Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60
Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60 | |
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Swedish Bofors 57 mm SAK 60 (57 mm akan m/50) on the destroyer HSwMS Småland | |
Type | Naval Gun |
Place of origin | Sweden |
Service history | |
In service | 1952–1990 |
Used by | Dutch Navy Swedish Navy French Navy |
Production history | |
Designed | 1950 |
Manufacturer | Bofors |
Produced | 1950 |
Specifications | |
Mass | Traversing mass: 24 t (24 long tons; 26 short tons) |
Barrel length | 60 calibres 3.420 m (11.22 ft) |
Crew | 8 |
Shell | 57 × 438 mm R (m/50) |
Shell weight | 2.6 kg (5.7 lb) |
Calibre | 57 mm (2.2 in) |
Elevation | -9°/+90°, 30°/s |
Traverse | -360°, 30°/s |
Rate of fire | 2 × 130 rounds/min |
Muzzle velocity | 850–920 m/s (2,800–3,000 ft/s) |
Effective firing range | 13,000 m (43,000 ft) (max) 5,000 m (16,000 ft) (practical) 5,500 m (18,000 ft) AA ceiling |
Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60 (Swedish: 57 mm sjöautomatkanon L/60 (57 mm SAK 60)),[1][2] also known as 57 mm/60 (2.25") SAK Model 1950[3] and the like (full English product name: Bofors 57 mm Automatic A.A. Gun L/60 In Stabilized Twin Turret),[4] was a twin-barreled 57 mm (2.2 in) caliber fully automatic dual purpose naval artillery piece designed by the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors from the early 1940s to the early 1950s to meet a request from the Dutch Navy.[1] Besides the Dutch Navy, the weapon was also adopted by the Swedish and the French Navy, most predominantly by the latter.[3]
Design
[edit]The Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60 is at its core a scaled up version of the famous Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/70, but constructed as a twin-gun system sharing the same receiver/mantle with ammunition feeding from the sides into each gun.[1] The guns were water-cooled and fed by large 80-cartridge magazines that allowed several long bursts to be fired without reloading.[3]
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French "57mm/60 modèle 1951" on display at Port-Louis naval museum.
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French "57mm/60 modèle 1951" on display at Port-Louis naval museum.
Use in the Dutch Navy
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Koningin_Juliana_aanwezig_bij_het_indienststellen_van_de_kruiser_Hr._Ms._De_Ruy%2C_Bestanddeelnr_906-1153_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Koningin_Juliana_aanwezig_bij_het_indienststellen_van_de_kruiser_Hr._Ms._De_Ruy%2C_Bestanddeelnr_906-1153_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The Dutch were the initial users of the Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60. As part of rebuilding the Dutch Navy post World War II, the Dutch Navy had requested several naval gun systems to be developed by Bofors for their next generation of naval-vessels,[5] one being a twin-barreled 57 mm dual-purpose gun for the planned De Zeven Provinciën-class cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter and De Zeven Provinciën.[1] This request led to the creation of the Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60, which entered active service with the Dutch Navy in 1953 mounted on the cruisers De Ruyter and De Zeven Provinciën.
Use in the Swedish Navy
[edit]Following the Dutch example, the Swedish navy decided to acquire the new 57 mm system for a new generation of destroyers in 1950. In Swedish service the weapon was fitted to the Halland-class destroyers HSwMS Halland and Småland, both of which entered service in 1956.[1] The weapon was initially designated 57 mm automatkanon m/50 (57 mm akan m/50),[6] meaning "57 mm autocannon m/50", but around 1970 the weapon was redesignated to 57 mm torndubbelautomatpjäs m/50 (57 mm tdblapjäs m/50),[7][8] meaning "57 mm turret double automatic piece m/50" (literal).
The gun was in use until the Halland-class destroyers were taken out of service.
Use in the French Navy
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Frans_vlootbezoek_aan_Amsterdam_de_oorlogsschepen_aan_de_Oostelijke_Handelskade%2C_Bestanddeelnr_929-8235_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Frans_vlootbezoek_aan_Amsterdam_de_oorlogsschepen_aan_de_Oostelijke_Handelskade%2C_Bestanddeelnr_929-8235_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The Bofors 57 mm L/60 naval gun was also purchased by the French Navy and came to serve on a number of naval-vessels under the designation 57mm/60 modèle 1951 (57mm/60 mle 51) from 1952 onward, although primarily post 1956.[3] The French navy version of the system featured a French designed naval mount that maintained the system in mechanical equilibrium, even when firing.[3] The French mounting was some 8 tons lighter than the Dutch/Swedish version.[citation needed]
In French service the gun notably armed light escorts as main guns and larger ships as secondary guns. The following French ships were armed with the 57mm/60 mle 51 system:[3]
- The battleship Jean Bart (1952 retrofit)
- The anti-aircraft cruiser De Grasse
- The anti-aircraft cruiser Colbert
- Le Normand-class frigates
- T 47-class fleet escorts (also known as the Surcouf class)
- T 53-class fleet escorts
See also
[edit]- Bofors 57 mm Automatic Anti-Aircraft Gun L/60 – single gun anti air development of the Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60
- Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/70 – single gun replacement design for the Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60
- Bofors 120 mm Automatic Gun L/50
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Bofors automatic 57mm Dual-Purpose guns". tfd.chalmers.se. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
- ^ "030306_SAK57_Mk3.pdf" (PDF). boflv.se. Bofors Luftvärnsförening (Bofors Anti-Aircraft Association). 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-09-11. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ Bofors (in Swedish). Karlskoga, Sweden: AB Bofors, Karlskoga (Boforskoncernen). 1958. p. 87.
- ^ "120 mm Bofors naval guns". tfd.chalmers.se. Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ Amreg Fl, Ammunitionsregister för flottan, 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden: Ammunitionssektionen, Marinförvaltningens Artilleribyrå. 1955.
- ^ Amreg Marinen, Ammunitionsregister för marinen, 1962, ändringar 1965 (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden: Kungliga Marinförvaltningen. 1965.
- ^ AMKAT, Ammunitionskatalog, Data och bilder, Marinen, 1977 års utgåva (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). 1977.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)