuze
</gallery>
Ammunition was of [[Glossary of British ordnance terms#Fixed QF|fixed QF]] type. A complete round weighed {{convert|20.4|kg|lb|sp=us|abbr=on}}.
The gun was able to fire:
*[[Shell (projectile)#Armor-piercing shells|Armor piercing]]
*[[Glossary of British ordnance terms#Common shell|Common]]
*[[Glossary of British ordnance terms#Common shell|Common pointed]]
*[[Glossary of British ordnance terms#HE|High explosive]]
*[[Shell (projectile)#Illumination|Illumination]]
*[[Shrapnel shell|Shrapnel]]
==Surviving examples==
[[File:Maneesi 120 41 A rear.JPG|thumb|220px|Japanese-built 4.7"/40 Mark IV in Manege Military Museum, Finland]]
[[File:Ordnance QF 4.7-inch gun, Gaspé, Fort Peninsula, Forillon National Park, Quebec (4).JPG|220px|thumb|One of two surviving QF 4.7-inch B Mark IV* guns at [[Fort Péninsule]], [[Forillon National Park]], Quebec]]
*Preserved 4.7"/40 (12&nbsp;cm) Mark IV*/VI on field carriage outdoors at Artillery Park, Valladolid, Spain<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thedonovan.com/archives/2005/11/20-week/ |title=4.7-inch gun photo at TheDonovan.com |access-date=20 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304233306/http://thedonovan.com/archives/2005/11/20-week/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[:File:Naval gun abandoned at Gallipoli at the AWM Aug 2012.JPG|The burst gun barrel]] from Gallipoli is displayed at the [[Australian War Memorial]], Canberra
*Naval gun on display at the [http://www.marina.difesa.it/laspezia/index.asp Museo Tecnico Navala Della Spezia, Italy]<ref>[http://www.marina.difesa.it/laspezia/galleria.asp?desc=Cannoni&cat=cannoni Cannone da 120/40 – anno 1893 su affusto a culla.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616074754/http://www.marina.difesa.it/laspezia/galleria.asp?desc=Cannoni&cat=cannoni |date=16 June 2009 }}, Sala armi subacquee.</ref>
*Japanese-built 4.7"/40 Mark IV in the [[Military Museum of Finland]] in [[Suomenlinna]], Finland
*4.7-inch QF Gun, No. 563, Mark IV, manufactured in 1894 by Royal Gun Factory,on Percy Scott carriage,preserved in the courtyard of Indian Museum at [[Kolkata]] (Calcutta)
*2 QF 4.7-inch B Mk IV* guns on central pivot mounts, [[Fort Amherst, St. John's]], Newfoundland
*2 QF 4.7-inch B Mk IV* guns on central pivot mounts, [[Bell Island (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Bell Island]], Newfoundland
*2 QF 4.7-inch B Mk IV* guns on central pivot mounts, [[Fort Peninsula]], Quebec
*1 QF 4.7-inch B Mk IV* gun on central pivot mount, [[Fort Prevel]], Quebec (upside down on mount with shield attached backwards)
*QF 4.7-inch Mk IV Armstrong No. 12123 on central pivot mount Mk 1 No. 10981 (Formerly emplaced at Battery Talbot, [[Fort Adams]], RI), location: Equality Park, [[Newport, RI]]<ref name="Berhow233">Berhow, page 233</ref>
*QF 4.7-inch Mk IV Armstrong No. 12124 on central pivot mount Mk 1 No. 10982 (Formerly emplaced at Battery Talbot, [[Fort Adams]], RI), location: Battery Bingham, [[Fort Moultrie]], [[Sullivan's Island, South Carolina]] (shield missing)<ref name="Berhow233" />
*QF 4.7-inch Mk IV Armstrong No. 11856 on central pivot mount Mk 1 No. 10842 (Formerly emplaced at Battery Drum, [[Fort Strong]], Massachusetts), location: State Armory, Main Street, [[Ansonia, Connecticut]]<ref name="Berhow233" />
*QF 4.7-inch Mk IV Armstrong No. 9718 on central pivot mount Mk 1 No. 10841 (Formerly emplaced at Battery Van Swearingen, [[Fort Pickens]], Florida), location: County Courthouse, [[Danielsville, Georgia]]<ref name="Berhow233" />
*QF 4.7-inch Armstrong 45 calibre No. 11933 (formerly emplaced at Battery Dodge, [[Fort Ruger]], Hawaii), location: State Armory, [[Wahiawa, Hawaii|Wahiawa]], Oahu, Hawaii (upside down resting on shield top)<ref name="Berhow233" />
*QF 4.7-inch Armstrong 45 calibre No. 11009 (formerly emplaced at Battery Dodge, Fort Ruger), location: State Armory, Wahiawa, Oahu, HI (upside down resting on shield top)<ref name="Berhow233" />
*QF 4.7-inch/50 calibre Mark 3 Armstrong (US Navy designation) (From {{USS|New Orleans|CL-22}}), location: [[Kane County, Illinois]], Soldier and Sailor Monument at former courthouse, [[Geneva, Illinois]]<ref name="waymark" />
*QF 4.7-inch/50 calibre Mark 3 Armstrong (US Navy designation) (From {{USS|Albany|CL-23}}), location: Kane County, Illinois, Soldier and Sailor Monument at former courthouse, Geneva, Illinois<ref name="waymark" />
==See also==
*[[QF 4.7-inch Mk V naval gun]] – 45-[[Caliber (artillery)|calibre]] version used on merchant ships in both world wars.
