Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925

The Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925 was a widely used family of French anti-aircraft guns used by the French Navy during World War II.

Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925
Canon de 37 modèle 1925 on the French destroyer L'Indomptable in 1936.
Type	Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	France
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1925
Produced	1925
Variants	Modèle 1933
Specifications
Mass	300 kg (660 lb)
Length	2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Barrel length	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) (50-caliber)
Shell	37 × 278 mmR
Shell weight	.72 kg (1.6 lb)
Caliber	37 millimeters (1.5 in)
Action	Semi-automatic
Elevation	−15° to +80°
Traverse	360°
Rate of fire	15-21 rpm
Muzzle velocity	810 m/s (2,700 ft/s)
Effective firing range	5,400 m (5,900 yd) at +45°
Maximum firing range	7,000 m (7,700 yd) at +45°[1]

Design and construction

The Modèle 1925 was a single gun mount while the later Modèle 1933 was a twin mount. Both were hand-loaded, semi-automatic guns with a low rate of fire compared to their clip-fed contemporaries. A combination of low rate of fire, low projectile weight and small numbers of guns per ship led to a reputation of it being a poor anti-aircraft weapon.^[2]

Ship classes that carried Modèle 1925 & Modèle 1933 include:

• Aigle-class destroyers
• Bougainville-class avisos
• Bourrasque-class destroyers
• Chacal-class destroyers
• Dunkerque-class battleships
• Duquesne-class cruisers
• Guépard-class destroyers
• L'Adroit-class destroyers
• La Melpomène-class torpedo boats
• Le Fantasque-class destroyers
• Le Fier-class torpedo boats
• Mogador-class destroyers
• Richelieu-class battleships
• Suffren-class cruisers
• Vauquelin-class destroyers

Comparison of anti-aircraft guns

Country	Gun Model	RPM	Projectile Weight	Weight of fire
France	Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925	15-21	.72 kg (1.6 lb)[1]	10.8–15.12 kg (23.8–33.3 lb)
Nazi Germany	3.7 cm SK C/30	30	.74 kg (1.6 lb)[3]	22.2 kg (49 lb)
Italy	Cannone-Mitragliera da 37/54 (Breda)	60-120	.82 kg (1.8 lb)[4]	49.2–98.4 kg (108–217 lb)
United States	37 mm Gun M1	120	.87 kg (1.9 lb)	104.4 kg (230 lb)
Nazi Germany	3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/43	150	.64 kg (1.4 lb)[5]	96 kg (212 lb)
Soviet Union	37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K)	80[6]	.73 kg (1.6 lb)[7]	58.4 kg (129 lb)
United Kingdom	QF 2-pounder naval gun	115	.91 kg (2.0 lb)[8]	104.6 kg (231 lb)
Sweden	Bofors 40 mm gun	120	.9 kg (2.0 lb)[9]	108 kg (238 lb)

Career

Ships of the Free French Navy refitted in the United States during World War II had these guns replaced by 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon guns.^[2] Ships of the Vichy French Navy continued to carry the Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925 until the remnants of that force were captured or scuttled during 1942. Ships salvaged by the Germans and Italians also replaced this gun with their equivalents.