France
130 mm/45 (5.1") Models 1932 and 1935
Updated 25 February 2012
The Model 1932 was specifically designed for the Dunkerque class and was the first dual-purpose (DP) gun ever used as secondary armament on a capital ship.  The guns were used in three quad and two twin mounts.  The quad mount version of these guns was similar to the 330 mm (13") main guns in that they were really two dual gun mounts merged into a single turret.  This DP design was not successful, as the very complicated semi-automatic loading mechanism was prone to jamming.  The very high weight of these rounds led to rapid crew fatigue and much slower rates of fire.

The Model 1935 was a SP gun used on the first eight units of the Le Hardi destroyer class.  Only two of these ships, Le Hardi and Fleuret, were close to being completed before the Armistice.  These two destroyers plus L'Epée were eventually completed and formed the 10th Division de Torpilleurs, but there is evidence that their armament was not fully functional.  In an engagement with the British destroyer Hotspur on 25 September 1940, L'Epée fired only fourteen shots before all of her 130 mm guns developed defects and were rendered useless.  In this same engagement, Fleuret did not fire a shot as her fire control equipment could not follow the target.

In 1938, consideration was given to arming the last eight units of the Le Hardi class with the DP Model 1932 in order to improve their AA capability.  None of these ships were completed before the Armistice.

Used an autofretted barrel and a breech ring.  The breech block was vertically sliding in the DP version but horizontally sliding in the SP version.  Both breech mechanisms were semi-automatic.
WNFR_51-45_m1932_Strasbourg_pic.jpg

Quad mountings on Strasbourg
Note the range finder atop the turrets and the close barrel spacings
Photograph from the collection of Robert Dumas
WNFR_51-45_m1932_LeHardi_pic.jpg

Destroyer Le Hardi in April 1941
M. Bar Photograph
WNFR_51-45_m1932_LeHardi_aft_pic.jpg

Another view of Le Hardi
Photograph from the collection of Henri le Masson
.
Gun Characteristics
.
Designation 130 mm/45 (5.1") Models 1932 and 1935
Ship Class Used On Model 1932:  Dunkerque and Joffre classes
Model 1935:  Le Hardi Classes
Date Of Design 1932 / 1935
Date In Service 1937 / 1939
Gun Weight 3.75 tons (3.81 mt)
Gun Length oa 245. 9 in (6.245 m)
Bore Length 232.2 in (5.899 m)
Rifling Length 198.8 in (5.049 m)
Grooves N/A
Lands N/A
Twist Uniform RH 1 in 25.59
Chamber Volume 811.1 in3 (13.292 dm3)
Rate Of Fire Model 1932:  10 - 12 rounds per minute

Model 1935:  10 - 15 rounds per minute
.
Ammunition
.
Type Fixed
Weight of Complete Round 116.8 lbs. (53.0 kg)
Projectile Types and Weights
(see Note 3)		 SAP - 70.8 lbs. (32.1 kg)
HE - 65.1 lbs. (29.5 kg)
Starshell - N/A
Bursting Charge SAP - about 3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg)
HE - about 7 lbs. (3.2 kg)
Projectile Length SAP - 25.5 in (64.8 cm)
HE - 23 in (58.3 cm)
Complete SAP round - 53.1 in (134.9 cm)
Complete HE round - 50.7 in (128.4 cm)
Propellant Charge 19.3 lbs. (8.76 kg) BM9
Muzzle Velocity SAP:  2,625 fps (800 mps)
HE:  2,756 fps (840 mps)
Working Pressure 17.1 tons/in2 (2,700 kg/cm2)
Approximate Barrel Life about 900 rounds
Ammunition stowage per gun Dunkerque:  400 rounds
Le Hardi:  N/A
Notes:

1) Ready ammunition in the quad mount rotating structure was 32 AA rounds and 16 surface rounds.

2) Actual French designations:
      SAP - OPfK Mle 1933
      HE - OEA Mle 1934
      Starshell - OEcl Mle 1934

3) The sources below disagree as to projectile weight.  I have chosen to use those given in "French Battleships:  1922 - 1956" and "Naval Weapons of World War Two."

4) Outfit for Dunkerque as completed consisted of 2,000 SAP and 4,400 HE and Starshell.
.
Range
.
Elevation Range
Range @ 45 degrees
70.77 lbs. (32.1 kg) HE Shell		 22,750 yards (20,800 m)
Range @ 45 degrees
70.8 lbs. (32.1 kg) SAP Shell		 22,820 yards (20,870 m)
AA Ceiling @ 75 degrees
64.9 lbs. (29.5 kg) AA Shell		 About 40,000 feet (12,000 m)
.
Mount / Turret Data
.
Designation Twin DP Mounts
   Dunkerque (2) and Joffre (4):  Model 1932

Quad DP Mounts
   Dunkerque (3):  Model 1932

Twin SP Mounts
   Le Hardi (2):  Model 1935
Weight Twin DP:  79.9 tons (81.2 mt)

Quad DP:  197 tons (200 mt)

Twin SP:  32.1 tons (32.6 mt)
Elevation DP Mounts:  -10 / +75 degrees

SP Mounts:  -10 / +30 degrees (one source says +35 degrees)
Rate of Elevation DP Mounts:  6 degrees per second
(one source says 8 degrees per second)
Train Dunkerque:
   Lateral Quads:  175 degrees total
   Lateral Twins:  171 degrees total
   Centerline Quad:  -150 / +150 degrees

Le Hardi:  About -150 / +150 degrees
Rate of Train 12 degrees per second
Gun Recoil DP:  16.5 in (42 cm)
SP:  20 in (50 cm)
Loading Angle DP:  Any angle
SP:  Any angle up to +30 degrees
Notes:

1) The quadruple mountings were developed by St. Chamond and do not appear to have been very successful, with the loading system in particular being prone to defects.

2 The SP mountings were base-ring types with pusher hoists which delivered two rounds at a time into drums pivoting on the trunnion axis.  Gun shields were of the open-back type.  Springs pushed the projectiles onto upper and lower loading trays from where they were power rammed into the gun breeches.  Electric power was used for training and elevation.  The distance between gun axes was 51.2 in (130 cm).

3) The DP mountings had a double hoist for each gun, one for AA rounds and one for surface rounds.  Rounds were passed by hand to the hoists which came up by the outer cradle trunnions of each pair and the rounds were passed to the loading tray by a combination of hydraulically powered tilting and rotating trays and slide tracks.  Rammers were pneumatic with the breech closing automatically after ramming.  Firing automatically ejected the cartridge case onto the loading tray after which it was manually passed onto a conveyor.  The distance between gun axes for the Quad DP mount was 21.7 in (55 cm) between pairs and 96.5 in (245 cm) between the inner guns.  Gun axes distance is unavailable for the Twin DP mount but is said to have been greater than that for the quad mount.  There was a 0.8 in (2 cm) bulkhead extending about 65% of the turret length between the gun pairs.  Training and elevation were both powered by 10 hp motors with Sautter-Harlé RPC.
.
Data from
"Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
"Battleships:  Allied Battleships in World War II" by W.H. Garzke, Jr. and R.O. Dulin, Jr.
"French Battleships:  1922 - 1956" by John Jordan and Robert Dumas
"Destroyers of World War Two" and "Battleships of World War Two" both by M.J. Whitley
Page History

16 May 2006 - Benchmark
09 July 2009 - Added comment about 25 September 1940 action
30 November 2009 - Added information on projectiles
25 February 2012 - Added stern picture of Le Hardi