Bofors Quick Firing MkIII Gun

The gun was developed by Bofors AB, of Sweden, in the early 1930’s to meet a Swedish Navy requirement for a light, hand-trained anti-aircraft gun. By 1935 a towable ‘land’ version was available, and in 1937 the British Army was impressed enough to acquire a licence to build a version in the UK. The gun saw service during WW2 and by the end of hostilities the British Bofors had reached the Mk XII version, capable of tackling jet aircraft.

The Bofors, with a crew of three or four, fired a 40mm diameter shell with 2lbs high explosive. Shells could reach nearly 23,000ft altitude, but accurate fire was a more modest 12,500ft. The ammunition was contained in clips of four shells, and the maximum rate of fire was 120 rounds per minute.

Aiming the gun was initially by a system of reflector sights but this was replaced by a mechanical computer, the Kerrison Director, to calculate ‘lead’ ahead of the speeding aircraft target. This proved too complex (needing to be powered by a petrol-fuelled generator) and was superseded by the simpler and effective manual Stiffkey Sight.

About this vehicle

The Collection’s Bofors was manufactured in 1939 and supplied to Portugal where it remained until the 1980’s when it was bought by an arms dealer and shipped to the UK. It was acquired by Shuttleworth from a private owner in 1980 and is, obviously, deactivated. It is maintained and operated by the Shuttleworth gun crew of Collection Volunteers.