QF 3-pounder Vickers
| Ordnance QF 3-pounder Vickers | |
|---|---|
On a Royal Navy monitor circa. 1918 | |
| Type | Naval gun, Anti-aircraft gun |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1905–1940 |
| Wars | World War I, World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Vickers |
| Designed | 1902–03 |
| Manufacturer | Vickers |
| Produced | 1905–? |
| No. built | 600 |
| Variants | Mk I Mk II |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1,323 lb (600 kg) in total |
| Barrel length | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) bore (50 calibres) |
| Shell | 47×360mmR 3.3 lb (1.50 kg) shell. |
| Calibre | 47 mm (1.85 in) |
| Breech | semi-automatic vertical block |
| Carriage | three-leg platform |
| Elevation | −5° to +12° |
| Traverse | 360° |
| Rate of fire | 20 rounds per minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 2,575 ft/s (785 m/s) (HE) |
| Effective firing range | 2,000 yd (1,829 m)(AA) |
| Maximum firing range | 5,600 yd (5,100 m) at 12° elevation; 15,000 ft (4,600 m) (AA ceiling) |
| Sights | telescopic |
The Ordnance QF 3-pounder Vickers (47 mm / L50) was a British artillery piece first tested in Britain in 1903. It was used on Royal Navy warships. It was more powerful than and unrelated to the older QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss, with a propellant charge approximately twice as large, but it initially fired the same Lyddite and steel shells as the Hotchkiss.