Summary
Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 (full English name: Bofors 120 mm Automatic Gun L/50 In Naval Twin Turret),[1] also known as Bofors 120 mm gun model 1950 and the like, was a Swedish twin-barreled 120 mm (4.7 in) caliber fully automatic dual purpose naval gun turret system designed by Bofors from the end of the 1940s to the early 1950s to meet a request from the Dutch Navy.[3] Besides the Dutch Navy, the weapon was also adopted by the Swedish and the Colombian Navy.[3]
| Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 | |
|---|---|
 Swedish 12 cm akan m/50 turret on Destroyer HMS Småland, 2008. | |
| Type | Naval gun |
| Place of origin | Sweden |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1952 – 1985 |
| Used by |  Royal Netherlands Navy Swedish Navy Colombian National Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designer | AB Bofors |
| Designed | 1950 |
| Manufacturer | AB Bofors |
| No. built | 54 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 67,000 kg (148,000 lb) |
| Barrel length | L/50 (including breach) |
| Shell | 120 × 835 mm R |
| Shell weight | 23.35 – 23.5 kg |
| Caliber | 120 millimetres (4.7 in) |
| Barrels | 2 × |
| Action | Automatic extraction with integrated autoloader |
| Elevation | -9°/+85°, 25°/s |
| Traverse | 360°, 22°/s |
| Rate of fire | 2 × 42 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 835–850 m/s (2,740–2,790 ft/s) |
| References | Bofors 1958,[1] AMKAT Marinen, 1977[2] |
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The Dutch were the initial users of the Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50. As part of rebuilding the Dutch Navy post WWII, the Dutch Navy had requested several naval gun systems to be developed by Bofors for their next generation of naval-vessels,[4] one being a twin-barreled 120 mm dual-purpose gun for the then planned Holland-class destroyers.[3] This request led to the creation of the Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50.
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Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 from the back onboard the stern of the Holland-class destroyer HNLMS Holland (D808). -
Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 from the back left onboard the stern of the Holland-class destroyer HNLMS Noord-Brabant (D810). -
Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 from the front left onboard the stern of the Holland-class destroyer HNLMS Gelderland (D811).
The gun entered active service with the Dutch Navy in 1954 mounted on the Holland-class destroyers. Even before the first Holland-class destroyer had been completed the Dutch Navy decided to order yet another class of destroyer armed with the Bofors 120 mm L/50, the Friesland-class destroyer. The Dutch really liked the design and decided in the mid 1970s to save two turrets from the Holland-class destroyer HNLMS Gelderland (D811) when she was decommissioned in 1973, and then fit them to the new Tromp-class frigates under construction.
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Following the Dutch example, the Swedish Navy decided to acquire the new 120 mm system being developed for them and fit it to a new generation of destroyers in 1950. In Swedish service the weapon was fitted to the Halland-class destroyers HSwMS Halland (J18) and HSwMS Småland (J19), both of which entered service in 1956. The weapon was initially designated 12 cm automatkanon m/50 (12 cm akan m/50),[5] lit. "12 cm autocannon m/50", but around 1970 the weapon was redesignated to 12 cm torndubbelautomatpjäs m/50 (12 cm tdblapjäs m/50), lit. "12 cm turret double automatic (artillery)piece m/50".[6][7]
The gun was in use until the Halland-class destroyers were taken out of service.
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Swedish 12 cm akan m/50 stern-turret on Destroyer HSwMS Halland (J18) 1960's. -
Swedish 12 cm akan m/50 bow-turret on Destroyer HSwMS Småland (J19) 1960's. -
Swedish 12 cm akan m/50 bow-turret on Destroyer HSwMS Småland (J19) 2010.
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In Colombian service the Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 was fitted to the destroyers 7 de Agosto (D-06) and 20 de Julio (D-05), both of which were Swedish built Halland-class destroyers. Unlike the Swedish Halland-class destroyers, the Colombian version carried three Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 turrets instead of two.
See also edit
References edit
Notes edit
- ^ a b Bofors (in Swedish). Karlskoga, Sweden: AB Bofors, Karlskoga (Boforskoncernen). 1958. p. 88.
- ^ AMKAT, Ammunitionskatalog, Data och bilder, Marinen, 1977 års utgåva (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). 1977.
- ^ a b c "120 mm Bofors naval guns". tfd.chalmers.se. Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Bofors automatic 57mm Dual-Purpose guns". tfd.chalmers.se. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
- ^ 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.
Bibliography edit
- Borgenstam Insulander Kaudern; "Jagare". Karlskona 1989. CB Marinlitteratur. ISBN 91-970700-41
- 12 cm luftvärnsautomatkanon m/50 tekniskt beskrivning fastställd 1951. (12 cm anti air autocannon m/50 technical description established 1951) booklet.