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 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 ...

s and later

submarine 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 infor ...

s. Many variants were produced, often under license, which ranged in length from 40 to 58 calibres, with 40 calibre the most common. 6-pounders were widely used by the navies of a number of nations and often used by both sides in a conflict. Due to advances in torpedo delivery and performance, 6-pounder guns were rapidly made obsolete and were replaced with larger guns aboard most larger warships. This led to their being used ashore 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 ...

as coastal defence guns, the first

tank gun A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are high-velocity, large-caliber artilleries capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high-explosive anti-tank, and cannon-launched guided projectiles. Anti-aircraft guns can also ...

s and as

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 ...

s, whether on improvised or specialized HA/LA mounts. During

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 ...

6-pounder guns were put back in service to arm small warships and as coastal defence guns. The last ships to carry 6-pounders were the Aegir-class offshore patrol vessels of the

Icelandic Coast Guard The Icelandic Coast Guard (, or simply ) is the Icelandic defence service responsible for search and rescue, maritime safety and security surveillance, national defense, and law enforcement. The Coast Guard maintains the Iceland Air Defence ...

which replaced them in 1990 with the

Bofors 40mm L/60 The Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60 (often referred to simply as the "Bofors 40 mm gun", the "Bofors gun" and the like, see name) is an anti-aircraft autocannon, designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors. The gu ...

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...

Operational history

Argentine service

Argentina adopted the 40 calibre Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1890s, to arm its four Giuseppe Garibaldi-class

armoured 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, purchased from Italy. The Argentinians were at that time engaged in a naval arms race with Chile. The last ships from this class were retired from service on 2 August 1954. Argentinian ships armed with 6-pounder guns include: * ARA ''General Belgrano'' * ARA Garibaldi *

ARA Pueyrredón ARA ''Pueyrredón'' was one of four armored cruisers purchased by the Argentine Navy from Italy in the 1890s. Design and description ''Pueyrredón'' had an length overall, overall length of , a beam (nautical), beam of , and a mean draft (ship) ...

* ARA San Martin

Brazilian service

Brazil adopted the 40 calibre Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1890s, to arm its

coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...

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 torpedo-gunboats. The Brazilians also used the competing Nordenfelt 6 pounders in lesser numbers. The last Brazilian ship retired was the coastal defence ship ''Marshal Floriano'' in 1936. The former Brazilian coastal defence ship ''Marshal Deodoro'' was sold to Mexico in 1924 and renamed ''Anáhuac'', which was retired in 1938. * Marshal Deodoro-class coastal defence ships * Brazilian cruiser Republica * Brazilian cruiser Almirante Barroso * Brazilian torpedo gunboat Tiradentes

Chilean service

Chile adopted the 40 calibre Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1890s, to arm a

battleship 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 ...

, an armoured cruiser, and several protected cruisers. The last of these ships was retired in 1933. *

Chilean battleship Capitán Prat Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture * Chilean cuisine * Chilean Americans See also *List of Chileans This is a list of Chileans who ar ...

* Chilean cruiser Esmeralda * Chilean cruiser Presidente Errázuriz * Chilean cruiser Ministro Zenteno * Chilean cruiser O'Higgins * Chilean cruiser Presidente Pinto

Chinese service

China adopted the Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1880s, to arm its protected cruisers. 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 on both sides were armed with Hotchkiss 6-pounder guns. Surviving 6-pounder guns were in Chinese service aboard

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

and

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...

during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

and

. *

Zhiyuen-class cruiser The ''Zhiyuan'' class ( zh, c=致远级, p=Zhiyuanji, w=Chih-yuan-chi) were two protected cruisers built during the late stages of the Qing dynasty. Both were sunk during the First Sino-Japanese War. Context and build In the late 19th centu ...

s * Chinese cruiser ''Jingyuen''

French service

Despite originating in France the 6-pounder was not widely used by the French. Like the British, who paired their

QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss 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. T ...

guns with the larger 6-pounder, the French often paired their 3-pounders with the more powerful

Canon de 65 mm Modèle 1891 The Canon de 65 mm Modèle 1891 & Modèle 1902 were a family of widely used naval guns of the French Navy that were also used by the Ottoman Navy during World War I. Guns removed from decommissioned ships also saw use as coastal artillery a ...

