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Wikpedia.org has the 411 on this Swedish Bofors 57mm gun. I’d just like to add that it looks like a lot of fun. I mean, if they’re not just having fun, why are they shooting water jugs? I wonder how much a round costs, too. Not the smart rounds of the MK2. Basic plinking ammo. One more thing: do my Second Amendment protected gun rights extend to this bad boy? Answers below, in case I win the Powerball.

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31 COMMENTS

  1. It’s the ship under the gun that cost so much. If you can afford that you should be able to handle the ammo cost.

    In other words. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

    • I always thought that a old WW2 era cruiser would be a good buy to just end pirates in Somalia, and the ship would be the major investment.

      boats following commercial traffic? Put holes in them till the water hides it.

      captured vessels awaiting ransom? Put holes in them till the water hides it.

      towns trading with pirate crews? Shell it with HE until its level.

      angry pirates come out in fishing trawlers and skiffs armed with AKs and RPGs? 40mm Bofors and the 50 bmg AA mounts should be fine.

      Its not like you need a lot of smart weapons to do this, something with 6 inch main batteries will be fine, no computer guidance needed.

  2. In WWII the American 57mm anti-tank gun was judged to be ineffective against the German MKIV, Panther, and Tiger tanks; it couldn’t penetrate the frontal armor of even the more lightly armored MKIV much less the Panther and Tiger, both of which were enormously formidable. Still, this is a pretty impressive little gun, although I don’t know how well it would do in a real fight. Just sayin’.

  3. I’d like to see them use that thing on those drug-running go fast boats we see videos of. They try to get away then start throwing bales of ….whatever overboard. That’s when I’d like to see them light em up with that thing.

  4. Generals always plan to fight the last (previous) war.

    That said, Sweden if one of the largest largest sources of military arms on the planet. Must be a reason for that.

  5. Historically, if you owned an ocean-going vessel you were absolutely within you rights to arm it with whatever cannon, mortars or artillery you could afford to protect it from pirates or unfriendly navies. If you were an able captain you might even be granted a Letter of Marque empowering you to attack enemy vessels on behalf of your sponsoring country. But lets just keepthis argument about self-defense… short answer: damn right you should be able to own one… how much money you got? 😉

  6. Light naval weapons such as the Bofors 57mm are lots of fun and very useful against lightly built opponents like the coastal fast attack boats favored by third world navies. Fiberglass and aluminum, even when its backed up by Kevlar, won’t stop high velocity rounds. Unfortunately these light weapons aren’t much good against larger ships. Once the target gets over a couple of hundred tons displacement, you have to put some explosives into the bad guys to make big holes and let the water in. There are still some old WW2 and cold war (1950s and 60s) era ships around that were built from honest steel – and some have a bit of armor plating. 57mm rounds will just scratch the paint. If somebody needs to hunt an old Gearing class destroyer a Harpoon or Exocet missile would be the weapon of choice. At knife fight ranges an old 5″ 38 (the best medium caliber naval weapon ever built) still can do a pretty good job and I’d much rather be shooting that at a target than a cute little 57mm pop gun.

    If I recall my history correctly, letters of marque were outlawed by international treaty some time after the Napoleanic wars. The law of the sea may still allow private vessels to be armed but almost no countries will allow an armed private vessel into port. Third world countries are too afraid of a private vessel being a front for a coup d’etat attempt. Even small arms such as shotguns and pistols which are traditionally allowed for ship’s captains and officers must be sealed or are totally prohibited in many ports.

  7. Please stop making the title of your post “Just Thought I’d Leave This Here” It was funny the first time. Please stop.

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