The RARDEN cannon is a British 30 mm armoured vehicle weapon. It took its name from the the designers, the research department of the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), Enfield, which had a long history of weapon development for the British Armed Forces - the final EN denoting Enfield. (David Pam states that Norman Brint was the designer). As the weapon was designed for the Royal Armoured Corps, the name RARDEN might have been derived from: Royal Armoured Corps, Research Department, RSAF Enfield. A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... 30 mm rounds The 30 mm caliber is a standard size of heavy machine gun (specifically autocannon) ammunition used by NATO forces. ... The RSAF at Enfield was closed in 1987 and the majority of the site is now covered by a large housing development. ... ice man is gay braaaaaapBold text Enfield Town is a town in the London Borough of Enfield. ... The Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army. ...

The British designation is L21A1 Rarden.

The RSAF Enfield manufactured the Rarden since the early 1970s. However the RSAF was included within the Royal Ordnance Factories, in the early 1980s, in the run up to their privatisation; becoming part of Royal Ordnance. Royal Ordnance (RO) planned to close Enfield and several other sites after privatisation. British Aerospace (BAe) bought Royal Ordnance on 2 April 1987 and the closure of RSAF Enfield was announced on 12 August 1987. Most of RO Enfield's work was moved, prior to the closure, to RO Nottingham. The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK governments munitions factories in and after World War II. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence. ... The 1980s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1980 and 1989. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ... Royal Ordnance was the state-run arms manufacturer in the United Kingdom which was privatised in 1984 and sold off by the government to British Aerospace (BAe) in 1987. ... British Aerospace (BAe) was a UK aircraft manufacturer, now part of BAE Systems. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It appears that manufacture of the Rarden was carried out at British Manufacture and Research Company BMARC from 1985. They were also taken over by BAe in 1992, becoming part of RO Defence; now renamed BAE Land Systems. BMARC (British Manufacture and Research Company) was a UK-based firm designing and producing defence products, particularly naval anti-aircraft cannon. ... This article is about the year. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Royal Ordnance was the state-run arms manufacturer in the United Kingdom which was privatised in 1984 and sold off by the government to British Aerospace (BAe) in 1987. ... BAE Land Systems is a division of BAE Systems specialising in ground warfare systems, e. ...

The RARDEN cannon is or has been fitted to a number of armoured vehicles in the British Army The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

• Fox Armoured Car
• FV107 Scimitar
• Sabre - turrets taken from Fox Armoured cars
• FV501 Warrior and other variants

It appears that the Rarden was also intended to be retro-fitted to the FV 432, but when fitted with Rarden and its turret there was too little room left to accommodate the necessary infantry. Some vehicles were fitted with the Fox turret, as an experimental fire support vehicle. There were problems with the weapon fouling external fittings (which meant that the turret had to be mounted on a three inch spacer) and with blast damage to the floatation screen. The FV 721 Fox Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (wheeled) was a 4x4 armoured car deployed by the British Army as a replacement for the Ferret scout car and the Saladin Armoured Car. ... FV107 Scimitar is an armoured reconnaissance vehicle, although sometimes classed as a light tank used by the British Army. ... Sabre is a variation of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), featuring the turret from a Fox reconnaisance vehicle mounted on the hull of a Scorpion. ... The Warrior tracked vehicle family, are a series of British armoured vehicles originally developed by GKN plc (which became part of Alvis Vickers Ltd), to replace the older FV432 series of armoured vehicles. ...

The weapon was designed for minimum inboard length, allowing for more space in the turret. Another feature is that no gun gas escapes into the turret. Unlike the belt-fed systems on most vehicle weapons, Rarden is loaded manually with three-round clips (which can result in a heavy work load for the gunner).

The British Army is considering various 40 mm replacements for the Rarden.

Specifications

• Calibre: 30 mm
• Overall length: 3.15 m
• Barrel length: 2.44 m
• Inboard length: 430 mm
• Complete weight: 110 kg
• Barrel weight: 24.5 Kg
• Ammunition: Armour Piercing Secondary Effect (APSE), High Explosive Incendiary (HEI), Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS)
• Muzzle velocity:
  • APSE, HEI: 1070 m/s
  • APDS: 1175 m/s
  • Range: 4 km (maximum)

See also

Pam, David (1998). The Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield: & Its Workers. Enfield: privately published. ISBN 0953227103. The International Standard Book Number, or ISBN (sometimes pronounced is-ben), is a unique identifier for books, intended to be used commercially. ...