QF 3-pounder Nordenfelt

Naval gun

QF 3-pounder Nordenfelt
At Melbourne Town Hall, 1895
Type	Naval gun Coast defence gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1885–19??
Used by	Many countries
Production history
Designed	1885
Manufacturer	Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Maxim-Nordenfelt
Specifications
Mass	UK 45-cal version : 452 pounds (205 kg) barrel & breech^[1]
Length	45 calibres

Shell	Fixed QF
Shell weight	3 lb 4 oz (1.5 kg)
Calibre	47-millimetre (1.850 in)
Breech	Vertical sliding-block with locking wedge
Muzzle velocity	1,959 ft/s (597 m/s)^[2]
Maximum firing range	4,000 yd (3,700 m)^[2]

The QF 3-pounder Nordenfelt was a light 47 mm quick-firing naval gun and coast defence gun of the late 19th century used by many countries.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom only deployed this gun for coast defence, and soon discarded it in favour of the similar QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss gun for both coast defence and naval use.

Ammunition

Ammunition was in "fixed rounds" : the projectile and brass cartridge case were loaded as a single unit. The gun used the same ammunition as the similar QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss, with either Nordenfelt or Hotchkiss fuzes. When introduced in the 1880s the propellant used was gunpowder, in British service Cordite Mark I was used as propellant from the mid-1890s onwards.

British steel shell round, 1891
British common shell round, 1891

Notes

References

^ Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 32
^ ^a ^b Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 32 quote 4,000 yards (3,700 m) with muzzle velocity 1,959 ft/s (597 m/s), for the British 45-calibres model in 1914 using 6oz 6dr cordite Mk 1 propellant.

Bibliography

I.V. Hogg and L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to QF 3 pounder Nordenfelt.

Handbook of the 3-pounder Nordenfelt quick-firing gun. Land service, 1891

British Empire small arms & ordnance of the Victorian era

Sidearms

Muskets and rifles

Artillery

Field Artillery	SBML 9 pounder 13 cwt RBL 9 pounder RBL 12-pounder RBL 20-pounder RML 9-pounder 8 cwt RML 13-pounder 8 cwt RML 16-pounder 12 cwt BL 12-pounder 7 cwt BL 12-pounder 6 cwt QF 12-pounder 8 cwt BL 15-pounder QF 1-pounder pom-pom
Mountain artillery	RML 7-pounder Mountain Gun RML 2.5-inch Mountain Gun
Howitzers, medium, and heavy artillery	RML 6.3-inch howitzer RML 6.6-inch howitzer BL 5-inch howitzer BL 5.4-inch howitzer
Siege & garrison artillery	4.1-inch 'Long Cecil' SBBL 32-pounder SBML 24-pounder SBML 8-inch 65 cwt RBL 40-pounder RBL 7-inch RML 25-pounder 18 cwt RML 40-pounder gun RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun RML 64-pounder 58 cwt RML 64-pounder 71 cwt gun RML 80-pounder RML 6.6-inch gun RML 8-inch howitzer BL 5-inch gun Mk I – V BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 9.45-inch howitzer
Coastal artillery	QF 3-pounder Nordenfelt QF 4.7-inch BL 6-inch Mk III, IV, VI BL 6-inch Mk V RBL 7-inch RML 7-inch RML 8-inch BL 8-inch Mk VII RML 9-inch BL 9.2-inch Mk IV & VI BL 10-inch Mk I BL 12-inch Mk I, VI, VII RML 12.5-inch RML 16-inch RML 17.72-inch