Modern French 100 mm naval guns are multipurpose artillery pieces, capable of a high rate of fire. Most modern French warships are or were equipped with one of its variants. History At the end of the Second World War, the French Navy was equipped with guns of numerous calibres, most of which were obsolete. In 1953, the STCAN of Paris, under engineer Tonnelé, drafted the design of a multi-purpose 100 mm gun. The gun was designed to be effective for anti-aircraft defence, anti-ship combat, and shore bombardment fire support. The first model of the family, "modèle 53", was tested at sea on the escort Le Brestois in 1958 and the escort aviso Victor Schoelcher in 1961. Description The most common version, modèle 68, features a completely automatic action and control. The ammunition is stored in a magazine underneath the turret, and fed to the gun by a lift operated by a team of two. A flexible pipe allows feeding the gun under any orientation. Rounds of ammunition are fed automatically; after firing, the empty shell casing is ejected through an evacuation door on the front of the turret. Cooling is provided by water circulating in layers of steel around the tube of the gun, and by an injection of air and water after every shot. The turret can be used in three modes: Remote control by the main weapon control system, from the Operation Center Remote control from a secondary weapon control system Manual control by the joystick at the left of the gun (except the 100TR version) In manual mode, a team of two serve the turret: the gunner, at the left of the gun, uses a joystick to point the gun, and optic ranging and aiming instruments to direct the fire; the observer monitors the operations from the back of the turret. Aiming is performed by two electric motors, one for the elevation (left of the turret) and the other for the traverse (right of the turret). Two hydraulic systems feed the gun. The gun can also be moved manually for maintenance. Since it is usually installed on the bow deck of warships, these turrets are often exposed to breaking waves and humidity. To prevent corrosion and mechanical problems, the turret is made water-tight with rubber joints. The muzzle itself is sealed by a rubber tampion, which can be shot through in case of emergency. The plexiglas viewbay