Polsten 20mm Quad

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Polsten 20mm Quad

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Polsten 20mm Quad

History and Design

The Polsten machine gun is a 20mm weapon which has been designed primarily to fulll an anti-aircraft role against low ying aircraft and pilotless
planes. It is similar in principle to the 20mm Oerlikon gun which was used by the Navy, and it res the same High Explosive, Incendiary, Tracer and
Armour-piercing ammunition. This makes it an extremely eective weapon when employed in the A.A. role. In a secondary role it may be used with good
eect against ground targets, e.g. soft skinned transport and lightly armoured vehicles.
There are several mountings on which the Polsten was used; No2 Universal mounting, Mk1 Haszaird-Baird mounting, 20mm triple mounting and the
Quadruple mounting etc, but it could be tted, with slight modication to the ring gear, to other mountings on which the Oerlikon is normally carried.
A spare barrel is provided with each gun. The barrel can be changed quickly and easily, and this was done frequently in order to reduce overheating and
consequent barrel wear.
The Polsten magazine was a 30 round box type and was not really suitable for use on the quadruple mount so the 60 round Oerlikon Mk2 drum magazine
was used, which weighed 64lb when lled with ammuntion ! Each 20mm round weighed about half a pound.
The Polsten machine gun had an unusual deleopment history, for its design originated in Poland and was transferred to the UK when the Germans
invaded Poland in 1939. The Polish team had been revising the basic Oerlikon gun with a view to simplifying the manufacture and reducing cost. The
drawings were completed by a team of Polish, Czech and British designers. The design was then handed over to the British Sten Company (name not
proved) who produced the gun along with the John Inglis Company in Canada. It was cheaper than the Oerlikon for it cost 60 -70 compared with 320
for the Swiss original. This was due to the reduced number of components, 119 as opposed to 250, and the smaller number of machining operations to
turn them out. The rst 240 guns were produced at the end of 1943, and a further 13,548 during 1944.

Development and Application

The design of the quadruple mounted Polsten was developed along side the "Skink", a modied M4A1 Grizzly medium tank which had a specially
designed turret, using 4 Polsten Mk1 machine guns instead of the usual armament. The purpose of the Skink was to provide protection for armoured
units and assault troops against low ying aircraft. The original program called for production of 135 complete skinks for the use of the Canadian Army
and an additional 130 Skink turrets to meet British requirements.
Allied air supremacy in North West Europe eliminated the demand for this type of vehicle and on 23rd August 1944 the Dept of Munitions and Supply
was advised by the National Defence that the program should be cancelled and only three tanks would be required. Of the three vehicles produced in
Canada, one actually saw service in NWE during Feb and March 1945. Although it wasnt actually used in the A.A. role it was very eective in the
ground role.
However, another threat loomed in 1944, that was the use of V1 ying bombs or "Doodle Bugs " against Southern England by the Germans. Conventional
A.A. guns such as the 3.7s and 40 mm Bofors were found to be inadequate to deal with the problem so a new A.A. gun was produced based on the Skink
turret design. The gun could be trailed into position anywhere quickly and then set up. A team of loaders would keep the ammunition coming and the
gunner would sit inside the armoured turret and direct the re using a joystick similar to an aircraft type control. The action was very fast, being
hydraulically controlled, hydraulic power produced by a small Wisconsin single cylinder petrol engine in the rear of the turret. The gunner had elevation
control as well as traversing and could re the guns as pairs or all at once ! A contract was placed for 1000 quad Polstens and they were delivered. The
quadruple mount also saw service in NWE when it was used to defend Antwerp from the V1s. A lorried version was also built using the turret and
mounting it on the back of a CMP at bed 3 tonner with a type 43 cab.

31-03-13 00:18

Polsten 20mm Quad

2 of 2

http://www.anti-aircraft.co.uk/polstenquad.html
Physical data

Rate of re
450rds per min
Eective ceiling
6630 ft
Muzzle velocity
2725 ft/s
Riing
Concentric RH twist, 1 in 720
Magazine capacity
30rd box or 60rd drum
Overall length of gun
84"
Length of barrel
57"
Weight of gun
126lb (57kg)
Weight of 60rd mag empty 31lb 8oz (14.3kg)
Weight of 60rd mag full
64lb (29kg)
Weight of 20mm round
8oz (225g)
Date of manufacture
1944
Manufacturer
John Inglis Company, Canada
Mounting weight
3910lb (1777kg)
Platform weight
1320lb (600kg)
Carriage weight
1665lb (757kg)
Total weight of quad gun 6895lb (3134kg)
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Perlscripts by KScripts
Copyright 2006 www.anti-aircraft.co.uk

31-03-13 00:18