2.5 Pounder
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss or in French use Canon Hotchkiss à tir rapide de 47 mm were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1886 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. There were many variants produced, often under license, which ranged in length from 32 to 50 calibers but 40 caliber was the most common version. They were widely used by the navies of a number of nations and often used by both sides in a conflict. They were also used ashore as coastal defense guns and later as an
anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
, whether on improvised or specialized HA/LA mounts.


Operational history


French service

The French Navy used two versions of the Hotchkiss 3-pounder: the short-barreled M1885 and the long-barreled M1902, which had a larger
muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/ shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately t ...
than its predecessor. The French L/40 M1885 and the British QF 3-pounder were largely the same gun. Like the British who paired their 3-pounders with the larger
QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss The Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6 pounder gun Mk I and Mk II or QF 6 pounder 8 cwt were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1885 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. Many variant ...
the French often paired theirs with the Canon de 65 mm Modèle 1891 sometimes called a 9-pounder in English publications. The 3-pounder was primarily used as anti-
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
defense aboard
armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...
s,
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s, ironclads,
pre-dreadnought Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built from the mid- to late- 1880s to the early 1900s. Their designs were conceived before the appearance of in 1906 and their classification as "pre-dreadnought" is retrospectively appl ...
battleships,
protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...
s and
submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...
. During World War I, the role of the guns changed from anti-torpedo boat defense to anti-aircraft defense and new high angle mounts were developed but were found to be ineffective. The ''Liberté''-class and ''Danton''-class battleships mounted the gun, in addition to the cruisers ''Jules Michelet'', ''Ernest Renan'', and those of the ''Edgar Quinet''-class. It was used as the standard French shipboard anti-aircraft gun during World War I, being replaced by the
Canon de 75 mm modèle 1908 The ''Canon de 75 mm modèle 1908'' was a French naval gun designed before World War I. It served aboard the battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns ...
. After World War I the majority of 3-pounders in the anti-aircraft role were replaced with either the anti-aircraft version of the
Canon de 75 modèle 1897 The French 75 mm field gun is a Quick-firing gun, quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75 mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and S ...
or the
Canon de 75 mm modèle 1924 The ''Canon de 75 mm modèle 1924'' was a French naval anti-aircraft gun designed after World War I. It served aboard battleships, cruisers and destroyers during World War II. In Polish service it was known as the 75 mm Armata przeciwlotnicza ...
. French ships armed with the L/40 M1885 and L/50 M1902 include: * s * s * s * ''Bouvines''-class coast defense ships * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * s * * * * *


Australian service

A 3-pounder Hotchkiss was used on an improvised mounting in a
battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
that resulted in Australia's first prisoners of World War 2 being captured near
Berbera Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of t ...
in 1940. The guns are now used in a Three Pound Saluting Gun Battery at the Garden Island Naval Base.


