1/700 Royal Navy 4.7"/50 (12cm) QF MKXI on MKXX Mount x3 (L & M Classes)

1/700 Scale Royal Navy 4.7"/50 (12cm) QF MKXI on MKXX Mount x3 (L & M Classes) as used by the Royal Navy and Allied Navies on L & M Class Vessels. These are highly detailed parts modelled using the John Lambert plans and many reference photographs.

• 3x Mounts
• Highly detailed and accurate parts, modelled from the John Lambert plans and photographic reference
• Details include: Rivets and Hex nuts, Venting, open Sighting Ports, Crew Access Ladders, Handrails, Sighting Operators Position & Rear Access Door
• Barrels are printed separately and can be angled as desired.
  

HISTORICAL DATA
By 1938, the Admiralty recognized that British destroyers compared badly with their USA and Japanese counterparts, as they were lacking DP main guns and weather-proof mounts. The 4.7”/50 (12 cm) Mark XI guns and Mark XX twin mounting were intended to correct these deficiencies. These guns fired a heavier shell of more modern design and their mountings allowed higher elevations than did most other British guns of this caliber. However, their slow training rate and manually operated elevation gear limited their usefulness in the AA role and for that reason many of these destroyers had the after torpedo mounting replaced during World War II with a single 4” (10.2 cm) Mark V HA gun.

Arguably this was Britain’s best destroyer gun of World War II for surface action, although its low maximum elevation and slow training and elevation speeds made it only marginally useful for anti-aircraft defense. Unfortunately, the cost and size of these destroyers was so much greater than the previous designs that only a few were built and newer destroyers reverted to a smaller size and were armed with the cheaper 4.7”/45 (12 cm) guns.

The guns were in separate sleeves and could not be coupled together. The mountings used hydraulic systems for training, ramming and shell hoists. They were quite complicated, which resulted in long production delays and caused four of the L class destroyers to be completed with four twin 4” (10.2 cm) Mark XIX mounts in place of the 4.7” (12 cm) mounts.

There was some thought given in 1938 to developing a hand-worked single mounting using the 4.7”/50 (12 cm) gun. This would have been used to arm the first of the War Emergency destroyers (O and P classes). Development of this design was slow and instead these destroyers were armed with old 4”/45 (10.2 cm) Mark V and 4.7”/45 (12 cm) Mark IX guns.

In 1958 four “M” class destroyers were sold to Turkey and then extensively refitted. One of the modifications was to add power elevation, thus correcting one of the major deficiencies of this mounting.

Constructed of autofretted loose barrel, jacket to 85 inches (216 cm) from the muzzle, removable breech ring and sealing collar. Used a manually operated breech mechanism with semi-automatic breech opening. A total of 87 guns were manufactured.

Actual bore diameter of all British 4.7” guns was 4.724” (12 cm).

*STOCKED ITEM

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