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57mm Bofors M1950


57mm lvakan M/50


Overview


57mm Bofors M/50

57mm Bofors M/50 twin naval mount on a Halland class destroyer.
Source: Koster - © Public domain

Origin
Sweden
Type
Naval gun
Service life
1952 - 1982
Status
Out of service
Development
1951
Developer
Sweden
Production
Early 1950's
Producer
Sweden
Number produced
10 turrets
Designations
57mm lvakan M/50 (Swedish service)
Notable users
Netherlands
Sweden

Description


Introduction

The 57mm Bofors M/50 is an early Cold War naval gun of Swedish origin. It was developed just after World War 2. These turrets are mainly intended for anti-aircraft use, but can also be used against surface targets. Due to their weight and complexity only 10 of these turrets were ever produced. Fn

Design

The 57mm M/50 naval mount is a large and heavy design capable of delivering a tremendous amount of anti-aircraft fire. The 57mm M/50 uses a fully automated turret with water cooled barrels. Fire control is carried out by radar and external calculation. The ammunition hoppers are loaded automatically and are fed by two feed chutes from a below deck magazine.

Firepower

The Bofors M/50 is armed with two water-cooled 57mm L/60 autocannon. These guns have a cyclic rate of fire of 120 to 130 rpm per barrel. Since the loading if fully automated and barrels are water-cooled their effective rate of fire is practically similar to their cyclic rate of fire. Combined with radar guidance these guns are very effective against aircraft up to a range of 5 km, especially combined with air burst ammunition. Depending on ammunition type the theoretical range against surface targets is 13 to 14.5 km.

Users

The first and foremost user of the 57mm M/50 is the Royal Netherlands navy. Each of the two De Zeven Provinciën class cruisers were fitted with four of these mounts. Both Swedish Halland class destroyers were fitted with a single turret. France adopted the 57mm Bofors L/60 guns in a twin mount of their own design in an effort to reduce weight. Several types of single barrel 57mm L/60 naval guns were developed as well.

Details


Facts 57mm Bofors M/50
General
Origin
Sweden
Type
Naval gun turret
Ordnance
Type
2x 57mm L/60 water-cooled SAK M/50
Ammunition type
57x438mmR
Rate of fire
120 - 130 rpm cyclic per gun
Range
14.5 km max horizontal range
9 km max altitude
5 km practical anti-aircraft range
Muzzle velocity
880 - 890 m/s
Mount
Feed mechanism
Fully automated loading
Ammunition
>1.000 round in below deck magazines
Traverse
360°, powered
Elevation
-10° to +90°, powered
Operation
Crew
Optional local control as back-up
Fully automated loading within turret
Manual loading of ammunition hoppers below deck
Fire control
Radar control against aircraft and surface targets
Optional manual control as back-up
Dimensions
Weight
24 t including ammunition hoists
Deck penetration
Below deck magazine

Platforms


Halland class

A single 57mm M/50 mount is located superfiring over the forward 120mm M/50.

Media


Related articles


120mm Bofors M1950

The 57mm L/60 gun mount is not to be confused with the similar named Bofors M1950 in 120mm, which is a much larger dual purpose gun. Both turrets were often used on the same type of destroyer.

57mm Bofors SAK-57

The 57mm L/60 was updated to a single barrel L/70 design which was much lighter, but had a near similar firepower due to its higher rate of fire.