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davis gun

{{Infobox weapon

|name=Davis Gun

|image= Davis gun NARA-45523875.jpg

|caption=Davis gun mounted on Curtiss F5L anti-submarine seaplane

|origin= United States

|type= Recoilless cannon

|is_ranged=

|is_bladed=

|is_explosive= yes

|is_artillery= yes

|is_vehicle=

|is_missile=

|is_UK= yes

|service=

|used_by=Royal Naval Air Service

|wars=World War I

|designer= Cleland Davis

|design_date=1912–1914

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The Davis gun was the first true recoilless gun developed and taken into service. It was developed by Commander Cleland Davis{{cite web|title=The Cannon Pioneers: The early development and use of aircraft cannon |first=Anthony G |last=Williams|url=https://quarryhs.co.uk/cannon_pioneers.htm |date=August 2014|accessdate=28 December 2021}} of the United States Navy in 1910, just prior to World War I.

Development

File:Davis gun ammunition.png

Davis' design connected two guns back to back, with the backwards-facing gun loaded with lead balls and grease of the same weight as the shell in the other gun, acting as a counter. His idea was used experimentally by the British and Americans as an anti-Zeppelin and anti-submarine weapon{{cite web|title=DAVIS AMMUNITION|url=http://www.big-ordnance.com/Davis/davis_ammunition.htm|publisher=www.big-ordnance.com|accessdate=19 November 2012|archive-date=22 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122005615/http://www.big-ordnance.com/Davis/davis_ammunition.htm|url-status=dead}} mounted on the British Handley Page O/100 and O/400 bombers and the American Curtiss Twin JN and Curtiss HS-2L and H-16 flying boats. The direct development of the gun ended with the end of World War I in November 1918, but the firing principle has been copied by later designs.

Description

The gun was made in three sizes: 2-pounder, 6-pounder and 12-pounder; {{convert|1.57|in|mm|abbr=on}}, {{convert|2.45|in|mm|abbr=on}},Williams give 57mm calibre and {{convert|3|in|abbr=on}} in caliber respectively, firing {{convert|2|lb|kg|adj=on}}, {{convert|6|lb|kg|adj=on}}, and {{convert|12|lb|kg|adj=on}} shells. The 3-inch gun carried a pressure of 15 tons per square inch (2,109 kg per cm2) when fired.{{cite web |title=United States of America Experimental and Miscellaneous 3" (7.62 cm) Guns |url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_3-15_mk12.htm |publisher=www.navweaps.com|access-date=19 November 2012}} Usually a Lewis machine gun was mounted on top of the Davis gun's barrel for use in sighting and as an auxiliary and anti-aircraft weapon.

Aircraft used

The gun was tested on various aircraft and some aircraft were designed to carry the gun:

Surviving examples

There are examples at the Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida, the Imperial War Museum in London, and the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort, Kentucky.{{cn|date=December 2021}}

See also

References

{{reflist}}

Bibliography

  • {{cite journal |last1=Russell |first1=Mark |title=Bring Out the Big Guns: British Military Aviation & the Development of the Heavy Cannon, 1914–39|journal=The Aviation Historian |date=2019 |issue=28 |pages=60–69 |issn=2051-1930}}

External links

  • [https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/89/b3/78/0613b1559cdfd7/US1108714.pdf Patent 1108714]
  • [https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/9e/aa/f6/a9eb4cd8069295/US1108717.pdf Patent 1108717]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis Gun}}

Category:Recoilless rifles of the United States

Category:World War I aircraft guns