3.7" aa

[John McGillivray]

With respect to performance, the British 3.7in gun appears to be closer to the German 105mm Flak 38 gun than the 88mm Flak 36

3.7in Mk.II L / 50
Weight – travel- 9401kg (20725lbs)
Weight – firing- 9326kg (20541lbs)
Weight of HE shell – 12.96kg (28.56 lbs)
Muzzle Velocity- 793m/s (2600ft/s)
Maximum range (horizontal) - 18800m (20660yards)
Maximum range (vertical) - 12000m (39370ft)
Effective ceiling – 9760m (32000ft)
Penetration Data: AP Mk II
Weight 12.6 kg – MV 793m/s (range – penetration RHA/FHA @30deg)
100m – 131/116mm, 500m – 124/110mm, 1000m – 116/103mm, 1500m – 108/96mm, 2000m – 100/89mm.


105mm Flak 38
Weight – travel- 12700kg (28000lbs)
Weight – firing- 10224kg (22533lbs)
Weight of HE shell – 14.8kg (32.6lbs)
Muzzle Velocity- 881m/s (2890ft/s)
Maximum range (horizontal) -17380m (191000yards)
Maximum range (vertical) - 11400m (37401ft)
Effective ceiling – 9450m (31000ft)
No penetration data

88mm Flak 36
Weight – travel- ?kg (?lbs)
Weight – firing- 4983kg (10983lbs)
Weight of HE shell – 9.4kg ( 20.7lbs)
Muzzle Velocity- 820m/s (2690ft/s)
Maximum range (horizontal) - 14815m (16270yards)
Maximum range (vertical) - 9900m (32480ft)
Effective ceiling – 8000m (26246ft)
Penetration Data: PzGr. ( Armour Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap)
Weight 9.65kg – MV 810m/s (range – penetration RHA @30deg)
100m – 97mm, 500m – 93mm, 1000m – 87mm, 1500m – 80mm, 2000m – 72mm.

[chrisgrove]

Post war in UK, the 3.7 inch ordnance was used for the 32 pounder towed AT gun (and for the Tortoise). AT defence was by then an infantry task and any infantryman seeing the 32 pounder would immediately recognise that the thing was just too big to be concealed in an infantry position. Thus the successor to the 17 pounder was the recoilless 120mm BAT (and its descendents MOBAT, CONBAT and WOMBAT).

The Firepower museum in Woolwich UK has a 32 pounder, though I cannot recollect seeing it since they moved from the Rotunda.

Chris

[rnixartillery]

The 32 pdr gun was on the disposal list when Rotunda closed so 'who knows' were it has ended up !

Rob.....................rnixartillery.

[Clive Prothero-Brooks]

this is an old thread but jut to let you know at the RCA museum we have 2 3.7in one outside the museum without axiles and the other inside or mait shop complete with axiles,predicator and rangefinder

Clive.............the other one

[John McGillivray]

There is a good view of 3.7in AA guns in action in this video starting at the 2:13 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5L5Hn3Gff0

[maple_leaf_eh]

There is a 90mm AA gun in Bury, Quebec.

[Tony Williams]

Originally Posted by chrisgrove

Post war in UK, the 3.7 inch ordnance was used for the 32 pounder towed AT gun (and for the Tortoise).

Not quite. The ammo for the 3.7" AA and 32 pdr was different, so needed a different barrel to fit.

And of course there were two very different types of 3.7" AA - the Mk 6 was much bigger than the Mks 1-3 guns and used larger cartridge cases for a much higher velocity.

So there were three cartridges used in the same calibre, none of them interchangeable:

3.7" AA Mks 1-3: 94 x 675R with 135mm rim diameter (12.7 kg shell fired at 790 m/s)

3.7" AA Mk 6: 94 x 857R, rim 150mm (12.7 kg shell fired at 1,040 m/s)

32 pdr AT: 94 x 909R, rim 141mm (14.5 kg shot fired at 878 m/s).

See: http://quarryhs.co.uk/ammotable10.html

[John McGillivray]

3.7 inch AP shot.

[John McGillivray]

Diagram of 3.7 inch HE and shrapnel shells.

[John McGillivray]

Here is an interesting photo I found posted on Facebook. It shows a 3.7 in AA gun in action against Japanese positions on Tarakan Island near Borneo. . Note that the 3.7 in when used for direct fire has a much lower profile than the German 88 flak gun. .
https://www.facebook.com/BATRACInter...&theater&ifg=1

[Mike Cecil]

I think you will find that is a very nice shot of the 3.7 inch HAA operating on the Margy feature on Tarakan.

There are a number of images of it on the Aust War Memorial (AWM) website. In the Collections search window, put in '3.7' followed by 'Joyce' and nine images will come up for viewing. The gun was situated on the Margy feature, and shooting at the Japanese entrenched on the Joyce feature.

For more general views of 3.7 inch guns, leave 'Joyce' off the search. Result will include many shots of manufacturing the 3.7 inch at Ordnance Factory Maribyrnong (OFM).

Mike