. This gun is sometimes referred to as a 9-pounder in English publications. During World War II a few

Flower-class Corvettes The Flower-class corvetteGardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 62. (also referred to as the ''Gladiolus'' class after the lead ship) was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine ...

(''Aconit, Commandant Drogou, Commandant Détroyat, Commandant d`Estienne d`Orves, Mimosa, Renoncule, Roselys'') of the

Free French Navy The Free French Naval Forces (, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. History In the wake of the Armistice and the Appeal of 18 June, Charles de Ga ...

were armed with two 6-pounder guns.

Irish service

A 6-pounder gun was fitted to the single Vickers Mk. D tank used by the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

between 1929 and 1940. When the tank was scrapped in 1940 the gun was removed and used as an

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

weapon.

Italian service

Italy adopted the 40 calibre Hotchkiss 6-pounder in 1886 to arm its armoured cruisers, battleships, protected cruisers,

torpedo boats 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 ...

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. The Italians also adopted the competing 43 calibre Nordenfelt 6 pounder gun and by 1909 the Nordenfelt had replaced the Hotchkiss in service. This was the opposite of the British who replaced their Nordenfelt guns with Hotchkiss guns. * Etna-class cruisers *

Goito-class cruiser The class was a group of four torpedo cruisers built for the Italian (Royal Navy) in the 1880s. The members of the class were , , , and . They were among the first torpedo cruisers built for the Italian fleet, and were built to improve on the ...

s *

Regioni-class cruiser The was a group of six protected cruisers built for the Italian (Royal Navy) in the late 1880s through the early 1900s. The class comprised , , , , , and , all of which were named for regions of Italy with the exception of , which was named f ...

s * Vettor Pisani-class cruisers * Italian battleship Emanuele Filiberto *

Italian cruiser Marco Polo ''Marco Polo'' was an armored cruiser built for the Royal Italian Navy (''Regia Marina'') in the 1890s, the first of her type in Italian service. The ship spent the bulk of her career deployed in the Far East. Between deployments she participated ...

* Italian cruiser Piemonte *

Italian cruiser Calabria was a small protected cruiser built for the Italian (Royal Navy) in the 1890s, intended for service in Italy's Italian Empire, overseas empire. She was laid down in 1892, launched in 1894, and completed in 1897, and was armed with a main batt ...

Italian cruiser Dogali was a unique protected cruiser built for the Italian (Royal Navy) in the 1880s. Notably, she was the first warship equipped with triple-expansion engines. The ship was originally ordered by the Greek Navy and named ''Salamis'', but she was sol ...

* Italian cruiser Giovanni Bausan *

Japanese service

Japan adopted the 40 calibre Hotchkiss 6-pounder in the 1880s to arm its

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, protected cruisers and

unprotected cruiser An unprotected cruiser was a type of naval warship that was in use during the early 1870s Victorian era, Victorian or Pre-dreadnought battleship, pre-dreadnought era (about 1880 to 1905). The name was meant to distinguish these ships from “p ...

s. The Japanese versions of the 6-pounder were known as ''Yamanouchi'' guns and were largely identical to their British equivalents. Ships on both sides of the First Sino-Japanese war and

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 ...

were armed with Hotchkiss 6-pounder guns. The 6-pounder was the standard secondary and tertiary armament on most Japanese destroyers built between 1890 and 1920, and was still in service as late as the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. * Akatsuki-class destroyers * Harusame-class destroyers * Ikazuchi-class destroyers * Matsushima-class cruisers *

Murakumo-class destroyer The ("Gathering Clouds") were a class of six torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) of the Imperial Japanese Navy, built in Britain in 1897–99. The class is also sometimes referred to as the ("Daybreak"). All were named after celestial phenomena. ...

s * Naniwa-class cruisers * Shirakumo-class destroyers *

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 * Japanese cruiser Izumi * Japanese cruiser Unebi * Japanese cruiser Takao

Russian services

The Russians began purchasing 40 calibre 6-pounders from France starting in 1904 to replace its 3-pounder and 1-pounder guns in the anti-torpedo boat role. In addition to 40 calibre guns, 50 and 58 calibre guns were also produced under license 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 ...

