Weapons · United Kingdom · 1932-1945
Bofors 40mm
light anti-aircraft gun
Developed by the Swedish firm AB Bofors, with a prototype completed in November 1931, the 40mm L/60 filled the gap between fast-firing small-calibre AA guns and slower heavy-calibre ones, and it entered Swedish service in 1934 before being exported and license-built worldwide. British and Commonwealth forces used it as their standard light anti-aircraft gun of the war, deploying it across North Africa (including at El Alamein), the Mediterranean, and North-West Europe after the Normandy landings, as well as for airfield and shipboard defence. An RAF Regiment squadron equipped with the gun became the first unit to shoot down a jet aircraft, in November 1944.
| caliber | 40mm |
|---|---|
| rate of fire | 120-140 rpm |
| range | ~3,800m effective ceiling |
| crew | 4 |
Western Europe, Battle of the Atlantic, Mediterranean and North Africa, Pacific
