The QF 3-pounder Nordenfelt was a light 47 mm quick-firing naval gun and coast defence gun of the late 19th century used by many countries.

Quick Facts Type, Place of origin ...
QF 3-pounder Nordenfelt
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At Melbourne Town Hall, 1895
TypeNaval gun
Coast defence gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1885–19??
Used byMany countries
Production history
Designed1885
ManufacturerNordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company
Maxim-Nordenfelt
Specifications
MassUK 45-cal version : 452 pounds (205 kg) barrel & breech[1]
Length45 calibres

ShellFixed QF
Shell weight3 lb 4 oz (1.5 kg)
Calibre47-millimetre (1.850 in)
BreechVertical sliding-block with locking wedge
Muzzle velocity1,959 ft/s (597 m/s)[2]
Maximum firing range4,000 yd (3,700 m)[2]
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United Kingdom

The United Kingdom only deployed this gun for coast defence, and soon discarded it in favour of the similar QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss gun for both coast defence and naval use.

Ammunition

Ammunition was in "fixed rounds" : the projectile and brass cartridge case were loaded as a single unit. The gun used the same ammunition as the similar QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss, with either Nordenfelt or Hotchkiss fuzes. When introduced in the 1880s the propellant used was gunpowder, in British service Cordite Mark I was used as propellant from the mid-1890s onwards.

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

    References

    Bibliography

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