. These were installed on torpedo cruisers and

s built from 1905 to 1917. Beginning in 1909–1910 most larger surface ships began replacing their 6-pounders with 75 mm 50 calibre Pattern 1892 and 102 mm 60 calibre Pattern 1911 guns when combat experience in the Russo-Japanese war showed the 6-pounders were almost as ineffective as the 3-pounder and 1-pounder guns they had replaced. In 1911–12 a number were turned over to the Army for use as

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

, and later in 1914 some were converted into anti-aircraft guns. In addition to the Hotchkiss guns there were also Nordenfeld Guns which were used as ranging guns for coastal defences. Finland, a successor state to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, inherited a number of 6-pounders and used them throughout the

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 ...

and World War II in the coastal artillery role. * Bars-class submarines * Morzh-class submarines * Narval-class submarines * Finn-class torpedo cruisers * Okhotnik-class torpedo cruisers * Ukrayna-class torpedo cruisers * Vsadnik-class torpedo cruisers

Spanish service

Spain adopted both the 40-calibre Hotchkiss 6-pounder and the 42-calibre Nordenfelt 6-pounder in the 1880s to arm its armoured cruisers, battleships, protected cruisers and unarmoured cruisers. Seven ships (1 battleship, 3 unarmoured cruisers and 3 protected cruisers) carried the Hotchkiss guns and eleven (8 unarmoured cruisers and 3 protected cruisers) carried the Nordenfelt guns. Ships on both sides of the

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 ...

were armed with various 6-pounder guns (Driggs-Schroeder, Hotchkiss and Nordenfelt). The Spanish cruiser ''Isla de Cuba'', which was captured by the United States during the Spanish–American War and served as the USS ''Isla de Cuba'' until sold to Venezuela in 1912 and renamed ''Mariscal Sucre'', was the last ship decommissioned and scrapped in 1940. * Torpedo gunboat ''Destructor'' * Alfonso XII-class cruisers * Isla de Luzón-class cruisers * Spanish battleship Pelayo

United Kingdom service

The UK adopted a 40 calibre (i.e. 90-inch barrel) version as ''Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6 pounder gun''Mk I and Mk II or ''QF 6 pounder 8 cwt''. It was manufactured 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 ...

. They were originally mounted from 1885 onwards for use against the new (steam-driven)

which started to enter service in the late 1870s. The UK also adopted the competing 42 calibre ''Ordnance QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt'' at the same time as the QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss, but 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 ...

was not satisfied with the special Nordenfelt ammunition and fuzes. Following the explosion in 1900 of an ammunition ship due to defective fuses, Britain replaced Nordenfelt fuzes with the Hotchkiss designs and Nordenfelt guns were phased out in favor of the Hotchkiss guns and were declared obsolete by 1919. The original 1885 Hotchkiss Mk I was a

built-up gun A built-up gun is artillery with a specially reinforced barrel. An inner tube of metal stretches within its elastic limit under the pressure of confined powder gases to transmit stress (mechanics), stress to outer cylinders that are under tension. ...

with a barrel, jacket and a locking hoop screwed to the front of the jacket. The Mk I lacked a recoil system, but the Mk II of 1890 introduced a hydraulic recoil mechanism with a pair of hydro-spring cylinders. During

the navy required many more guns and an autofretted, mono-block barrel version was developed to simplify manufacture and identified as "6 pdr Single Tube". Initially these guns were only allowed to be fired with a special lower charge, but in 1917 they were relined with A tubes as Mk I+++ which enabled them to use the standard 6-pounder ammunition.Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 36-39 After World War I the gun was considered obsolete for combat use, but continued in use as a

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 ...

and as sub-calibre training guns. Of the 3,984 produced it was estimated that 1,640 still existed in 1939. With the onset of World War II the remaining guns were rushed back into service for anti-submarine defence,

E-boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat"; plural ''Schnellboote'') of the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a pat ...

defence and for coastal defence. New non-recoil Mk VI, Mk VI* and Mk VI** mountings were built with elevations between -10° and +70°. These mountings were used on early models of the Fairmile D Motor Gunboats,