Austro-Hungarian service

The
Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...
used two versions of the Hotchkiss 3-pounder. The first was the short SFK L/33 H of 1890 produced under license by Skoda. The second was the long SFK L/44 S of 1897 produced under license by Skoda. These two guns were the primary rapid fire anti-torpedo boat guns of many ships built or refitted between 1890 and 1918. On 16 August 1914 at the
Battle of Antivari The Battle of Antivari or Action off Antivari was a naval engagement between a large fleet of French and British warships and two ships of the Austro-Hungarian navy at the start of the First World War. The old Austrian protected cruiser and the ...
, the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser
SMS Zenta SMS ''Zenta'' was the lead ship of the of protected cruisers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the late 1890s. The class included two other vessels, and . The ''Zenta''s were intended to serve as fleet scouts and to guard the battleships ...
was sunk by a combined Anglo-French force. Both sides in the battle were armed with Hotchkiss guns. Austro-Hungarian ships armed with the L/33 and L/44 include: * Erzherzog Karl-class battleships * Habsburg-class battleships *
Huszár-class destroyer The ''Huszár'' class was a class of destroyers built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy before the First World War. They were built to a design by the British shipbuilder Yarrow Shipbuilders, who built the first ship, with a further 11 ships being bui ...
s *
Kaiman-class torpedo boat The ''Kaiman'' class were high-seas torpedo boats built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy between 1904 and 1910. A total of 24 boats were built by three shipbuilding companies. Yarrow Shipbuilders built the lead ship, Stabilimento Tecnico Triestin ...
s * Kaiser Franz Joseph I-class cruisers *
Monarch-class coastal defense ship The ''Monarch'' class was a ship class, class of three coastal defense ships built by Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century. The ''Monarch''s were the first ships of their type to utilize turrets. The class comprised three ships: , , and ...
s * Panther-class cruisers *
Radetzky-class battleship The ''Radetzky'' class was a group of three semi-dreadnought battleships built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy between 1907 and 1910. All ships were built by the STT shipyard in Trieste. They were the last pre-dreadnoughts built by the Austro-Hung ...
s * U-10-class submarines * SMS Boa * SMS Kaiser Karl VI *
SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia SMS ''Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia'' (" Empress and Queen Maria Theresa") was an armored cruiser used by the imperial Austro-Hungarian Navy from 1895 to 1917; she was the first ship of that type built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The sh ...
* SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf * SMS Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie *
SMS Sankt Georg SMS ''Sankt Georg'' was the third and final armored cruiser of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She was built at the Pula, Pola Arsenal; her keel was laid in March 1901, she was launched in December 1903, and completed in July 1905. Her design was ba ...
* Zenta-class cruisers


Chinese service

China adopted the Hotchkiss 3-pounder in the 1880s, to arm its cruisers and smaller auxiliaries; the Hai Yung-class cruisers of the
Imperial Chinese Navy The Imperial Chinese Navy was the modern navy of the Qing dynasty of China established in 1875. An Imperial naval force in China first came into existence from 1132 during the Song dynasty and existed in some form until the end of the Qing dynast ...
built by
AG Vulcan Stettin Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin (short AG Vulcan Stettin) was a German shipbuilding and locomotive building company. Founded in 1851, it was located near the former eastern German city of Szczecin, Stettin, today Polish Szczecin. Because of th ...
were armed with Nordenfelt 3-pounder guns firing the same ammunition. During the
First Sino-Japanese war The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
, ships of both sides were armed with Hotchkiss 3-pounder guns. Chinese ships armed with 3-pounder guns include: * Chao Ho-class cruisers * Yongfeng-class coastal defense ships * Zhiyuen-class cruisers * Chinese cruiser Hai Chi * Chinese cruiser Jingyuan * Chinese cruiser Laiyuan


Italian service

Italy adopted the Hotchkiss 3-pounder in the 1880s to arm its
armored cruisers The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...
,
battleships A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
, protected cruisers, torpedo boats and
torpedo cruiser A torpedo cruiser is a type of warship that is armed primarily with torpedoes. The major navies began building torpedo cruisers shortly after the invention of the locomotive Whitehead torpedo in the 1860s. The development of the torpedo gave ri ...
s. Ships on both sides of the
Italo-Turkish war The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
were armed with 3-pounder guns. The Italians carried Hotchkiss and Vickers guns, while the
Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...
carried Nordenfelt guns. Italian ships armed with 3-pounder guns include: * Folgore-class cruisers * Giuseppe Garibaldi-class cruisers * Pegaso-class torpedo boats *
Regina Elena-class battleship The ''Regina Elena'' class was a group of four pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina between 1901 and 1908. The class comprised four ships: , the lead ship, , , and . Designed by Vittorio Cuniberti, they were armed with ...
s *
Regina Margherita-class battleship The ''Regina Margherita'' class was a ship class, class of two battleships built for the Italian ''Regia Marina'' between 1898 and 1905. The class comprised two ships: and . The ships were designed by the latter's namesake, Benedetto Brin, who ...
s * Italian cruiser Tripoli


