| Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Swedish12 cm akan m/50 turret on DestroyerHMS Småland, 2008. | |
| Type | Naval gun |
| Place of origin | Sweden |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1954 – 2001[1] |
| Used by |  Royal Netherlands Navy Swedish Navy Colombian National Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designer | AB Bofors |
| Designed | 1950 |
| Manufacturer | AB Bofors |
| No. built | 54 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 67,000 kg (148,000 lb) |
| Barrel length | L/50 (including breach) |
| Shell | 120 × 835 mm R |
| Shell weight | 23.35 – 23.5 kg |
| Caliber | 120 millimetres (4.7 in) |
| Barrels | 2 × |
| Action | Automatic extraction with integratedautoloader |
| Elevation | -9°/+85°, 25°/s |
| Traverse | 360°, 22°/s |
| Rate of fire | 2 × 42 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 835–850 m/s (2,740–2,790 ft/s) |
| References | Bofors 1958,[2] AMKAT Marinen, 1977[3] |
Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 (full English name:Bofors 120 mm Automatic Gun L/50 In Naval Twin Turret),[2] also known asBofors 120 mm gun model 1950 and the like, was a Swedish twin-barreled 120 mm (4.7 in) caliberfully automaticdual purposenaval gunturret system designed byBofors from the end of the 1940s to the early 1950s to meet a request from theDutch Navy.[4] Besides the Dutch Navy, the weapon was also adopted by theSwedish and theColombian Navy.[4]
The Dutch were the initial users of the Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50. As part of rebuilding the Dutch Navy post WWII, the Dutch Navy had requested several naval gun systems to be developed byBofors for their next generation of naval-vessels,[5] one being a twin-barreled 120 mm dual-purpose gun for the then plannedHolland-class destroyers.[4] This request led to the creation of the Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
The gun entered active service with the Dutch Navy in 1954 mounted on theHolland-class destroyers. Even before the firstHolland-class destroyer had been completed the Dutch Navy decided to order yet another class of destroyer armed with the Bofors 120 mm L/50, theFriesland-class destroyer. The Dutch really liked the design and decided in the mid 1970s to save two turrets from theHolland-class destroyerHNLMS Gelderland (D811) when she was decommissioned in 1973, and then fit them to the newTromp-class frigates under construction.
Following the Dutch example, the Swedish Navy decided to acquire the new 120 mm system being developed for them and fit it to a new generation of destroyers in 1950. In Swedish service the weapon was fitted to theHalland-class destroyersHSwMS Halland (J18) andHSwMS Småland (J19), both of which entered service in 1956. The weapon was initially designated12 cm automatkanon m/50 (12 cm akan m/50),[6]lit. "12 cm autocannon m/50", but around 1970 the weapon was redesignated to12 cm torndubbelautomatpjäs m/50 (12 cm tdblapjäs m/50),lit. "12 cm turret double automatic (artillery)piece m/50".[7][8]
The gun was in use until the Halland-class destroyers were taken out of service.
_1966_001_(cropped).jpg)
In Colombian service the Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 was fitted to the destroyers7 de Agosto (D-06) and20 de Julio (D-05), both of which were Swedish builtHalland-class destroyers. Unlike the SwedishHalland-class destroyers, the Colombian version carried three Bofors 120 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/50 turrets instead of two.