World War II Database

Country of Origin	France
Type	Anti-Aircraft Gun
Caliber	25.000 mm
Capacity	15 rounds
Barrel Length	1.500 m
Weight	785.000 kg
Ammunition Weight	0.68 kg
Rate of Fire	220 rounds/min
Ceiling	2.000 km
Muzzle Velocity	900 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Hotchkiss 25-millimeter anti-aircarft guns were developed in France in the 1930s. Because the French military rejected the design due to its slow rate of fire of 200 to 260 rounds per minute, Hotchkiss decided to export these weapons abroad, instead.

In 1935, Spain purchased 5 examples. The were delivered in Jan 1936 and were mounted on destroyers Jose Luis Díez, Lepanto, and Ulloa.

In 1935, several production examples were sent to Japan as the Japanese Navy searched for modern replacements for the older British-built Vickers 40-millimeter "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns. They were tested at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan under the designations of Type 94 and Type 95. In 1936, the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal began license-building them as Type 96. The Japanese version of the Hotchkiss 25-millimeter anti-aircraft guns had some simpler components for ease of production, and the conical flash suppressors were swapped with those built by the German firm Rheinmetall. The first Japanese Navy versions were built as double-mounted weapons at the weight of 1,100 kilograms; triple mounts (1,800 kilograms) were introduced in 1941 and single mounts (785 kilograms) were introduced in 1943. The Japanese military estimated that 1,500 rounds were required for each Type 96 mount to take down an American aircraft at a height of 1,000 meters and a range of 2,000 meters, and beyond that range the weapon was fairly ineffective. Late in the war, with ammunition in short supply, the Japanese Navy ordered that enemy aircraft must come within 800 meters before Type 96 gun crews were permitted to open fire. Despite the slow firing rate, Japanese gunners often cited this weapon as the most reliable anti-aircraft weapon of the war. Late in the war, they were also used as anti-tank guns. Between 1936 and 1945, 33,000 examples were built in Japan.

In 1938, the Schneider 37 mm autocannon design, the design that the French military had chosen over that from Hotchkiss, was not ready for production, thus the rejection previously issued to Hotchkiss was retracted. At that time, Hotchkiss had just begun the production to export the 25-millimeter guns to Romania; these examples were held for French service instead of being shipped to Romania. By the time the Germans attacked France in May 1940, a few hundred mounts were in service and contributed in the defense.

In 1943, during German occupation, France re-signed the contract with Romania. The 25-millimeter guns captured by the Germans were shipped to Romania to fulfill the contract.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Jul 2011

25 mm Hotchkiss Anti-Aircraft Gun Interactive Map

Photographs

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