Deck gun
Encyclopedia
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
mounted on the deck of a ship or submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
.
The deck gun was used as a defensive weapon against smaller boats or ships and in certain cases where torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
use was limited. Typically a crew of three; gunner, loader, and layer, operated the gun, while others were tasked with bringing ammunition. A small locker box held a few rounds for the initial use. With a well-drilled, experienced crew, the rate of fire of a deck gun could be 15 to 18 aimed shots per minute.
History
The deck gun was first used during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
by the Germans and proved its worth in cases where the U-boat needed to conserve torpedoes or to attack enemy vessels that were straggling behind the convoy. Often the submarine captains considered the deck gun as their main weapon, using torpedoes only when absolutely necessary. Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière used deck gun on 171 of his 194 sinkings.
In early World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the German and American submarine commanders favoured the deck gun because of unreliability of the torpedoes. The deck gun became less effective as convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s became larger and better equipped, and merchant ships were armed. Surfacing became also dangerous in the vicinity of convoy because of the improved radars and direction finders. (See Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship was an Admiralty Trade Division program established in June, 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft...
and United States Navy Armed Guard
United States Navy Armed Guard
United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War I in an attempt to provide defensive firepower to merchant ships in convoy or merchant ships traveling alone...
). Deck guns were eventually ordered removed by the head of the German U-boat command (BdU
BDU
The abbreviation BDU may refer to:*Battle Dress Uniform, United States' combat uniforms.*Befehlshaber der U-Boote , commander-in-chief of Germany's submarine fleets in WW-II.*FAA location identifier for Boulder Municipal Airport...
) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Some deck guns stayed around on ships, but today they are no longer in use.
Two notable deck guns from German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s used in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
were the 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Schnelladekanone and the 10.5 cm (4.1 in) Schnelladekanone. The 88 mm was the first of these two notable German deck guns to be used. It had ammunition that weighed about 30 lb (13.6 kg) and was of the projectile and cartridge type. The 88 mm deck gun had the same controls on both sides of the gun so that the two crewman that were in charge of firing it could control it from either side. The 105 mm evolved from the 88 mm in a sense that it was more accurate and had more power due to the 51 lb (23.1 kg) ammunition it fired.
Another notable deck gun was the 6-inch (152 mm)/53 caliber Mark XII on the and , which were the biggest deck guns to be equipped on any submarine and which offered highly destructive firepower. Larger guns were fitted to some submarines but these were turret mountings. The London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
of 1930 restricted submarine guns to a maximum of 6 inches.
In the Royal Navy, the was the last British submarine to be fitted with a deck gun (a 4-inch QF gun). HMS Andrew was scrapped in 1977.