It was the last type of gun to be fitted to British submarines, finally being retired in 1974.

It was too late to see service in World War II, but was fitted to Amphion-class submarines that completed after October 1945.

[1] Between 1955 and the early 1960s, the Amphion-class boats were modernised with new streamlined conning towers and casings.

This facility was put to use during the British involvement in the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation from 1962 to 1966, when the flotilla of Amphion-class submarines which were deployed in the conflict were again fitted with Mark XXIII guns.

[1] Very few Mark XXIII guns and their respective SII mountings were produced (only 31 in total), and only two are known to still exist today: HMS Andrew's Mark XXIII gun is preserved at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport.