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The Canon de 152 mm Modèle 1930 was a medium-caliber naval gun used as the primary armament on a number of French cruisers and as dual-purpose secondary armament on Richelieu-class battleships during World War II.

Description

The Canon de 152 mm Modèle 1930 was built with an autofretted jacket, a breech ring and a vertical sliding breech block. Useful life expectancy was 700 effective full charges (EFC) per barrel. These guns were carried in triple turrets aboard both cruisers and battleships. The triple turrets were slightly unusual in that each gun had its own cradle and they could be elevated or depressed independently. The triple turrets on cruisers were considered successful, but the dual-purpose triple turrets for battleships were problematic and of the five turrets that were planned for the Richelieu-class only three were mounted. The triple mountings in the Richelieu-class were intended to elevate -10° to +90°, but were later limited to +85°. It was also planned that they could be loaded at any angle, but this was found to be impractical beyond +45°. The mountings slow train and elevation rates meant that they could not track fast-moving aircraft, combined with their slow rate of fire limited their usefulness in an anti-aircraft role.^[6]

Ammunition

Ammunition was of separate loading QF type with powder charge, case and a projectile.

The gun was able to fire:

Semi Armour-Piercing - 56 kg (123 lb)
High Explosive - 49.3 kg (109 lb)
Illumination - 47 kg (104 lb)^[7]

Naval Service

Ship classes that carried the Canon de 152 mm Modèle 1930 include:

Notes

^ Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.
^ Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.
^ Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.
^ Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.
^ Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.
^ Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.
^ [* http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNFR_6-55_m1930.php the 152 mm/55 (6") Model 1930 at Naval Weapons.Com]

References

Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.

External links

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNFR_6-55_m1930.php

[1] Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.

[2] Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.

[3] Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.

[4] Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.

[5] Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.

[6] Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.294.

[7] [* http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNFR_6-55_m1930.php the 152 mm/55 (6") Model 1930 at Naval Weapons.Com]

[6]

[7]

French naval weapons of the Second World War
Battleship main armament	305 mm/45 Modèle 1906 330 mm/50 Modèle 1931 340 mm/45 Modèle 1912 380 mm/45 Modèle 1935
Cruiser main armament	138 mm/40 Modèle 1923 152 mm/55 Modèle 1930 155 mm/50 Modèle 1920 203 mm/50 Modèle 1924 203 mm/55 Modèle 1931
Destroyer and Aviso main armament	65 mm Modèle 1891 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/45 Modèle 1891 100 mm/45 Modèle 1933 130 mm/40 Modèle 1919 130 mm/40 Modèle 1924 130 mm/45 Modèle 1935 138 mm/45 Modèle 1893 138 mm/40 Modèle 1927 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910 138 mm/50 Modèle 1929
Secondary armament	57 mm/40 Modèle 1885 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/45 Modèle 1930 100 mm/55 Modèle 1945 130 mm/45 Modèle 1932 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910 152 mm/55 Modèle 1930
Submarine guns	75 mm/35 Modèle 1924 75 mm/35 Modèle 1927 100 mm/45 Modèle 1917 100 mm/45 Modèle 1925 100 mm/34 Modèle 1936 203 mm/50 Modèle 1924
Anti-aircraft weapons	7.5 mm/80 Modèle 1931 8 mm/50 Modèle 1914 13.2 mm/76 Modèle 1929 25 mm/60 Modèle 1938 25 mm/60 Modèle 1940 37 mm/50 Modèle 1925 37 mm/70 Modèle 1935 57 mm/40 Modèle 1902 75 mm/35 Modèle 1924 75 mm/35 Modèle 1927 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/34 Modèle 1933
Torpedoes	400 mm Modèle 1926V 550 mm Modèle 1919D 550 mm Modèle 1923DT 550 mm Modèle 1924M 550 mm Modèle 1924V