Motor Launch Launch is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In naval use, the launch was introduced as a ship's boat ...

es and

Flower-class corvette The Flower-class corvetteGardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 62. (also referred to as the ''Gladiolus'' class after the lead ship) was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine ...

s. Some of which were not re-armed with the modern 6-pdr Mk IIA with auto-loader until late 1944. Royal Navy ships armed with QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns include: * A-class destroyers *

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 * Apollo-class cruisers * B-class destroyers *

Banff-class sloop The ''Banff''-class sloop was a group of ten warships of the Royal Navy. Built as United States Coast Guard Lake-class cutters, in 1941 these ships were loaned to the Royal Navy as antisubmarine warfare escort ships. The transfers took place at ...

s *

British H-class submarine The British H-class submarines were Holland 602 type submarines used by the Royal Navy. The submarines constructed for the British Royal Navy between 1915 and 1919 were designed and built in response to German boats which mined British wate ...

s *

C and D-class destroyer The C and D class was a group of 14 destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. As in previous years, it was originally intended to order a complete flotilla comprising eight destroyers—plus a flotilla leader as the ninth unit� ...

s *

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 * C-class destroyers *

Castle-class trawler The Castle-class minesweeper was a highly seaworthy naval trawler adapted for Patrol boat#History, patrol, anti-submarine warfare and Minesweeper, minesweeping duties and built to British Admiralty, Admiralty specifications. Altogether 197 were ...

s * CD-class naval drifters * Centurion-class battleships * Conqueror-class ironclad rams * D-class destroyers * Daring-class destroyers *

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 * Dryad-class torpedo gunboats *

E and F-class destroyer The E and F-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. The ships were initially assigned to the Home Fleet, although they reinforced the Mediterranean Fleet during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, ...

s *

Fly-class gunboat The Fly-class river gunboats (or small China gunboats), collectively often referred to as the "Tigris gunboat flotilla", were a class of small well-armed Royal Navy vessels designed to patrol the Tigris river during the Mesopotamian Campaign dur ...

s *

G and H-class destroyer The G- and H-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Six additional ships being built for the Brazilian Navy when World War II began in 1939 were purchased by the British and named the ''Havan ...

s * Indefatigable-class battlecruisers * Lion-class battlecruisers *

M15-class monitor The ''M15'' class comprised fourteen monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915. Design The ships of this class were ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction. They were designed ...

s *

M29-class monitor The ''M29'' class comprised five monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915. The ships of this class were ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction. The contract for construction w ...

s * Marathon-class cruisers * Orlando-class cruisers * River-class destroyers *

Royal Sovereign-class battleship The ''Royal Sovereign'' class was a group of eight pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. The ships spent their careers in the Mediterranean, Home and Channel Fleets, sometimes as flagships, although several were m ...

s * Stour-class destroyers * Trafalgar-class ironclads * Surprise-class cruisers *

Victoria-class battleship The Royal Navy's ''Victoria'' class (or ''Sans Pareil'' class) of the 1880s was the first class of ironclad warship (sometimes described as a battleship) which used triple expansion steam engines, previous classes having used compound engines. ...

s *

Warrior-class cruiser The ''Warrior'' class consisted of four armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. After commissioning, all four sister ships were assigned to the Channel Fleet, Channel and Home Fleets until 1913 when ...

Tank service

The 6-pounder was used to equip Male versions of the early British Mk I – Mk III tanks. In 1916 the British Army was faced with the difficulty of quickly providing a new class of weapon. The existing Hotchkiss 6-pounder naval gun appeared to most closely meet the need (a compact enough weapon to fit into a tank

sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, Instantaneous stability, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercra ...

with a sufficient high explosive shell). A single gun was mounted in each sponson, i.e. two per Male tank able to fire forwards or to the side. Tanks armed only with machine guns were designated as 'Female'. The gun turned out to be too long for practical use as the end of the barrel could come into contact with the ground or other obstacles as the tank traveled over uneven ground. The British chose to shorten the gun rather than change its location and replaced it in 1917 in the

Mark IV tank The Mark IV (pronounced ''Mark four'') was a British tank of the First World War. Introduced in 1917, it benefited from significant developments of the Mark I tank (the intervening designs being small batches used for training). The main improv ...

onwards by the shorter

QF 6 pounder 6 cwt Hotchkiss The Ordnance QF 6-pounder 6 cwt Hotchkiss Mk I and Mk II was a shortened version of the original QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss naval gun, and was developed specifically for use in the sponsons of the later marks of British tanks in World War I, from Ma ...

