81:, proved to fly so fast that they exited the effective range of the Bofors before it could get enough rounds out to have a reasonable possibility of hitting the target. A gun with higher ballistic performance would increase the range, and thus reaction time, and a much higher firing rate was also desirable.
107:
For reasons that are not recorded in available materials, in 1952 the Army decided to design their own AA gun of similar performance. This was assigned the name "Red Queen". They kept the same 42 mm (1.7 in) shell but introduced a shorter and wider cartridge case, likely to ease operation
116:
Both projects appear to have had low priority and little documentation on either appears after 1957. 421RK continued to at least 1958, while Red Queen appears to have been abandoned before then due to development problems. The last mention of either project is in a 1960 memo about leftover test
91:
using a 42 mm (1.7 in) calibre round fired from a twin-barrel gun operated by a single seven-chamber. The Army was interested and offered a development contract in 1950. Oerlikon assigned the project the name "421 RK", for "42mm, model 1, Revolver Kanon", which was given the
146:
Although rainbow codes were supposed to be selected randomly, there are many instances where this was not the case. Williams speculates that was the case here, and that "Red King" was selected based on
Oerlikon's "RK"
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of the chamber. In contrast to Red King, a single water-cooled barrel was used. A large disk-shaped magazine on the left side of the barrel, as seen from behind, carried the rounds.
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48:, which became the standard anti-aircraft gun for the Army until it was replaced by the
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guns. The introduction of higher-performance aircraft, especially jet-powered
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during the 1950s. Red King was a two-barrel design from
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The project was cancelled with the introduction of the
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41:, Red Queen was a single-barrel water-cooled design.
87:heard of the concept and proposed an entirely new
172:"The Red King, the Red Queen and the Vigilante"
156:Again, this was likely not randomly selected.
8:
129:, a heavy counterpart to these light guns.
16:1950s British anti-aircraft gun prototypes
231:Anti-aircraft guns of the United Kingdom
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69:began the process of replacing their
7:
226:Anti-aircraft guns of the Cold War
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170:Williams, Anthony (13 May 2011).
1:
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117:rounds for the Red King.
65:In the late 1940s the
71:Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun
178:on 28 February 2021
94:Ministry of Supply
33:developed for the
31:anti-aircraft guns
26:were experimental
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174:. Archived from
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46:Bofors 40 mm/L70
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89:revolver cannon
75:fighter-bombers
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28:revolver cannon
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52:in the 1970s.
50:Rapier missile
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208:Williams 2011
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236:Rainbow code
180:. Retrieved
176:the original
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112:Cancellation
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99:"Red King".
97:rainbow code
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67:British Army
64:
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35:British Army
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220:Categories
164:References
127:Green Mace
103:Red Queen
24:Red Queen
121:See also
85:Oerlikon
61:Red King
39:Oerlikon
20:Red King
56:History
182:13 May
147:name.
134:Notes
184:2021
77:and
22:and
222::
194:^
210:.
186:.
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