The COW 37 mm gun was a British

automatic cannon 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 (bulle ...

that was developed during

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

as a large-calibre aircraft weapon. It was tested in several installations and specified for the

Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter The Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter was an attempt to produce a fighter aircraft armed with a heavy calibre gun. The Coventry Ordnance Works (COW) 37 mm automatic gun was used, which had been developed for this purpose some years earlier. Design a ...

for attacking bombers. The tests did not yield satisfactory results and the weapon did not enter general service except on a few flying boats. The design was later adapted as the basis of the Vickers S, which saw some service during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

as an anti-armour weapon.

Design and development

Coventry Ordnance Works Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns particularly naval artillery jointly owned by Cammell Laird & Co of Sheffield and Birkenhead, Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Glasgow and John Brown & Comp ...

had been set up in 1905 by a consortium of British shipbuilding firms ( John Brown,

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

and Fairfield) to compete with the duopoly of

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

and Armstrong-Whitworth in producing naval guns. Besides the larger naval gun, COW worked at the smaller end on anti-aircraft guns. There was a demand for a weapon that could be mounted on an aircraft. Their first attempt at an automatic gun was a "1-pounder" (the nominal weight of the shell) from a rimless 37x94 cartridge. This developed into a 1½-pounder using a longer 37x190 cartridge in a five-round clip. The gun was ready to produce only as the

came to an end and was only in service briefly, having been fitted to a pair of

Airco DH4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Air ...

s. After the war it was used in a number of different aircraft, mostly flying boats such as the

Blackburn Perth The Blackburn Perth was a British flying boat which was in service during the interwar period. It was essentially an upgraded Iris, and hence the largest flying-boat to serve with the Royal Air Force at the time (and the largest biplane flying ...

, where it was seen as being effective against small vessels. The

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...

also requested fighter designs based around the weapon, such as the

, the

Vickers Type 161 The Vickers Type 161 was an unusual 1930s pusher biplane interceptor, designed to attack aircraft from below with a single upward-angle large calibre gun. The aircraft flew well but the concept was abandoned and only one was built. Development ...

and the unsuccessful Bristol Bagshot heavy fighter. After Vickers acquired the Coventry Ordnance Works, the COW 37 mm was used for the development of the 40 mm Vickers S gun which was used by

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 b ...

s as an anti-tank weapon. In the Second World War, COW guns were used as the armament for the Mk III version of the Armadillo armoured fighting vehicle, the COW gun with its shield mounted on the rear part of the flatbed. The vehicle was used by the

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...

and later by the Home Guard.

Use

;Specification 4/24 * Westland Westbury - One in trainable mount, one fixed mounting * Bristol Bagshot - Two in trainable mountings ;Specification F9/27 *

One in fixed mounting *

- One in fixed mounting ;Flying boats * Armstrong Whitworth Sinaia * Short Cromarty * Vickers Valentia - tested * Blackburn Iris * Short Sarafand *

- fitted *

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North Ea ...

- planned but not fitted

Notes

References

* I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972
"Armament"
''Flight'' 28 June 1934 p640

External links

"Flying Battleships"
''Popular Science'', December 1934, page 36 & page 37 show COW 37mm cannon
"C.O.W. 37mm cannon fitted to Blackburn Perth flying boat"
''YouTube'', shown being fired while moored on water {{WWIIBritishCommGuns Aircraft guns Autocannon Coventry Ordnance Works 37 mm artillery

Design and development

Use

See also

Notes

References

External links