Standardisation of guns in the services

The UK (or at least the RN) ended up fighting WW2 with a lot of guns of similar size doing a similar job with the obvious logistical nightmares, now imagine it’s the mid to late 1920’s and you have been given authority to go to the various services and kick arses and knock heads together until they agree to standardisation between the services.

What guns would you suggest could be used by two or all the services for the various roles required of them – Anti-aircraft, land based artillery, Anti tank, medium calibre naval dual purpose etc etc.

I originally put this question up on the Warships1 board and Tony Williams gave some detailed answers but I seem to have lost them.

I think the UK was the worst offender in this (correct me if I’m wrong) but what calibres would you choose for other countries based on their requirements?

 

Germany was definitely the worst when it comes to standardization (or the lack of it) of calibres. This situation was worsened by the extensive use of foreign equipment, adding Czech, French, Russian and a whole array of other calibres to the list.

I would say the Germans should have focused on 75mm and 88mm for AT, 20mm and 88mm for AA and 105mm and 150mm for artillery.

The British: 6pdr and 17pdr for AT, 40mm and 76.2mm for AA and 25pdr and *insert standard British heavy artillery of good quality* for artillery.

 

As it happens I went into this in some detail in my new 'alternative WW2' novel; 'The Foresight War' - see my website for details and a free read of the first chapter

I start off by adopting the Bofors 40mm in the mid-1930s and using the same ammo for the 2 pdr tank/anti-tank gun (the ammo was much the same size). Next I persuade Bofors to speed up their development of the 57mm version of their auto AA gun (which actually came out just after WW2) and adopt the same ammo for the 6 pdr tank/anti-tank gun (it was much the same size...). I also neck-out the 6pdr to make a same-size 3 inch tank gun firing APDS and HE.

Then I go for a high velocity 3 inch AA plus 17 pdr tank/anti-tank gun (yep, same ammo again!). I also 'neck out' the 17 pdr case to make an interchangeable 35 pdr (4 inch) tank gun, firing APDS or HE.

The 25 pdr I'd leave the same - only I'd put it into tanks as well.

The naval 4 inch AA gun I keep the same, but the various 4.5 inch, 4.7 inch and 5.25 inch naval guns I'd replace with a 4.7 inch L/50 DP, plus a shorter-barreled 4.7 inch instead of the 4.5 inch and 5.5 inch artillery pieces.

Should be enough to be going on with!

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and Discussion forum

 

Got and I'm currently in the middle of Chapter 3 -

 

On the Torpedo Boats etc post on the War as Sea Board Tiornu suggests that the 6pdr used on RN MGB's would make a good start for an AA weapon - do you know if anyone actually looked at this?

 

Ahh, I had overlookeed captured weapons

 

Not as far as I know. The British were trying to develop an automatic 57mm AA gun and did produce some protoypes, but it didn't start from the Molins.

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion
forum

 

Can't blame the Germans though, when your own armament industry is hampered by constant bombings and you have tens of thousands of captured Russian/Polish artillery pieces, might as well put it to work. I hate to be the German logistic officer in charge of supplling ammos to these bewildering array of guns though.

 

Yeah, it's definitely their own fault. Once Speer got busy ameliorating the industries it was already too late, and the units at the front were already using so many different calibres that supply was a complete nightmare.