Japanese service

Japan adopted the Hotchkiss 3-pounder 5-barrel revolving cannon in the 1880s and later adopted the simpler single-barrel quick-firing weapon. The Japanese versions of the 3-pounder were known as ''Yamanouchi'' guns and were largely identical to their British equivalents. The Japanese also had a related 30 caliber 2½-pounder gun from Elswick, the Yamanouchi Mk I. During the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
, ships of both sides were armed with Hotchkiss 3-pounder guns. The Japanese found them to be ineffective and removed them after the war. Japanese ships armed with 3-pounder guns include: * Asama-class cruisers * Fuji-class battleships * Kasagi-class cruisers * Kasuga-class cruisers * Katori-class battleships * Kongō-class ironclads * Matsushima-class cruisers * Niitaka-class cruisers *
Shikishima-class battleship The was a two-ship ship class, class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late 1890s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to build such warships itself, they were designed and built in the UK. The sh ...
s *
Suma-class cruiser The two were protected cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. While more lightly armed and armored than many of its contemporaries, their small size and relatively simple design facilitated their construction and their relatively high ...
s *
Tsukuba-class cruiser The were a pair of large armored cruisers (''Sōkō jun'yōkan'') built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the first decade of the 20th century. Construction began during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 and their design was influence ...
s *
Japanese battleship Asahi was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to build such warships itself, the ship was designed and built in the United Kingdom. Shortly after her arr ...
*
Japanese battleship Mikasa is a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s, and is the only ship of her ship class, class. Named after Mount Mikasa in Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan, the ship served as the flagship of Vice Admiral T ...
* Japanese cruiser Akitsushima * Japanese cruiser Azuma * Japanese cruiser Chihaya * Japanese cruiser Chiyoda * Japanese cruiser Miyako * Japanese cruiser Soya *
Japanese cruiser Takasago was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by the Armstrong Whitworth shipyards in Elswick, in the United Kingdom. The name ''Takasago'' derives from a location in Hyōgo Prefecture, near Kobe. Background ''T ...
* Japanese cruiser Tatsuta (1894) * Japanese cruiser Yaeyama * Japanese cruiser Yakumo *
Japanese cruiser Yoshino was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ''Yoshino'' is sometimes regarded as a sister ship to , although the two vessels are of different classes. The name ''Yoshino'' comes from the Yoshino mountains, located in the southern po ...
* Japanese gunboat Oshima * Japanese ironclad Fusō * Japanese submarine tender Karasaki


Polish service

Polish Hotchkiss guns named the wz.1885 gun, were used on first ships of the Polish Navy, received after World War I, like ex-German torpedo boats and minesweepers. By the time of World War II most had been replaced on naval ships but several stored guns were used in combat on improvised stationary mounts by
Land Coastal Defence Land Coastal Defence (or Land Coastal Command, , abbr. LOW), commanded by Colonel Stanisław Dąbek (land forces), was an important unit tasked with the defence of Poland's Baltic Sea coast during the 1939 invasion. Before the war LOW was at firs ...
units in the
Battle of Kępa Oksywska The Battle of Kępa Oksywska took place in the Oksywie Heights outside the Polish city of Gdynia between 10 and 19 September 1939. The battle, fought by the Polish Army and the German Wehrmacht, was part of the Polish September Campaign during ...
in September 1939.


Romanian service

The
Romanian Navy The Romanian Naval Forces () is the principal naval branch of the Romanian Armed Forces and operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flotilla on ...
used the Škoda-produced version of the gun. The gun was used as secondary and later tertiary armament on the Romanian monitors of the . It also served as the main armament of the of armored multi-purpose boats, each of the 8 boats carrying one gun.