Anti-aircraft service

Britain lacked any dedicated air-defence artillery early in

and up to 72 6-pounders were adapted to high-angle pedestal mountings at key establishments in Britain for close air defence by 1916. They are not listed as still being in service in this role at the end of the war,Routledge 1994, Page 27 presumably because German bombing attacks were conducted from relatively high altitudes which would have been beyond the gun's range.

United States service

The history of the Hotchkiss 6-pounder (called the Rapid Fire gun rather than Quick Firer in the US) in

United States 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 ...

and

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

service is a complex story. It was used in conjunction with another maker's design, its primary rival being the Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounder. Oddly, one shipbuilding and naval supply company, Cramp & Sons, had a license to build both the Hotchkiss and

Driggs-Schroeder Driggs-Schroeder was the name of several naval artillery, naval guns designed by US Navy officers William H. Driggs and Seaton Schroeder for the United States Navy in the late 1880s, fitted on ships built in the 1890s. Some Driggs-Schroeder weapon ...

and sold both to the Navy in parallel. It appears that Hotchkiss type guns had an edge in production in the first half of the 1890s, but by 1895 Driggs-Schroeders were being produced in quantity to equip a considerable number of newly commissioned ships. The initial purchases by the Navy were in small lots each year and there was no mass-production of these guns like one would see in smaller weapons. The Navy made certain that the ammunition for both the Hotchkiss and Driggs-Schroeder guns were identical. There is no question that the Driggs-Schroeders were predominant in the new protected and armoured cruisers that were being commissioned by 1895. However, USS ''Texas'', a second class battleship commissioned in 1895, carried a mixed 6-pounder complement of ten Driggs-Schroeders and two Hotchkiss guns. USS ''Maine'', an armoured cruiser, exclusively carried Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounders although it had a mixed one pounder battery of both Driggs-Schroeder and Hotchkiss. Ships known to have carried exclusively Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounders are USS ''Olympia'', ''Brooklyn'', ''New York'', and ''Columbia''. Although from photographs of particular guns on the vessels in question, it appears that the battleships , , and carried exclusively Hotchkiss 6-pounders with carrying Driggs-Schroeders. Unlike her 8-inch guns, the preserved retains her Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounders. She is at the

Independence Seaport Museum The Independence Seaport Museum (formerly the Philadelphia Maritime Museum) was founded in 1961 and is located in the Penn's Landing complex along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collections at the Independence Seaport Mus ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Beginning in 1910 6-pounder guns were replaced by 3"/50 calibre guns aboard US Navy ships. However smaller ships such as US Coast Guard cutters,

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s and

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s continued to use 6-pounders in the years between World War I and World War II. * Amphitrite-class monitors * Arkansas-class monitors *

Bainbridge-class destroyer The ''Bainbridge''-class destroyers were a class of United States Navy Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBDs) built between 1899 and 1903. The first class so designated, they comprised the first 13 of 16 TBDs authorized by Congress in 1898 following the ...

s * Cincinnati-class cruisers * Columbia-class cruisers * Denver-class cruisers * Dubuque-class gunboats *

Florida-class battleship The ''Florida''-class battleships of the United States Navy comprised two ships: and . Launched in 1910 and 1909 respectively and commissioned in 1911, they were slightly larger than the preceding design but were otherwise very similar. This w ...

s *

Hawk-class minesweeper The ''Hawk'' class were a minesweeper class of the United States Navy during World War II. All three vessels were originally fishing trawlers acquired by requisition purchase from the General Sea Foods Corp. of Boston. They patrolled off the N ...

s * Illinois-class battleships * Indiana-class battleships *

Kearsarge-class battleship The ''Kearsarge''-class was a group of two pre-dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy in the 1890s. The two ships— and —represented a compromise between two preceding battleship designs, the low-freeboard (nautical), freeb ...

