The 45mm /85, as its designation suggests, was nothing more than a 45mm version of the gun with an /85 calibers measurement. These began appearing in 1954 and could be found in both twin- and quad-gunned arrangements on Soviet ships.
With its stellar showing in the Second World War and their general availability in number, the M1939 was also widely exported to Soviet allies and neighboring states. NORINCO of China eventually manufactured the type in considerable numbers and went on to apply local developments to the series to generate a whole family of Chinese-originated variants.
The original copy was the single-gunned "Type 55" and this led to the twin-gunned "Type 65". Its upgraded form was the Type 74 of 1974 which increased Rate-of-Fire (RoF). The Type 74SD followed with the Type 800 series laser course director system installed to help aid in accuracy. The Type 79-III of 1979 was an upgraded model now with Electro-Optical (EO) directing system and power-assisted traversal/elevation control.
The twin-gunned Type 65 in navy use was the "Type 76". The same arrangement fitted to the chassis of the Soviet T-34 Medium Tank in Chinese Army service became the "Type 63" (detailed elsewhere on this site). The P793 was another enhanced twin-gunned version complete with EO direction, increased RoF, and longer barrel assemblies for increasing muzzle velocity (and therefore range and penetration-at-range). This model also reduced the typical crew of eight to six men.
With its best days clearly behind it, the 37mm M1939 is still found in far-off parts of the world, typically with those nations having had ties to the former Soviet Union, and this ranges from Angola and Algeria to Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
The M1939 was produced from 1937 until 1945 in the Soviet Union and some 20,000 units were built. Weight was 4,600lb and the L/67 barrel measured 8.9 feet long. The primary 37mm projectile was the QF 37x250mmR which weighed 1lb, 12oz. The barrel was supported by a hydro-spring recoil system. The mounting hardware allowed for an elevation span of -5 to +85 degrees while traversal was a full 360-degrees. Rate-of-fire reached 160 to 170 rounds-per-minute and muzzle velocity was 2,900 feet-per-second. Effective range was 13,000 feet of altitude up to a maximum of 16,000 feet.
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