Russian service

Russia adopted the Hotchkiss 3-pounder 5-barrel revolving cannon in the 1880s, and later adopted the less complicated single-barrel 43 caliber quick-firing weapon. The 5-barrel guns were equipped on the Ekaterina II-class battleships commissioned in 1889 but by 1892 the battleship ''Dvenadsat Apostolov'' and her successors had single-barrel weapons. In 1888 licensed production of a Russian variant started at the
Obukhov State Plant Obukhov State Plant (also known Obukhovski Plant, ) is a major Russian metallurgy and heavy machine-building Factory, plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. Predecessors In 1854, the mining engineer P.M. Obukhov invented a new procedure to make ...
. During the Russo-Japanese War, ships of both sides were armed with Hotchkiss 3-pounders, which were found to be ineffective against Japanese torpedo boats and were removed from first-line warships after the war. The ''Evstafi'' class, commissioned in 1910 ceased carrying the weapon but they were later fitted to patrol vessels and river craft during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and at least 62 weapons were converted to
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
guns by 1917. Russian ships armed with 3-pounder guns include: * Admiral Ushakov-class coastal defense ships * Amur-class minelayers *
Bayan-class cruiser The ''Bayan'' class was a group of four armored cruisers built for the Imperial Russian Navy around the beginning of the 20th century. Two of the ships were built in France, as Russian shipyards had no spare capacity. The lead ship, , was built se ...
s *
Bogatyr-class cruiser The ''Bogatyr'' class were a group of protected cruisers built for the Imperial Russian Navy. Unusually for the Russian navy, two ships of the class were built for the Baltic Fleet and two ships for the Black Sea Fleet. Description After the ...
s * Borodino-class battleships *
Derzky-class destroyer The ''Derzky'' or ''Bespokoiny''-class destroyers was a class of destroyers built for the Imperial Russian Navy just before World War I. Nine ships were built for the Black Sea Fleet. These ships were a derivative of the , but were slightly small ...
s * Izumrud-class cruisers * Peresvet-class battleships *
Petropavlovsk-class battleship The ''Petropavlovsk'' class, sometimes referred to as the ''Poltava'' class, was a group of three pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy during the 1890s. They were transferred to the Russian Pacific Fleet, Pacific Squa ...
s * Russian battleship Navarin *
Russian battleship Potemkin The Russian battleship ''Potemkin'' (, "Prince Potemkin of Taurida") was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet. She became famous during the Revolution of 1905, when her crew mutinied against their ...
*
Russian battleship Retvizan ''Retvizan'' () was a pre-dreadnought battleship built before the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 for the Imperial Russian Navy. She was built by the American William Cramp & Sons because Russian shipyards were already at full capacity. Named ...
* Russian battleship Rostislav * Russian battleship Sissoi Veliky * Russian battleship Tri Sviatitelia *
Russian battleship Tsesarevich ''Tsesarevich'' () was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, built in France at the end of the 19th century. The ship's design formed the basis of the Russian-built s. She was based at Port Arthur, northeast China, after en ...
* Russian cruiser ''Admiral Kornilov'' * Russian cruiser Admiral Nakhimov (1885) *
Russian cruiser Almaz ''Almaz'' (; "Diamond") was a 2nd-class cruiser in the Imperial Russian Navy, built by Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, Russia, as a yacht for Viceroy Yevgeni Alekseyev. Construction ''Almaz'' had her first keel plate laid down at the Baltic ...
* Russian cruiser Askold * Russian cruiser Boyarin * Russian cruiser Gromoboi * Russian cruiser Pamiat Azova *
Russian cruiser Rossia ''Rossia'' () was an armored cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy built in the 1890s. She was designed as a long-range commerce raiding, commerce raider and served as such during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. She was based in Vladivostok w ...
* Russian cruiser Rurik (1892) *
Russian cruiser Rurik (1906) ''Rurik'' was the last armored cruiser to be built for the Imperial Russian Navy. The ship was designed by the British firm Vickers, Vickers, Sons and Maxim and built in their shipyard, being keel laying, laid down in 1905 and completed in 19 ...
* Russian cruiser Svetlana * Russian cruiser Varyag * Russian cruiser Vladimir Monomakh *
Russian yacht Standart The ''Standart'' was an Imperial Russian yacht serving Emperor Nicholas II and his family, being in her time (late 19th/early 20th century), the largest imperial yacht afloat. After the Russian Revolution, the ship was placed in drydock until 19 ...


