Coventry Ordnance Works
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Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns, particularly naval artillery. The firm was based in the English city of Coventry. The company was set up in 1905 by a consortium of British shipbuilding firms John Brown, Cammell Laird and Fairfield in order to compete with the duopoly of Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth. Initially the plant was managed by Retired Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon. The company also had a factory in Scotstoun, Glasgow which made heavy gun mountings. The C.O.W. 37mm gun was the first modern autocannon developed in 1917. The firm also designed the 5.5 inch Naval gun and a 15 inch siege howitzer for the British Army.
The firm struggled in the recession after the end of World War I which affected Britain's arms industry and closed in 1925.
