Skoda (40 mm)

Description

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Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Letuchiy

General info

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Available ammunition

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Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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History

The Skoda company started in 1869 when Emil Ritter von Skoda bought a machine factory in Plzen, where he had served as chief engineer for three years, from the Waldstein family. In 1890, an arms factory was added to make machine guns for the Austro-Hungarian Army. In 1899, the factory was incorporated into the joint-stock company Skoda Works and by World War I, it was the leading arms manufacturer for the Austro-Hungarian Empire supplying cannons, guns, small arms and other weapons for both the Austro-Hungarian Army and the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The war caused a significant expansion in the company’s armaments production, but when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dismantled, the company was in the newly formed nation of Czechoslovakia. While this event marked a shift towards focusing on consumer products to build up the industry of this infant nation, the arms production continued with local designs such as the LT-38 tank and export designs such as a 40mm naval AAA cannon. The new nation was land-locked, but their experience as a supplier for the Austro-Hungarian Navy allowed Skoda to make this new cannon for export.

The Czech firm of Skoda developed a 40mm naval AA gun in the late 1920s. Its designation in a German data table is given as "4 cm Schiffs-Flak L/71". In another source, it is referred to as the "L/67" based on the Italian method of measuring calibers. The gun resembles another 40mm Skoda design from the period a dual-purpose weapon called the Z1. Skoda produced several 40mm guns in the inter-war period but failed to get significant orders due to the stiff competition from the Vickers and Bofors designs. Unlike the automatic Bofors guns, the Skoda was manually loaded. The gun was made in single and twin mountings. Among the known customers of this Skoda cannon were the Royal Yugoslav Navy and the Romanian Navy. These mountings were fitted to four Yugoslavian warships, the destroyers Dubrovnik and Beogard, and the naval tanker Perun and the seaplane tender Zmaj along with the Regele Ferdinand-class destroyers and river monitors built for Romania. As these destroyers were built in Italy, it is possible there is where the L/67 designation originated from the Italians fitting of the two single-mount guns. An alternative explanation is that the L/67 came from the Premuda (ex-Dubrovnik) which was captured by the Regio Marina (Royal Italian Navy) on April 17^th, 1941, during the Balkans Campaign and refitted for service. Despite this refit, the 6 40mm cannons in twin and single mounts remained. The German data table comes from the two twin mounts of the Drache (ex-Zmaj) which was handed over to the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) shortly after the Italians captured it.

This cannon briefly saw service with the Soviet Navy when the Regele Ferdinand-class destroyers were transferred to the Soviets in 1944 after Romania left the Axis in King Micheal’s Coup. However, it is unknown if they still used the Skoda cannons as by 1939, they were replaced with 3.7cm AA guns from Germany and French 13.2mm Hotchkiss guns. Regardless, the two ships don’t appear to have fired their guns in anger in Soviet service before returning to the Romanian Navy in 1951 and being scrapped a decade later. The Skoda company would continue arms production during Germany’s occupation in World War II notably producing the Jagdpanzer 38(t) on the chassis of their LT vz. 38 light tank chassis. The end of WWII led to Czechoslovakia being trapped behind the Iron Curtain. While the company continued to supply arms, most notably 2000 tons worth being secretly purchased by Israel, the company saw a significant drop in its arms production during the Cold War. At its peak, Skoda controlled 60% of all arms production in the nation, but by the 1960s the company dropped out of the arms market in favor of rail transportation and automobiles. This transition was caused by both a lack of sales and the nationalization of the firm by the new communist government which split the Skoda Works into multiple subsidiaries.

Media

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See also

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• 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.tapatalk.com/groups/warships1discussionboards/skoda-40-mm-l-67-aa-guns-t38594-s10.html?sid=80dd90e5cf08fbe3fbfc0e8d46909699
• https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=157514

USSR naval cannons
20 mm	ShVAK
25 mm	2M-3
30 mm	AK-230 · 30 mm/54 AK-630 · BP "Plamya"
37 mm	37 mm/67 70-K · V-11
45 mm	45 mm/46 21-K · 45 mm/68 21-KM · 45 mm/89 SM-20-ZIF · 45 mm/89 SM-21-ZIF
57 mm	AK-725
75 mm	75 mm/50 Canet patt.1892
76 mm	34-K · 39-K · 76 mm/60 AK-176M · AK-726 · D-56TS · F-34 · Lender AA gun, pattern 1914/15
85 mm	85 mm/52 92-K · 85 mm/54.6 ZIS-C-53 · 90-K
100 mm	100 mm/56 B-34 · 100 mm/70 SM-5-1 · Minizini
102 mm	Pattern 1911
120 mm	120 mm/50 pattern 1905
130 mm	130 mm/55 pattern 1913 · 130 mm/58 SM-2-1 · B-13
152 mm	152 mm/57 B-38
180 mm	180 mm/57 B-1-P · 180 mm/60 B-1-K
305 mm	12-inch/52 pattern 1907 · 305 mm/54 B-50
	Foreign:
40 mm	2pdr QF Mk.IIc (Britain) · Skoda (Czechoslovakia)
47 mm	3 pdr QF Hotchkiss (Britain)
76 mm	76 mm/40 Ansaldo mod.1917 (Italy)
88 mm	SK C/30 (Germany)
120 mm	120 mm/50 Mk.4 Bofors M1924 (Sweden) · 120 mm/50 O.T.O. Mod.1933 (Italy)
152 mm	152/53 mm O.T.O. Mod.1929 (Italy)
320 mm	320 mm/44 Ansaldo model 1934 (Italy)