Special
  • 1/350 French Navy 37mm/70 (1.46") AA Model 1935 x1
  • 1/350 French Navy 37mm/70 (1.46") AA Model 1935 x1
  • 1/350 French Navy 37mm/70 (1.46") AA Model 1935 x1
  • 1/350 French Navy 37mm/70 (1.46") AA Model 1935 x1
MM0123P

1/350 French Navy 37mm/70 (1.46") AA Model 1935 x1

  • $3.50
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

1/350 French Navy 37mm/70 (1.46") AA Model 1935 x1. Modelled from plans and using known dimensions to create a highly detailed version of this gun that never made it into widespread service. These were to be used on the Battleship Alsace and other proposed French vessels. Was prototyped on the French sloop Amiens.

  • Contains x1 Mount
  • Details include: Accurate Rivet and Hex Nut placements, Sighting Port Hatches, Spent Shell and Access Hatches
  • Barrels are printed separately and can be angled up to a maximum of 85º


HISTORICAL DATA
Recognizing that the semi-automatic 37 mm Model 1933 AA gun was not an effective weapon, the French started work on a much improved fully automatic 37 mm gun which was designed by the Artillerie Navale at Ruelle. However, this weapon did not finish development before the French surrender in 1940. One of the few prototypes was mounted on the old Patrol Sloop Amiens and was apparently successfully used during the Dunkirk evacuation.

Each gun had a pusher hoist for the six-round magazines. A remote director with a 2-meter rangefinder was used for RPC together with Sautter-Harlé electric servo-motors. However, the guns were controlled only in train, elevation was still manually operated. For some ships, including the battleship Richelieu, it was planned that each director would control two twin mounts.

A note on sources: In “Naval Weapons of World War Two” this gun is described as being 48 calibers long. Official Artillerie Navale documents show that the gun was 70 calibers long.

There was one further 37 mm gun that was under consideration at the time the war started, the 37 mm zénithaux (zenith). This was a Hotchkiss design for a quadruple mounting intended for use against dive bombers. This mounting was unusual in that its platform was tilted at an angle to facilitate high-angle firing and as a result the guns could not depress past +45 degrees. The mounting would have been countersunk in the deck and loaded from beneath, similar in concept to the British BD (Between Deck) designs. The surrender of France in 1940 halted development and this weapon never made it off the drawing board.

 

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