Vernonia

The Canon de 138 mm Modèle 1927 was a medium-calibre gun of the French Navy used during World War II. It was derived from a German World War I design. It was used on the destroyers of the Aigle and Vauquelin classes and the Bougainville-class sloops.

Description

The 40-calibre Mle 1927 was derived from the German World War I 15 cm L/45 UToF gun as mounted on the large torpedo boat SMS S113 received by France as war reparations. It copied the German gun's semi-automatic action and its horizontal sliding-block breech. It had an autofretted, monobloc barrel. It used 8.967 kilograms (19.77 lb) of powder to push a 40.6-kilogram (90 lb) shell to a muzzle velocity of 700 metres per second (2,300 ft/s).^[1]

Mounting

The Mle 1927 was used in single centre-pivot mountings that weighed approximately 13 tonnes (13 long tons; 14 short tons) that were fitted with a 3-millimetre (0.12 in) thick gun shield. The mount could depress -10° and elevate to +28° which gave it a maximum range of 16,600 metres (18,200 yd).^[1] The gun had a firing cycle of 4 or 5 seconds with its automatic spring rammer, but the dredger hoists transporting the shells and cartridge cases slowed the rate of fire down to 8-10 rounds per minute.^[2]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Campbell, p. 298
^ "French 138.6 mm/40 (5.46") Model 1927". 22 July 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2009.

References

Campbell, John. Naval Weapons of World War Two. London: Conway Maritime Press, 2002 ISBN 0-87021-459-4

External links

[c-1] Campbell, p. 298

[2] "French 138.6 mm/40 (5.46") Model 1927". 22 July 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2009.

[1]

[2]

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