*[[List of naval guns]]
*[[List of field guns]]
===Weapons of comparable role, performance and era===
*[[4.7-inch gun M1906]], US field gun of same calibre
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
*[http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?/p4013coll11,230 ''Text Book of Gunnery''] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120712182551/http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?/p4013coll11,230 |date=12 July 2012 }}, 1902. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office, by Harrison and Sons, St. Martin's Lane
*''Handbook of the Q.F. 4.7-inch B (Mark IV*) Gun, on travelling carriage. For Volunteer Batteries. Land Service'', 1902. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office, by Harrison and Sons, St. Martin's Lane
*{{cite book |editor-last=Berhow |editor-first=Mark A. | title = American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide |edition=Second | publisher = CDSG Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-9748167-0-8}}
*Tony Bridgland, ''Field Gun Jack Versus the Boers: The Royal Navy in South Africa 1899–1900''. Leo Cooper, 1998. {{ISBN|0-85052-580-2}}.
*{{cite book |title=Naval Weapons of World War Two |last=Campbell |first=John |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=1985 |isbn=0-87021-459-4}}
*Dale Clarke, ''British Artillery 1914–1919: Field Army Artillery''. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004. {{ISBN|1-84176-688-7}}.
*Tony DiGiulian, [http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_47-40_mk1.htm 4.7"/40 (12&nbsp;cm) Elswick 4.7"/40 (12&nbsp;cm) QF Marks I, II, III, IV and VI]
*General [[Martin Farndale|Sir Martin Farndale]], ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. [New Series. Vol.1] Western Front 1914–18''. London: Royal Artillery Institution, 1986. {{ISBN|1-870114-00-0}}.
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory|publisher= Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley, UK |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-84832-100-7 |author-link=Norman Friedman| ref = {{sfnRef|Friedman}}}}
*Major Darrell Hall, [http://www.samilitaryhistory.org/vol022dh.html "Guns in South Africa 1899–1902 Part III and IV"]. South African Military History Society, ''Military History Journal'', Vol 2 No 2, December 1971.
* Major Darrell Hall, [http://www.samilitaryhistory.org/vol043dh.html "The Naval Guns in Natal 1899–1902"]. The South African Military History Society ''Military History Journal'', Vol 4 No 3, June 1978.
*[[Ian V. Hogg|I.V. Hogg]] & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972.
*{{cite thesis |first=Ross |last=Mallett |chapter-url=http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8888/Thesis/Chapter2.html |title=MA Thesis |date=1999 |chapter=2. Gallipoli |access-date=13 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222120333/http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8888/Thesis/Chapter2.html |archive-date=22 February 2011 |url-status=dead }}
*Ross Mallett, [https://web.archive.org/web/20091112033554/http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/~rmallett/Artillery.html AIF Artillery. updated 2005]
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces|first1=Antony|last1=Preston|author-link=Antony Preston|pages=1–104}}
*[[Charles Rosenthal|Lieut.-Colonel Charles Rosenthal]], Commanding 3rd Australian Field Artillery Brigade, 1st Australian Division, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22021/22021-h/22021-h.htm#Page_292 Notes relating to Artillery at Anzac, from 25 April to 25 August 1915. (Compiled from personal diary.)] Appendix II in ''General Sir Ian Hamilton, G.C.B. Gallipoli Diary Vol. II''. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1920.
*Admiral [[Percy Scott]], [https://archive.org/details/fiftyyearsinroya00scotuoft ''Fifty Years in the Royal Navy''], published 1919.
*[http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=4039822 "Instructions for 4.724-inch 120&nbsp;mm Quick Firing Armstrong Gun and Automatic Centre Pivot Mounting"], 1880s, as supplied to Australian colonies. From National Archives of Australia.
==External links==
{{Commons category|QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I - IV}}
*[http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/107982 Handbook of the 4.7-inch q.f. gun, land service, 1898] at State Library of Victoria
*[http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/107111 Handbook of the Q.F. 4.7-inch B, mark IV, gun, on travelling carriage, for volunteer batteries, land service, 1902] at State Library of Victoria
*[http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/111372 Instructions for mounting, using, and caring for 4.72-inch gun, Armstrong 40 caliber, on barbette carriage, Armstrong. 1904, 1908, 1911. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1917] at State Library of Victoria
*[http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/114034 Handbook of the Q.F. 4.7-inch "B" guns on travelling carriages : land service, 1910] at State Library of Victoria
*[http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/114078 Drill for 4.7-inch Q.F. gun (fixed armaments) London : H.M.S.O. 1912] at State Library of Victoria
*[http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/109951 handbook for the 4.7-inch Q.F. gun (heavy batteries), gun drill, 1915] at State Library of Victoria
*[http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/109957 Gun drill for 4.7-inch Q.F. gun (land service) 1924] at State Library of Victoria
*[http://www.victorianforts.co.uk/art/4-7inchQFtravelling.htm Diagram and photograph of gun on RML 40-pounder "Converted" traveling carriage] at Victorian Forts and Artillery website
*Paul Benyon, [http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/ILN_1899-1900/Index.html Illustrated London News December 1899 – April 1900 – Blue Jackets with their Guns ashore]
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