Special
  • 1/700 French Navy Twin 130mm/45 (5.1") Model 1932 x2 (Dunkerque Class)
  • 1/700 French Navy Twin 130mm/45 (5.1") Model 1932 x2 (Dunkerque Class)
  • 1/700 French Navy Twin 130mm/45 (5.1") Model 1932 x2 (Dunkerque Class)
  • 1/700 French Navy Twin 130mm/45 (5.1") Model 1932 x2 (Dunkerque Class)
MM0130P

1/700 French Navy Twin 130mm/45 (5.1") Model 1932 x2 (Dunkerque Class)

  • $10.20
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

1/700 French Navy Twin 130mm/45 (5.1") Model 1932 x2 (Dunkerque Class). Modelled from plans and many reference photographs. These were Dual Purpose secondary weapons on the Dunkerque and her sister ship Strasbourg.

  • Contains x2 Twin Mounts
  • Details include: Rivets & Hex Nuts, Sighting Port Hatches, Sighting Port on Turret Roofs, Venting, Used Sheel Ejection Ports, Access Hatches and Steps to Turret Roof
  • Barrels are printed separately and can be angled up to a maximum of 75º


HISTORICAL DATA
The Model 1932 was specifically designed for the Dunkerque class and was the first dual-purpose (DP) gun ever used as secondary armament on a capital ship. The guns were used in three quad and two twin mounts. The quad mount version of these guns was similar to the 330 mm (13”) main guns in that they were really two dual gun mounts merged into a single turret. This DP design was not successful, as the very complicated semi-automatic loading mechanism was prone to jamming. In addition, the very high weight of the fixed ammunition led to rapid crew fatigue and much slower rates of fire.

The Model 1935 was a SP gun used on the first eight units of the Le Hardi destroyer class. Only two of these ships, Le Hardi and Fleuret, were close to being completed before the Armistice. These two destroyers plus L’Epée were eventually completed and formed the 10th Division de Torpilleurs, but there is evidence that their armament was not fully functional. In an engagement with the British destroyer Hotspur on 25 September 1940, L’Epée fired only fourteen shots before all of her 130 mm guns developed defects and were rendered useless. In this same engagement, Fleuret did not fire a shot as her fire control equipment could not follow the target. However, Le Hardi at Dakar the previous day fired 60 rounds without suffering a breakdown and was able to bracket her target with her first salvo.

In 1938, consideration was given to arming the last eight units of the Le Hardi class with the DP Model 1932 in order to improve their AA capability. None of these ships were completed before the Armistice.

Used an autofretted barrel and a breech ring. The breech block was vertically sliding in the DP version but horizontally sliding in the SP version. Both breech mechanisms were semi-automatic.

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