25 mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun

mitrailleuse de 25 mm CA mle 39
mitrailleuse de 25 mm CA mle 39
	Preserved 25 CA 39 at Musée des Blindés
Type	Anti-Aircraft/Autocannon
Place of origin	France
Service history
Wars	Second World War
Production history
Designer	Hotchkiss et Cie
Specifications
Mass	850 kg (1,870 lb)
Barrel length	1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) L/60
Crew	9[1]
Shell	25 x 163 mm; HE: .29 kg (10 oz); AP: .32 kg (11 oz)
Caliber	25 mm (.98 in)
Action	gas operated
Carriage	Two wheeled single axle with cruciform outriggers
Elevation	-10° to +85°
Traverse	360°[1]
Rate of fire	Cyclic: 200–260 rpm; Effective: 110 rpm
Muzzle velocity	HE: 900 m/s (2,953 ft/s); AP: 875 m/s (2,870 ft/s)
Effective firing range	6.8 km (4.2 mi) at 45° with HE shell
Maximum firing range	3 km (9,800 ft) (effective); 5.5 km (18,000 ft) (ceiling)
Feed system	10-round box magazine[1]

The Hotchkiss 25 mm anti-aircraft gun was an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the French firm of Hotchkiss. It served in World War II with French, Japanese and other nations' forces. Other than the designer company and the calibre, this weapon is not related to the semi-automatic 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun; in particular, the cartridge used is different.

Development

After World War I the French military expressed a need for an anti-aircraft autocannon. The Hotchkiss company submitted its 25 mm design, but it was rejected as being too slow-firing, so the weapon was proposed for export instead. In 1938, as the international situation was worsening, and the favoured Schneider 37 mm autocannon was still not ready for production, the French military decided to reconsider its refusal to Hotchkiss, who had just won a contract with Romania. The export guns were held in France and impressed into domestic service. The original tripod was found to be unstable, which led to the development of a revised variant with a triangular base with a two-wheel carriage. This new variant was chosen for mass production, but at the time of the German attack in May 1940, only a few hundred of these guns were in service. With them and only approximately two hundred Oerlikons, the lack of modern light AA guns greatly hampered the French army in the campaign.

Foreign use

Romania ordered 300 pieces but only 72 had been delivered until the fall of France.[2]

Japan bought a licence to manufacture the weapon, which became the Type 96 and was used on most Japanese warships of World War II as the Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun.

The Spanish Republic bought the weapons for its Navy in December 1935. Five were received in January 1936 and installed during the Spanish Civil War in the destroyers Jose Luis Díez, Lepanto and Ulloa. After the Civil War, these weapons were used during the 1940s.[3]

Variants

mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes modèle 1938: the original tripod-mounted gun intended for Romania.

mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes modèle 1939: heavier, more stable carriage.

mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes modèle 1940: faster-firing variant on fixed mounting for naval and static defense use, cartwheel sights.

mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes modèle 1940 jumelée: ground-based twin variant.

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Notes

Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Anti-aircraft guns. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 6. ISBN 0668038187. OCLC 2000222.
Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29
"Las armas de la guerra civil española" ISBN 84-9734-475-8, pages 394 -398.

References

Ferrard, Stéphane. France 1940 l'armement terrestre, ETAI, 1998, ISBN 978-2-7268-8380-8
Notice provisoire du matériel de 25 m/m C.A. Modèle 1938, Manufacture d'armes de Levallois, 1939
Rapid fire, Anthony G. Williams, ISBN 1-84037-435-7
"Las armas de la guerra civil española", José María Manrique, ISBN 84-9734-475-8, pages 394 -398

External links

Munitions de 25 mm Hotchkiss Modèle 1938 (in French)

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[:0-1] Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Anti-aircraft guns. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 6. ISBN 0668038187. OCLC 2000222.

[2] Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29

[3] "Las armas de la guerra civil española" ISBN 84-9734-475-8, pages 394 -398.

French naval weapons of the Second World War
Battleship main armament	305 mm/45 Modèle 1906 330 mm/50 Modèle 1931 340 mm/45 Modèle 1912 380 mm/45 Modèle 1935
Cruiser main armament	138 mm/40 Modèle 1923 152 mm/55 Modèle 1930 155 mm/50 Modèle 1920 203 mm/50 Modèle 1924 203 mm/55 Modèle 1931
Destroyer and Aviso main armament	65 mm Modèle 1891 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/45 Modèle 1891 100 mm/45 Modèle 1933 130 mm/40 Modèle 1919 130 mm/40 Modèle 1924 130 mm/45 Modèle 1935 138 mm/45 Modèle 1893 138 mm/40 Modèle 1927 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910 138 mm/50 Modèle 1929
Secondary armament	57 mm/40 Modèle 1885 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/45 Modèle 1930 100 mm/55 Modèle 1945 130 mm/45 Modèle 1932 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910 152 mm/55 Modèle 1930
Submarine guns	75 mm/35 Modèle 1924 75 mm/35 Modèle 1927 100 mm/45 Modèle 1917 100 mm/45 Modèle 1925 100 mm/34 Modèle 1936 203 mm/50 Modèle 1924
Anti-aircraft weapons	7.5 mm/80 Modèle 1931 8 mm/50 Modèle 1914 13.2 mm/76 Modèle 1929 25 mm/60 Modèle 1938 25 mm/60 Modèle 1940 37 mm/50 Modèle 1925 37 mm/70 Modèle 1935 57 mm/40 Modèle 1902 75 mm/35 Modèle 1924 75 mm/35 Modèle 1927 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/34 Modèle 1933
Torpedoes	400 mm Modèle 1926V 550 mm Modèle 1919D 550 mm Modèle 1923DT 550 mm Modèle 1924M 550 mm Modèle 1924V

French artillery of World War II
Anti-aircraft guns	Mitrailleuse de 25 mm CA mle 39 Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917 Canon de 75 CA modèle 1940 Schneider
Anti-tank guns	25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun 25 mm APX modèle 1937 AC 37 anti-tank gun AC 47 anti-tank gun 47 mm APX anti-tank gun
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 155 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and Heavy artillery	Canon de 105 court mle 1934 Schneider Canon de 105 court mle 1935 B Canon de 105 L mle 1936 Schneider Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155mm GPF Canon de 194 mle GPF Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider-St Chamond
Mortars	Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 Canon de 75 M modele 1919 Schneider Canon de 75 M modele 1928 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider Canon Court de 105 M modèle 1919 Schneider
Railroad artillery	Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1906/10 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 320 modèle 1917 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Tank guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 47mm SA mle 1935 Canon de 75 modèle 1897