The ''3.7 cm Flak M42'' was the marine version of the Flak 36/37 and used by the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

on surface ships and as the M42U on Type VII and Type IX U-boats. The 3.7 cm Flak M42U used several types of mounts and entered service in autumn 1943.

3.7 cm Flak M42

The 3.7 cm Flak M42 was a longer

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...

version of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

's 3.7 cm Flak 36, 69 caliber as opposed to 57 caliber. It replaced the older 3.7 cm SK C/30 that had been designed in 1930. The gun was loaded with a five-round ammunition clip, giving it a rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute, unlike the SK C/30 which was single-shot with a rate of 30 rounds per minute. The M42 was also about lighter than the SK C/30 and had gun shields.

LM 42U Mount

The LM 42U mount was developed specifically for the 3.7 cm Flak M42U. It was manned by a 3-man crew, with a fourth man operating as the loader.Skwiot, p. 340

DLM 42U Mount

The twin mount was based on the LM 42U design, in which the 3.7 cm Flak M42U guns were mounted side by side.Skwiot, p. 342

LM 43U Mount

The LM 43U mount was the final design of mount used on U-boats. It was a further improvement on the LM 42U. The LM 43U was only known to be installed on these U-boats (, , , , , and ).

Gallery

File:37 mm Flak M42.png, 3.7 cm Flak M42U used on

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s. File:3.7cm Flak M42 LM42U.png, A single 3.7 cm Flak M42U gun on the LM 42U mount. File:37 mm Flak M42 LM43U.png, A single 3.7 cm Flak M42U gun on the LM 43U mount. File:37 mm Flak M42 LM42U.png, Twin 3.7 cm Flak M42U guns on the DLM 42U mount.

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:3.7 cm Flak M42 World War II artillery of Germany World War II anti-aircraft guns Anti-aircraft guns of Germany 37 mm artillery Rheinmetall Naval guns of Germany Naval anti-aircraft guns Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942