page_title: QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun
section_title: United Kingdom naval service
hierarchical_section_title: QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun / United Kingdom service / United Kingdom naval service
caption_attribution_description: QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun, mounted on 27-knot destroyer HMS Daring.
context_page_description: The QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun was a common, versatile 3-inch calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, exported to allied countries, and used for land service. In British service "12-pounder" was the rounded value of the projectile weight, and "12 cwt" was the weight of the barrel and breech, to differentiate it from other "12-pounder" guns.
  As the Type 41 3-inch /40 it was used on most early battleships and cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, though it was commonly referred to by its UK designation as a "12-pounder" gun.
context_section_description: Mk I and II guns, of "built up" construction of multiple steel layers, served on many Royal Navy destroyers up to and after World War I originally as primary and later as secondary armament against submarines and torpedo boats. They were also fitted as deck guns on D and E-class submarines.
  It was estimated that out of the 4,737 Mk I and Mk II guns produced there were still 3,494 on hand for the RN in 1939. Many Mk V guns, which had a "monobloc" barrel made of a single casting, served on smaller escort ships such as destroyers and on armed merchant ships, on dual-purpose high-low angle mountings which also allowed it to be used as an anti-aircraft gun.
caption: As first mounted on 27-knot destroyers from 1894, here seen on HMS Daring
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