152mm/53 Bofors M1942
History
Just before World War 2, the Netherlands were building the Eendracht class light cruisers to replace the ageing Java class. These cruisers were to be armed with 10 150mm guns each, in 2 dual and 2 triple turrets. These guns, build by Bofors, were already under construction when the Netherlands was invaded and work stopped on the ships. This left these guns available for other uses.
The outbreak of World War 2 lead to changes in the Swedish naval strategy. It was decided in 1940 to build 2 cruisers of Italian design, armed with the guns originally meant for the Eendracht class. The ongoing war meant that resources for shipbuilding were limited and the two cruisers of the Tre Kronor class did not enter service before 1947. These delays allowed Bofors the time to develop a new automatic shell handling system which included dual ammunition hoists (anti air and armour penetration rounds). A modified turret design followed and had high maximum elevations to allow these guns to be used as anti-aircraft guns. This version reached operational service as the Model 1942 on the Tre Kronor.
After the war, The Netherlands resumed construction on the two cruisers which were originally the Eendracht class, now called De Ruyter class. four Twin mountings of the Model 1942 were selected for the armament of each of these 2 cruisers, completing the circle of their development. On the De Ruyter, these mountings were kept in (somewhat) operational status on the De Ruyter in Peruvian service until the ship was decomissioned in 2017
The original design had a bore of 150mm, the guns actually entering service had a bore of 152mm to allow the use of the Swedish 6" shells.
Used on
- Eendracht class
- Tre Kronor class (M1942)
- De Ruyter class (M1942)
Affiliated systems
Various fire control systems.
Part description
Both the variations are drawn on separate images.
- A basic one for the mountings on the Eendracht, including their respective belowdeck space requirements.
- A more detailed version showing the belowdeck arrangement of both the forward facing mountings and just the abovedeck components for the aft facing mountings.
