The Hotchkiss 47 mm/5 (5 = five-barrel) gun was first tested in Russia in 1879. Starting in 1884, the Russian Navy bought over 150 of these and the similar 37 mm five barrel gun for use as anti-torpedo boat weapons on large ships and to arm light craft. Russian production of these guns started in 1888 at Tula and by the time production stopped in 1896 an additional 40 weapons had been made. These Hotchkiss weapons were crank-operated, five-barrel revolver-style rotating guns, externally somewhat similar to a Gatling gun but having a different ammunition feed system.
In addition to the five-barrel weapon, the single barrel 47 mm/1 (1 = single barrel) gun was also purchased. By 1901 about 693 guns of this type were in service. As these single barrel guns were easier to manufacture than the multi-barrel guns, they became standard equipment in the Russian Navy until 1905. In that year, combat during the Russo-Japanese War proved these weapons to be ineffective and they were quickly removed from most of the larger ships. During World War I and the Russian Civil War they were widely used to arm light ships and river craft. A number of them were converted into the AA guns and by 1917 at least 62 guns had been converted. Ten Japanese 47 mm guns were acquired in 1917 and used to arm the Ushakov destroyer class.
These guns had monobloc barrels with a vertical blade type breech mechanism.
| Designation | 47 mm/5 (1.85") Hotchkiss gun: 25 Calibers 47 mm/1 (1.85") Hotchkiss gun: 43.5 Calibers |
|---|---|
| Ship Class Used On | Almost every Russian ship built between 1885 and 1905, light ships during World War I |
| Date Of Design | 47 mm/5: 1873 47 mm/1: about 1883 |
| Date In Service | 1884 for both |
| Gun Weight | 47 mm/5: 1274 lbs. (578 kg) 47 mm/1: 519.2 lbs. (235.5 kg) |
| Gun Length oa | 47 mm/5: 78.74 in (2 m) |
| Bore Length | 47 mm/5: 46.26 in (1.175 m) 47 mm/1: 80.63 in (2.045 m) |
| Rifling Length | 47 mm/5: 39.06 in (0.992 m) 47 mm/1: 58.43 in (1.484 m) |
| Grooves | 20 |
| Lands | N/A |
| Twist | N/A |
| Chamber Volume | N/A |
| Rate Of Fire 1 | 47 mm/5: 50 rounds per minute design, 30 rounds per minute practical 47 mm/1: 20 rounds per minute |
- ^As the feed lips on the rotary guns only held a few rounds and rounds were fed into them individually, it proved impossible for the loaders to keep up with the firing rate, hence the low practical rate of fire.
| Type | Fixed |
|---|---|
| Weight of Complete Round | HE: 6.7 lbs. (3 kg) |
| Projectile Types and Weights | HE: 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) |
| Bursting Charge | 47 mm/5: 0.095 lbs. (43g) 47 mm/1: 0.044 lbs. (20g) |
| Projectile Length | 2.9 calibers |
| Propellant Charge | 47 mm/5: 0.49 lbs. (0.22 kg) brown powder 47 mm/5: 0.178 lbs. (0.081 kg) smokeless powder 47 mm/1: 1.65 lbs. (0.75 kg) brown powder 47 mm/1: 0.77 lbs. (0.35 kg) smokeless powder |
| Muzzle Velocity | 47 mm/5: 1,476 fps (450 mps) 47 mm/1: 2,300 fps (701 mps) |
| Working Pressure | N/A |
| Approximate Barrel Life | N/A |
| Ammunition stowage per gun | N/A |
Data from:
- "Entsiklopedia Otechestvennoi Artillerii" (Encyclopedia of Fatherland (Russian) Artillery) by A.V. Shirokorad
Special help from Vladimir Yakubov