Gun Action!
Apart from her deadly arsenal of between 8-10 MK VIII torpedoes, which are talked about on the ‘Devils Device’ page, Unbeaten also carried two other forms of armament. This comprised of a single WW1 era 12 pounder gun, which was eventually replaced with the more powerful Vickers 3" gun. The boat was also fitted for the mounting of two Lewis machine guns. The weapons are shown below:
The book 'Being Silent They Speak' goes into greater detail about the use of these weapons and the men who operated them.
The book 'Being Silent They Speak' goes into greater detail about the use of these weapons and the men who operated them.
Vickers 3” QF 20 CWT Mk 1 Gun (Mounted on a C.P. Mk V Gun Mounting)
Photo: Courtesy of the Dock Museum Barrow
Operation: Semi-automatic sliding block (360 degrees firing arc)
Calibre: 3” (76.2mm)
Cyclic Rate of Fire: 16-18 rounds per minute
Effective Range: 16,000 ft (4,900 mtrs)
Max Range: 22,000 ft (6,700 mtrs)
Vickers 12 Pounder Gun Circa 1940 (Mounted on a C.P. Mk V Gun Mounting)
Photo: Courtesy of the Dock Museum Barrow
A large number of the 12 pounder guns, manufactured for World War I, were put in storage, and re-issued again at the start of World War II. Unbeaten was initially fitted with this gun type. The 12 pounder gun was retained throughout her patrols from Malta. All the gun action undertaken by Unbeaten was with this gun type. It is likely that during a re-fit back in Great Britain Unbeaten had her weaker 12 pounder upgraded to the Vickers 3” QF 20 CWT Mk 1 Gun pictured above.
"Salvoes... Shoot"
Photo:Authors Collection
The Vickers (Quick Firing) gun was only fitted to the U-Class submarine type as an afterthought, several early U-Class boats were fitted with the old 12 pounder gun. The gun was located forward of the conning tower and positioned directly above the galley. Unbeaten's crew saw plenty of gun action during their time spent patrolling the Mediterranean.
Lewis Automatic Light Machine Gun
Operation: Selective Fire (Full or Semi-automatic)
Calibre: .303 British Mk VII
Capacity: 47, 97 round overhead drum magazine
Cyclic Rate of Fire: 450 rounds per minute
Effective Range: 550 mtrs (660 yds)
Calibre: .303 British Mk VII
Capacity: 47, 97 round overhead drum magazine
Cyclic Rate of Fire: 450 rounds per minute
Effective Range: 550 mtrs (660 yds)
HMS Unbeaten was complemented with two .303 Lewis Machine Guns. These could be fitted independently or together, mounted at the top of the conning tower, on firing stanchions either side of the bridge. The U-Class submarines often used these weapons during World War Two. It was claimed that with this type of weapon, one U-Class submarine, HMS/M Upright, shot down an attacking Messerschmitt ME 109 while she was alongside Malta being repaired. Malta based U-Class boat crews also used this gun to fire into the sea ahead of their moving submarine when approaching the Maltese harbours. This was in an effort to set off any acoustic mines laid by the enemy. This rouse worked many times and saved several submarines.