s * Montgomery-class cruisers *

New Orleans-class cruisers New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

* Tampa-class cutters *

Treasury-class cutter The Treasury-class cutter was a group of seven high endurance cutters launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. The class were called the "Treasury class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasur ...

s * Truxtun-class destroyers *

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 * * * USS ''Atlanta'' * * USS ''Boston'' * * USS ''Chicago'' * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * USS ''Paragua'' * * * * * * * * *

US Army service

The US Army also used the Hotchkiss 6-pounder, referred to as a "2.24-inch gun" in some period references. As the primary defender of

coastal fortifications A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

and harbours, the US Army had a need for lighter guns to supplement their shore batteries, particularly since land defence against infantry was a consideration in the 1890s. The Army was in an experimental phase like the Navy, testing new weapons in an era when military budgets were expanding after decades of Congressional stinginess. It appears that the US Army and US Navy, while both using the "Mark" system, assigned their designations to different ordnance. References indicate that

guns, manufactured by the American Ordnance Company and designated Mark II and Mark III, were adopted along with

Driggs-Seabury Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company was founded in 1897 by Driggs family, William H. Driggs and Samuel Seabury, both US Navy officers, in partnership with William's brother Louis Labadie "L. L." Driggs, originally to produce guns for the US Army and ...

weapons designated M1898 and M1900. In 1898–1901 a total of 97 weapons were acquired: 20 M1898, 40 M1900, 10 Mark II, and 27 Mark III guns. However, 17 M1898 and all ten Mark II guns were transferred for use on Army

troop transports A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

in the Spanish–American War of 1898, leaving 70 weapons for land use. The mountings for the Army six pounders were called M1898 and M1898 (modified) "rampart mounts" or "parapet mounts", wheeled carriages with fittings that allowed them to be secured to pintle mounts. Another reference has somewhat different figures.Williford, pp. 44-45 There were generally two of these guns issued per major fort, and eventually many of them became

s at the post's flagpole. A dozen were deployed at

Fort Ruger Fort Ruger is a fort on the island of Oahu that served as the first military reservation in the Territory of Hawaii. Named after Civil War General Thomas H. Ruger and built in and around Diamond Head Crater, the fort was established by the Un ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

as part of the Land Defense Project of 1915–1919, while others were deployed in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

under this project.

Ammunition

The 6-pounder fired

Fixed QF Fixed may refer to: * ''Fixed'' (EP), EP by Nine Inch Nails * ''Fixed'' (film), an upcoming animated film directed by Genndy Tartakovsky * Fixed (typeface), a collection of monospace bitmap fonts that is distributed with the X Window System * Fi ...

57x307R ammunition. A complete round weighed and its projectile weighed . The most common types of ammunition available for 6-pounder guns were shrapnel,

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

and

common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

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. File:QF6pdrCartridgesMkXIIIMkXIV.jpg, Mk XIV and XIII steel shell rounds with Mk V shell, 1914 File:QF 6 pdr rounds 1890s.jpg, Common shell rounds with Mk II shell from 1891 File:QF 6 pdr common shell 1891 closeup.jpg, QF 6-pounder common projectile 1891 close-up. File:QF 6 pounder steel shell base.jpg, Mk II Shell base, showing fuze hole File:HotchkissMkIVBasePercussionFuze.jpg, Mk IV base percussion fuze File:QF6pdrAmmoLabel1893.jpg, 6-pounder ammunition label from 1893

Photo gallery

File:QF6pdrHotchkissDiagram.jpg, QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss diagram. File:57 45 Bridgeport.JPG, A 45 calibre 6-pounder at

Kuivasaari Kuivasaari (''Torra Mjölö'' in Swedish) is a Finnish island in the Gulf of Finland, near Helsinki. Kuivasaari is located some out into the Gulf of Finland, due south of Helsinki city centre, and was for many years the outermost inhabited i ...

