1/128 Royal Navy 2-pdr Octuple Pom Pom (4cm/39) QF MKVIII on ‘M’ (MKV) Mount (Wartime 0º)

1/128 Scale Royal Navy 2-pdr Octuple Pom Pom (4cm/39) QF MKVIII on ‘M’ Mount 0º (MKV) (Wartime version with Flash Suppressors) as used by the Royal Navy and Commonwealth Navies. This is a highly detailed part modelled using the John Lambert plans and many reference photographs supplied from the The Dock Museum, Barrow. No more fiddly photo etch! 4 easy steps to having the most detailed and accurate Octuple Pom Poms available anywhere.

• 1x Mount, the elevation is set at 0º with Flash Supressors as used during wartime
  
• Highly detailed and accurate part, modelled from the John Lambert plans and photographic reference
• Details include: Training and Elevation Gear, Sighting Apparatus, Accurate Pom Poms, Non-slip pattern on Footplates, Handrails, Rivets, Hex nuts, electrical wiring, hydraulic pipes and more
• Kit comes in 5 easy to assemble parts: 1x Gunblock with individually numbered Pom poms, 2x Ammo Racks, 1x main Mount Assembly and 1x Elevation Stop Bar, see pictogram for order of assembly.
  

HISTORICAL DATA

Also known as the “multiple pom-pom,” this weapon was essentially a redesign of the 2-pdr Mark II to suit an eight gun mounting. The Mark VIII used the same barrel as the previous weapon, but the new design did have an improved automatic mechanism and replaced fabric belts with steel-links belts which reduced jamming. It has been speculated that the reason that the 2-pdr shell was selected for this weapon was because there were about 2,000,000 rounds left over from the First World War.

This weapon had a long development history. It started off when six 2-pdr Mark II guns were mounted on a common base on HMS Dragon during 1921-22. This was modestly successful, and as a result design work was begun by Vickers and Armstrong on various multiple-gun designs. Armstrong produced a design that allowed continuous fire while the Vickers design did not, but the Armstrong product was also a more complicated design. Vickers won the contract and presented an eight-gun mockup for examination in July 1923 at Vickers, Dartford. Lack of funding delayed proving ground firing trials out to 1927, with sea trials aboard HMS Tiger not being held until 1928. Service introduction was delayed to the end of 1930 and consisted of a single mounting installed on HMS Valiant. Satisfactory completion of trials on Valiant encouraged the Treasury to increase funding and during 1931 Nelson, Rodney and Revenge each received one mounting while Hood received two. The following year saw Furious and Royal Sovereign each receiving two mountings while Renown received one. Production was slow up until just before the war started.

At the time of its service introduction in 1930 this was a very advanced weapon, but by 1939 the rapid improvements in aircraft design had rendered it obsolescent, as it had a low muzzle velocity, lacked a satisfactory explosive shell and no tracer ammunition was provided.

To remedy some of these issues, a higher velocity projectile (HV) was introduced in 1938 but this required a different breech mechanism and other changes to the firing gear. However, guns firing only the older low-velocity projectiles were still manufactured throughout World War II. High velocity and low velocity ammunition and guns were not interchangeable. There were also several other gun variations, as shown in the data tables below. It should be noted that standardization was never a high priority in British ordnance thinking prior to the 1950s.

These guns were manufactured in large numbers throughout World War II, with total production being about twice the number of Bofors 40 mm guns used by the Royal Navy. The Naval Gun Register shows that 6,691 guns were made in Britain including 12 prototypes and a further 843 guns were manufactured in Canada. There were also 219 ex-land service (Army) guns made which were scrapped in 1944-45. Single and quad mountings for smaller ships were also produced after 1935, with the single mounting being widely used as a bow-chaser on coastal convoy escorts during the war.

As originally introduced, this was a recoil operated, “controlled” (essentially semi-automatic) weapon which used a manually turned crank to operate the firing gear in the quadruple and octuple mountings (see note below for a further explanation). In 1939 the octuple mountings design was changed to allow fully automatic firing but this was not extended to the quadruple mountings which were only produced in controlled versions throughout the war. However, the quadruple mountings did replace the crank-turning crewmember with an electric motor sometime during the war.

The internal gun mechanisms were very complex and required much care and skilled maintenance to keep them in working condition. Jams and stoppages were frequent, although the linked ammunition proved to be more reliable in service than the older belt-fed guns.

Constructed of monobloc barrel and the breech block moved parallel with the gun axis.).

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