Molins Class M (57 mm)

Description

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Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Mosquito FB Mk XVIII

General info

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Available ammunition

• Default: AP-T

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Default	117	114	102	89	78	68

Belt details
Belt	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Default	AP-T	890	2.86	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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Pros:

Cons:

History

The Molins Class M is an airborne variant of the QF 6-pounder. Like the T13E1 on the American PBJ-1H, 102/35 mod 14 on the Italian P.108A serie 2, the BK 7.5 on the German Hs 129 B-3 and the Type 88 on the Japanese Ki-109, the Molins M is an example of ground-based cannon mounted on an aircraft for an anti-shipping role. For the British the 6-pounder anti-tank gun was mounted on the Mosquito FB Mk XVIII fighter-bomber and fitted with an auto-loader in an assembly weighing 1,580 pounds mounted on the aircraft to combat German U-boats. Despite concern that the variant wouldn't work as designed it proved to be an effective weapon despite having some drawbacks. Sighted by either two or four Browning .303 machine guns in the nose, the gun had a 2,950 feet per second muzzle velocity and a range between 1,800 and 1,500 yards. However, to properly target a U-boat while avoiding anti-aircraft fire, the Mosquito needed dive from 5,000 feet ad a 30 degree angle. The Molins would jam if any maneuver was done during the dive. Approved for service in late 1943, No. 248 Squadron would first demonstrate the effectiveness of this weapon on March 10th 1944 when they ambushed a German naval convoy consisting of four destroyers and a U-boat guarded by 10 Ju 88s. 3 Ju 88s were destroyed and the U-boat was badly damaged. Other notable successes with the Molins include the sinking of U-976 off the coast Nantes, France on March 25th, the abandonment of U-821 off the coast of Ushant, France where it was sunk by a B-24 Liberator on June 10th, and the ambush of a German surface fleet in the Kattegat Sound on April 5th, 1945. While the British ultimately decided to phase out the Molins M for rockets, the success of the cannon inspired them to mount the even larger 32pdr OQF gun on a Mosquito though it was not finished before the end of the war and scrapped after testing.

Media

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See also

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External links

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Britain aircraft cannons
20 mm	Hispano Mk.I · Hispano Mk.II · Hispano Mk.V · Oerlikon KAD-B
25 mm	ADEN 25
30 mm	ADEN · ADEN Mk.4
40 mm	Rolls-Royce Type BH · Vickers S
47 mm	Vickers P
57 mm	Molins Class M
	Foreign:
20 mm	GI2 (South Africa) · Hispano 404 (France) · M61A1 (USA)
27 mm	Akan m/85 (Sweden) · Mauser BK27 (Germany)
30 mm	M230E-1 (USA)