1/350 Royal Navy 3" 20cwt MKI x4

1/350 Scale Royal Navy 12-pdr 3"/45 (76.2 cm) 20cwt x4 as used by the Royal Navy and Allied Navies. Highly detailed guns modelled from plans and many reference photographs.

• 4x Mounts
• Highly detailed and accurate parts, modelled from plans and photographic reference
• Highly detailed Training and Elevation Gear, Accurate Breech loading mechanism, Non slip pattern on Footplates, Rivets and Hex nuts
• Barrels set at 5º elevation.

HISTORICAL DATA
Britain's first designed-for-the-purpose AAA weapon. Developed under Royal Navy sponsorship just prior to World War I, this gun was widely used by both the Navy and the Army and was employed to protect many British cities during that conflict. First mounted afloat on HMS Iron Duke and subsequently used on most major warships and on some submarines. Replaced in the 1920s by the 4"/45 (10.2 cm) Mark V on larger warships.

During World War II this weapon was used on many destroyers in place of a set of torpedo tubes as well as on small warships and submarines.

The Mark I consisted of A tube, full length wire, jacket, breech ring, and a vertical sliding breech-block with semi-automatic action. Mark I* had different rifling. Mark IB had loose liner, full-length jacket and a removable breech ring. Mark IC was similar to IB but differed in details of the loose liner. Mark IC* was given to four guns with a muzzle bush instead of a loose liner sealing ring. There was apparently no Mark ID. Mark IE had a monobloc barrel and a screwed and shrunk breech ring. Mark SIE was a Mark IE but with the semi-automatic fittings removed, a balance weight added, a slightly different chamber and some parts were made from stainless steel, probably to allow its use on submarines. Mark II had different breech ring lugs for mounting purposes and no semi-automatic gear. Mark III was an emergency First World War design with parallel screw breech block and a two motion breech mechanism. Mark IV was similar to the Mark III but used a Welin block with an Asbury breech mechanism. Mark IVA was given to two Mark IV guns converted to use a loose liner. All marks fired fixed ammunition.

The Navy had a total of 596 Mark I, 198 Mark II, 44 Mark III and 144 Mark IV in service. Of these, 553 Mark I, 186 Mark II, 27 Mark III and 111 Mark IV remained as of September 1939.

*STOCKED ITEM