Naval Guns

[maddox]

Naval artillery.

The smallest mounted guns on French vessels are the .5" caliber UNK supplied machine guns.
Mostly single mounts but a few twins were experimental.

Next step up is the 25mm machine gun. A very akward design to handle , but reliable. Single mounts are common, but twins are seen too.

The 37mm to 57mm QF guns were common on the older ships, and the 37mm L50 is making a comeback as an anti aircraft gun. All single mounts

The all around 70mm L45 QF gun, a developmental brother of the land based 75mm is a tertiary gun on the larger battleships and seen as secundary or primary weapon on sloops and cruisers.
Only single mounts, but plans for twin mount and hoists were made, but never finished.

The less known , powerfull ,albeit expensive 105mm L50 model 1906 is used on some cruisers and battleships to replace the smaller 70mm.
Single mounts only.

A step up, and seen about everywere, is the 140mm QF gun, loved and hated by their crews.
These guns are seen everywere in every role. The older guns are L40 or L45, but every of the Mount and Hoist guns are L50 single or twins.
The munition handlers are handpicked for the role. They have to be strong, but not too tall. Most of them are the more technological apt members of the black gang- the coal shufflers-.

The 165mm guns, with 1 serie of QF designs are used as primary weapons on cruisers, or secundaries/tertiaries on battleships. Twin mount and hoists are the newests variant, older guns use a single mount and hoist of casemate.

The largest non turreted guns in the MN, the 195mm L50. The older versions were casemated and on the  Escort cruisers Pegasse and Grifon in heavy turrets, but the latest variant, the main guns on the large Demarce IV cruisers are set up in twin mount and hoists.

A big jump then. The 275mm gun.  The L35 single and twin turrets are still in use on the oldest Battleships of the MN, Meganta and Marceau.  The 2 Battlediggers Pantagruel and Gargantua stil retain their forward twins.
Later battleships that use the 275mm as secundary main armament in the wing turrets have L40 guns.

The 305mm. Twin turrets only in the MN. These L45 guns pack a wallop, but were soon overshadowed by the newer 340mm L45's.

The 340mm guns, French export gun seen in  13.5" and even a thin lined 14" version. France currently operates only twin turrets of these.

The BIG boy.  The 380mm L42 . Twin and tripple turrets in use.