, Finland. The markings on this gun indicate it was produced by

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

. File:57 mm 58 caliber Hotchkiss Kuivasaari.JPG, A Russian 58 calibre 6-pounder gun, at Kuivasaari, Finland. File:German photo with English Tank.jpg, German troops with a captured Mk II tank, showing the unwieldy length of the gun barrel (projecting from

on left side of tank). File:Austin anti-aircraft 01.jpg, A Russian Austin-Putilov armoured car with a 6-pounder

. File:6 pounder Hotchkiss gun and crew USS Oregon.jpg, A 6-pounder gun and crew aboard the USS ''Oregon''.

Licensed production

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 ...

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 ...

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

Cod Wars The Cod Wars (; also known as , ; ) were a series of 20th-century confrontations between the United Kingdom (with aid from West Germany) and Iceland about Exclusive economic zone, fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each of the disputes ended ...

Users

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

Surviving examples

* Twin 6 pounder QF Guns Mk I on Pedestal Mount Mk I, Belmont Battery,

Fort Rodd Hill Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site is a 19th-century coastal artillery fort located on Esquimalt Harbour in Colwood, British Columbia, Canada. It was constructed in the 1890s by the Royal Marine Artillery to defend the Esquimalt Naval Base. I ...

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

Surviving seacoast artillery at the Coast Defence Study Group
Berhow, p. 235 * One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk I (#502 Hotchkiss) on Garrison Carriage Mk I** (Hotchkiss Cone Mount), Fort Rodd Hill, Victoria, British Columbia * One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk I (tube only), Fort Rodd Hill, Victoria, British Columbia * One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk I (13980 & N1584) on Pedestal Mount Mk I (5110),

Bay Street Armoury Bay Street Armoury is located at 715 Bay Street in Victoria, British Columbia. The Bay Street Drill Hall was completed in 1915. It was created to provide training facilities for local militia units such as the Fifth Regiment of artillery, as w ...

, Victoria, British Columbia * One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk III on wheeled carriage, private tank museum,

Mattituck, New York Mattituck is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 4,584 in 2023 according to the World Population Review. Located in the Town of Southold, Mattituck CDP roughly corresponds t ...

* One 6 pounder QF Gun Mk III on wheeled carriage,

Virginia War Museum The Virginia War Museum is located in Huntington Park on Warwick Blvd., Newport News, Virginia. The museum contains exhibits on American military history from 1775 to the present.Virginia War Museum. "Virginia War Museum" brochure, Winter 2007 ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

* One 6 pounder QF Gun on wheeled carriage, Veterans' Memorial Park,

Plymouth, Michigan Plymouth is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Plymouth is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and northeast of Ann Arbor. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,370. ...

* One 6 pounder QF Gun M1900 on wheeled carriage,

Maquoketa, Iowa Maquoketa () is a city in Jackson County, Iowa, United States. Located on the Maquoketa River, it is the county seat of Jackson County. U.S. Route 61 adjoins the city, which therefore hosts traffic between Dubuque and the Quad Cities. Iowa Hi ...

* Several 6 pounder RF Guns (Driggs-Schroeder) on ,

* Three 6 pounder QF Gun 1892 on recoil mounts, Yacht Club Argentino, Buenos Aires

Notes

Bibliography

Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE
* * I.V. Hogg and L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972. * LC Reynolds, Motor Gunboat 658. Cassell Military Paperbacks, London, 2002. * Brigadier N.W. Routledge, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55. London: Brassey's, 1994 * * *

External links

* DiGiulian, Tony
British 6-pdr / 8cwt (2.244"/40 (57mm)) QF Marks I and II
* DiGiulian, Tony

* DiGiulian, Tony
Russian 57mm/40, 57mm/50 and 57mm/58 (2.244")

Handbook of the 6 pounder Hotchkiss quick-firing gun Land service 1892
at State Library of Victoria
Handbook for Hotchkiss 6-pr and 3-pr. quick-firing guns 1896
at State Library of Victoria {{DEFAULTSORT:QF 06 pounder Hotchkiss Tank guns Coastal artillery Naval guns of China Naval guns of Japan Russo-Japanese war weapons of Japan Russo-Japanese war weapons of Russia Naval guns of the United Kingdom World War I naval weapons of the United Kingdom World War I artillery of the United Kingdom Naval guns of the United States Artillery of the United States