The Hotchkiss 25 mm anti-aircraft gun was an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the French firm of Hotchkiss. It served in

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 opposing ...

with French, Japanese and other nations' forces. Other than the designer company and the calibre, this weapon is not related to the semi-automatic

25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

; in particular, the cartridge used is different.

Development

After

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 French military expressed a need for an anti-aircraft autocannon. The Hotchkiss company submitted its 25 mm design, but it was rejected as being too slow-firing, so the weapon was proposed for export instead. In 1938, as the international situation was worsening, and the favoured Schneider 37 mm autocannon was still not ready for production, the French military decided to reconsider its refusal to Hotchkiss, who had just won a contract with Romania. The export guns were held in France and impressed into domestic service. The original tripod was found to be unstable, which led to the development of a revised variant with a triangular base with a two-wheel carriage. This new variant was chosen for mass production, but at the time of the German attack in May 1940, only a few hundred of these guns were in service. With them and only approximately two hundred Oerlikons, the lack of modern light AA guns greatly hampered the French army in the campaign.

Foreign use

Europe

Romania ordered 300 pieces but only 72 had been delivered by the fall of France. The Spanish Republic bought the weapons for its Navy in December 1935. Five were received in January 1936 and installed during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

in the destroyers ''Jose Luis Díez'', '' Lepanto'' and ''Ulloa''. After the Civil War, these weapons were used during the 1940s."Las armas de la guerra civil española" , pages 394 -398.

Asia

Japan bought a license to manufacture the weapon, which became the Type 96 and was used on most Japanese warships of World War II. It was known officially as the Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun. Japan was far and away the most prolific user of this design, producing 33,000 units and deploying it across their military forces.

Variants

;''mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes modèle 1938'' :the original tripod-mounted gun intended for Romania. ;''mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes modèle 1939'' :heavier, more stable carriage. ;''mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes modèle 1940'' :faster-firing variant on fixed mounting for naval and static defense use, cartwheel sights. ;''mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes modèle 1940 jumelée'' :ground-based twin variant.

Notes

References

* Ferrard, Stéphane. ''France 1940 l'armement terrestre'', ETAI, 1998, * ''Notice provisoire du matériel de 25 m/m C.A. Modèle 1938'', Manufacture d'armes de Levallois, 1939 * ''Rapid fire'', Anthony G. Williams, *"Las armas de la guerra civil española", José María Manrique, , pages 394 -398

External links

Munitions de 25 mm Hotchkiss Modèle 1938
(in French) {{WWIIFrenchGuns World War II anti-aircraft guns World War II weapons of France Anti-aircraft guns of France 25 mm artillery Autocannon Hotchkiss et Cie Military equipment introduced in the 1930s