The Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925 was a widely used family of French anti-aircraft guns used by the French Navy during World War II.
Design and construction The Modèle 1925 was a single gun mount while the later Modèle 1933 was a twin mount. Both were hand-loaded, semi-automatic guns with a low rate of fire compared to their clip-fed contemporaries. A combination of low rate of fire, low projectile weight and small numbers of guns per ship led to a reputation of it being a poor anti-aircraft weapon.
Ship classes that carried Modèle 1925 & Modèle 1933 include:
Aigle-class destroyers Bougainville-class avisos Bourrasque-class destroyers Chacal-class destroyers Dunkerque-class battleships Duquesne-class cruisers Guépard-class destroyers L'Adroit-class destroyers La Melpomène-class torpedo boats Le Fantasque-class destroyers Le Fier-class torpedo boats Mogador-class destroyers Richelieu-class battleships Suffren-class cruisers Vauquelin-class destroyers
Comparison of anti-aircraft guns CountryGun ModelRPMProjectile WeightWeight of fireCanon de 37 mm Modèle 192515-213.7 cm SK C/3030Cannone-Mitragliera da 37/54 (Breda)60-12037 mm Gun M11203.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/4315037 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K)80QF 2-pounder naval gun115Bofors 40 mm gun120
Career Ships of the Free French Navy refitted in the United States during World War II had these guns replaced by 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon guns. Ships of the Vichy French Navy continued to carry the Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925 until the remnants of that force were captured or scuttled during 1942. Ships salvaged by the Germans and Italians also replaced this gun with their equivalents.
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