United Kingdom service

In 1886 this gun was the first of the modern Quick-firing (QF) artillery to be adopted by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
as the built under licence by the
Elswick Ordnance Company The Elswick Ordnance Company (sometimes referred to as Elswick Ordnance Works, but usually as "EOC") was a British armaments manufacturing company of the late 19th and early 20th century History Originally created in 1859 to separate William ...
. By the middle of World War I the Hotchkiss gun was obsolescent and was gradually replaced by the more powerful
Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers 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 propella ...
gun. Of the 2,950 produced it is estimated that 1,948 were still available in 1939 for RN use. The availability, simplicity and light weight of the gun kept it in use in small vessels and many were later brought back into service on merchant vessels used for auxiliary duties in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
or as
saluting gun A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Scouting ...
s and sub-calibre guns for gunnery practice until the 1950s. Early in WWII, it was also pressed into service in ports around the British Empire, to defend against possible incursions by motor torpedo boats, until the modern
QF 6 pounder 10 cwt gun The British QF (quick-firing) 6-pounder 10 cwt gun"6 pounder" refers to the approximate weight of projectiles, which was a traditional British way of denoting small guns. "10 cwt" referred to the approximate weight of the gun and breech in hund ...
became available. Two, brought from Gibraltar in the late 1990s, are still in use on Victory Green in the Falkland Islands for saluting purposes. Royal Navy ships armed with QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns included: *
Admiral-class ironclad The United Kingdom, British Royal Navy's ironclad Admiral-class battleships of the 1880s followed the pattern of the in having the main armament on centreline mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. This pattern was followed by most follow ...
s * Adventure-class cruisers * Alert-class sloops *
Arrogant-class cruiser The ''Arrogant''-class cruiser was a ship class, class of four protected cruisers built for the British Royal Navy at the end of the 1890s. One ship, , was lost following a collision with a merchant ship in 1908, while saw active service in th ...
s * Astraea-class cruisers *
Blake-class cruiser The ''Blake'' class was a pair of first-class protected cruisers, the first of their rank in the Royal Navy, designed in the late 1880s and built around 1890. Design The ''Blake''s were designed under the supervision of William White, short ...
s * Bramble-class gunboats *
C-class cruiser The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in seven groups known as the ''Caroline'' class (six ships), the ''Calliope'' class (two ships), the ''Cambrian'' class (four ships), the ''Centaur'' cla ...
s * Cadmus-class sloops * Canopus-class battleships * Centurion-class battleships * Challenger-class cruisers * Colossus-class battleships * Condor-class sloops * Conqueror-class monitors * Cressy-class cruisers * Cyclops-class monitors *
Devastation-class ironclad The two British ''Devastation''-class battleships of the 1870s, and , were the first class of ocean-going capital ship that did not carry sails, and the first which mounted the entire main armament on top of the hull rather than inside it. Th ...
s * Devonshire-class cruisers * Diadem-class cruisers *
Drake-class cruiser The ''Drake'' class was a four-ship class of armoured cruisers built around 1900 for the Royal Navy. Design and description The ''Drake'' class were enlarged and improved versions of the designed by Sir William White, Chief Constructor of ...
s * Duncan-class battleships * Eclipse-class cruisers * Formidable-class battleships * Forward-class cruisers * Gorgon-class monitors * Highflyer-class cruisers * King Edward VII-class battleships * King George V-class battleships *
Lord Nelson-class battleship The ''Lord Nelson'' class consisted of a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the twentieth century. Although they were the last British pre-dreadnoughts, both were completed and commissioned wel ...
s * Majestic-class battleships * Marathon-class cruisers *
Monarch-class coastal defense ship The ''Monarch'' class was a ship class, class of three coastal defense ships built by Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century. The ''Monarch''s were the first ships of their type to utilize turrets. The class comprised three ships: , , and ...
s * Monmouth-class cruisers * Orion-class battleships * Orlando-class cruisers * Pathfinder-class cruisers * Pearl-class cruisers * Pelorus-class cruisers * Phoenix-class sloops *
Powerful-class cruiser The ''Powerful'' class were a pair of first-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the 1890s, designed to hunt down enemy commerce raiders. Both ships served on the China Station and participated in the Second Boer War of 189 ...
s * Redbreast-class gunboats * Royal Sovereign-class battleships * Sentinel-class cruisers * Topaze-class cruisers * Trafalgar-class ironclads


