Vickers P (47 mm)
Contents
Description
Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.
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 | 99 | 97 | 88 | 77 | 68 | 60 |
| Shell details | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shell | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||
| AP-T | 808 | 2.07 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
Comparison with analogues
Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.
Usage in battles
Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.
Pros and cons
Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.
Pros:
Cons:
History
In the summer of 1942 the Panzer VI Tiger tank emerged on the scene and it became evident that the 40 mm Class S gun, fitted to the Hurricane IID then in service in North Africa, was not powerful enough to penetrate the thick armour. The Class S was only capable of penetrating around 50 mm, but it was considered necessary to have a weapon able to penetrate 75 mm of armour plate. After calculating what would be required to achieve this (allowing for an additional 100 m/s velocity for the aircraft speed), the Air Staff issued a request in May 1942 for a 47 mm airborne anti-tank gun which would fire a 4 lb 9 oz (2.07 kg) AP shot at 2,650 fps (808 m/s). It was required to fire at not less than 60 rounds per minute.
Vickers were contracted to design and manufacture the ammunition. They produced a conventional rimmed straight case measuring 326 mm long, with a rim diameter of 59.7 mm and a body diameter above the rim of 53.5 mm. The projectile was also to conventional British standards, a plain steel shot with no HE content. Overall cartridge length was 474 mm. Three firms were asked to develop guns; Vickers, Rolls-Royce and the War Office Design Department. The project was designated the Class P gun and the competing designs were known as the PV (Vickers), PR (Rolls-Royce) and PC (for the Chief Superintendent of Armament Design in the War Office).
Complete information about the three projects does not appear to have survived. The PR gun was designed with two different barrel lengths, a 70-calibre barrel (with which the muzzle velocity was calculated to be 2,675 fps or 815 m/s) which was about 4.3 m long overall, and a 52-calibre version. The gun was belt-fed and used a long-recoil design; the weapon recoiled 66 cm on firing, generating a peak recoil of just over 2,000 kg. The PC gun weighed 250-270 kg and recoiled only 30 cm, thereby generating a stronger peak recoil of 3,560 kg. This was magazine fed with two alternative designs; a 30-round flat box lying across the gun's body, and a 34-36 round drum wrapped around the rear of the gun. Overall length was 4.5-4.7 m respectively. No information is recorded about the PV gun.
The PV and PC guns were made but were not ready for firing until close to the end of the war. The PR gun was cancelled before completion during the war when Rolls-Royce were directed to cease work on guns. None of the Class P guns proceeded beyond the prototype stage. However a Tempest V was fitted with two of the Vickers guns (which are commonly misidentified as being of 40 mm calibre) in underwing pods just after the war, but no records so far have been found concerning this installation, although at least one photograph of the aircraft so equipped survives.
The length of time required to develop new weapons was such that the 6 pdr Molins gun was also considered, but its size counted against it. A smaller and less powerful 57 mm Type GA gun and even a 12 pdr (70 mm) were projected instead. Penetration was estimated to be 100 mm and 120 mm respectively. It was noted that to penetrate much more than 75 mm the Class P would need to use tungsten-cored shot, which was not only in short supply but also had a more erratic performance, more likely to break up on impact against armour.
It is interesting to compare the 47 x 326 R ammunition with contemporary rounds. The closest British equivalent was the 3 pdr 2 cwt Mk 2 fitted to the interwar Vickers Medium tank, which fired a 47 x 351 R cartridge (slightly shorter than the contemporary Hotchkiss and Vickers naval 3 pdrs). Despite the the 3 pdr's longer case, its performance was considerably weaker and it was evidently loaded to a much lower working pressure. It was noticeable that during World War 2 the British employed very high operating pressures for tank and anti-tank guns (higher than the German equivalents, for example), accepting a lower gun life in the interests of maximum performance.
References
Williams, A. G. 2016. “THE RAF’S 47 MM CLASS P GUN PROJECT.” Www.quarryhs.co.uk. January 2016. https://www.quarryhs.co.uk/Pgun.htm.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
- references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.
External links
https://www.quarryhs.co.uk/Pgun.htm
| 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) |