United States service

The
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
used several types of 3-pounder guns from multiple manufacturers and it is difficult to determine from references which type a particular ship carried. Hotchkiss 3-pounder 5-barrel revolving cannons were used, along with single-barrel quick-firing single-shot Hotchkiss 3-pounders. Both are called rapid-firing (RF) in references. Ships on both sides in the Spanish–American War were armed with Hotchkiss 3-pounders. Although removed from first-line warships by World War I, some 3-pounders were fitted on patrol vessels, with a few weapons serving on those ships through World War II. * Amphitrite-class monitors * Asheville-class gunboats * Chester-class cruisers * Columbia-class cruisers * Connecticut-class battleships * Delaware-class battleships *
Maine-class battleship The three ''Maine''-class battleships—, , and —were built at the turn of the 20th century for the United States Navy. Based on the preceding , they incorporated several significant technological advances over the earlier ships. They were th ...
s *
Mississippi-class battleship The ''Mississippi'' class of battleships comprised two ships which were authorized in the 1903 naval budget: and ; these were named for the Mississippi, 20th and Idaho, 43rd states, respectively. These were the last pre-dreadnought battleships ...
s * New Orleans-class cruisers * New York-class battleships * Northampton-class cruisers * Pennsylvania-class cruisers *
Pensacola-class cruiser The ''Pensacola'' class was a class of United States Navy heavy cruiser, the first "treaty cruisers" designed under the limitations set by the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited cruisers to a maximum of displacement and a maximum main batte ...
s * Portland-class cruisers *
South Carolina-class battleship Two ''South Carolina''-class battleships, also known as the ''Michigan'' class, were built for the United States Navy in the early twentieth century. Named and , they were the first American dreadnoughts—powerful warships whose capabilities ...
s * St. Louis-class cruisers * Tennessee-class cruisers * Virginia-class battleships * Wilmington-class gunboats *
Wyoming-class battleship The ''Wyoming'' class was a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy. and were authorized in early 1909, and were built between 1910 and 1912. These were the fourth dreadnought design of the US Navy, but only an increm ...
s *
Yorktown-class gunboat The ''Yorktown'' class was a class of three steel-hulled, twin-screw gunboats built for the United States Navy beginning in 1887. All three ships of the class were named after cities near American Revolutionary War battles. The ships were just ...
s * * * * * * * * * * *


Ammunition

The most common types of ammunition available for 3-pounder guns were low yield Steel shells and common lyddite shells. In World War II higher yield
high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
rounds were produced.


Photo gallery

File:Canon de 47mm.jpg, Model of gun in French service on "elastic frame" mounting (affût-crinoline), at the
Musée national de la Marine The Musée national de la Marine (; "National Navy Museum") is a maritime museum located in the Palais de Chaillot, Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It has annexes at Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort ( Musée National de la Ma ...
Paris. File:Noon-day Gun Hong Kong clip.JPG, The
Noonday gun The ''Noonday'' ''Gun'' () is a former naval artillery piece mounted on a small enclosed site near the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Owned and operated by Jardine Matheson, the gun is fired every day at noon an ...
at
Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...
, Hong Kong File:Flickr - El coleccionista de instantes - Fotos La Fragata A.R.A. "Libertad" de la armada argentina en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (28).jpg, Two of the four operational QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss cannons aboard File:47mm Russian Hotchkiss gun on field carriage.JPG, Russian Hotchkiss gun on a field carriage. Military-historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps. St. Petersburg Russia. File:QF3pdrHotchkissSydney1942.jpeg, A 3-pounder coastal-defense gun at
Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...
1942. File:Renault anti-aircraft 01.jpg, A Russian 3-pounder on a Renault armored car 1917. File:Rossiya1895-1922guns.jpg, The Imperial Russian cruiser Rossia. 3-pounders at the bottom left/right. File:3pdron90mmcarriage.jpg, A French 3-pounder on a 90 mm gun carriage.


Surviving examples

* The Jardines Noonday gun at
Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. * A gun at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Manly, Queensland, Australia. * Two guns on "elastic frame" mounting in the Casemate de l'Aschenbach, Uffheim, Haut-Rhin, France. * A saluting battery of multiple guns at
Fort Queenscliff Fort Queenscliff, in Victoria, Australia, dates from 1860 when an open battery was constructed on Shortland's Bluff to defend the entrance to Port Phillip. The Fort, which underwent major redevelopment in the late 1870s and 1880s, became the he ...
, Victoria, Australia. * Four guns on the
tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...
''Libertad'', which serves as a
school ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old Hulk (ship type), hulks us ...
in the
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...
; all fully operational as saluting battery or multipurpose defense.Jane's Fighting Ships 2005–2006 * 3 guns used for ceremonial purposes at . * 4 guns used for ceremonial purposes at
Fort Blockhouse Fort Blockhouse is a former military establishment in Gosport, Hampshire, England, and the final version of a complicated site. At its greatest extent in the 19th century, the structure was part of a set of fortifications which encircled much ...
. *
National Museum of the United States Navy The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short, is the flagship museum of the United States Navy and is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy ...
has one on display with 1910 brass gun sight and slide manufactured at the Naval Gun Factory.


Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

* QF 3 pounder Nordenfelt : Nordenfelt equivalent * QF 3 pounder Vickers : Vickers equivalent *
5 cm SK L/40 gun The 5 cm SK L/40 gunSK - ''Schnelladekanone'' (quick loading cannon); ''L - Länge in Kaliber'' (Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length, length in caliber) was a German naval gun used in World War I and World War II. Service The 5 c ...
: German equivalent


Licensed production

*
Elswick Ordnance Company The Elswick Ordnance Company (sometimes referred to as Elswick Ordnance Works, but usually as "EOC") was a British armaments manufacturing company of the late 19th and early 20th century History Originally created in 1859 to separate William ...
*
Obukhov State Plant Obukhov State Plant (also known Obukhovski Plant, ) is a major Russian metallurgy and heavy machine-building Factory, plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. Predecessors In 1854, the mining engineer P.M. Obukhov invented a new procedure to make ...
* Skoda Works *
William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) was an American shipbuilding company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1830 by William Cramp. During its heyday in late 19 ...


Wars

*
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
*
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
*
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
*
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
*
First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
*
Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...
*
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
*
Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...
*
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...


Users

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Notes


References

* * * *


External links


Handbook of the 3 pounder Hotchkiss quick-firing gun Land service 1892, 1900
at State Library of Victoria
Handbook for Hotchkiss 6-pr and 3-pr. quick-firing guns 1896
at State Library of Victoria * Tony DiGiulian

* ttp://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_3pounder_m1.htm DiGiulian, Tony, US 3-pounders
DiGiulian, Tony, Russian Hotchkiss 3-pounders
{{DEFAULTSORT:QF 03 pounder Hotchkiss 47 mm artillery Naval guns of France Naval guns of the United Kingdom Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom Coastal artillery Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1886 World War I naval weapons of the United Kingdom Naval guns of the United States Russo-Japanese war weapons of Russia Russo-Japanese war weapons of Japan