3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer

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A 3.7 inch QF mountain gun. Dated from 1939
Type	Mountain gun
Place of origin	UK
Service history
In service	1917 - 1960
Wars	WWI - WWII
Specifications
Weight	842 kg

Shell	HE, Shrapnel, Smoke, Starshell, HEAT
Caliber	3.7 inch
Carriage	split trail
Muzzle velocity	243 m/s
Effective range	5,500 m

The 3.7 Inch Mountain Howitzer was an artillery weapon, used by British and Commonwealth armies in World War I and World War II and between the wars.

[edit] History

The Indian Army first requested a modern mountain gun in 1906, but financial constraints delayed production until 1915. It was first introduced in 1917, and used in action in that year in Mesopotamia and East Africa. It was used by Mountain Artillery Regiments of the Royal Artillery and the (British) Indian Army, and saw much service on the North West Frontier of India between the wars.

In World War II, it equipped units in the North African Campaign (Tunisia), the Italian Campaign and Burma Campaign, and it was also used in the Ruhr fighting in 1945 by units originally destined for Greece. A lightened version was used briefly by Airborne formations.

The gun was finally declared obsolete by the British Army in 1960, although it had not seen service since 1945.

[edit] Details

The weapon was designed to be broken into eight mule loads, for transport over difficult terrain. The heaviest single section was the interrupted screw breech, at 247 lb (112 kg). Given an open gun position, a practiced crew could have the guns unloaded from the mules, reassembled and deployed ready for action in barely two minutes. The reverse process involved much more lifting but could be accomplished in three minutes.

It had a split trail, the first British weapon to do so, which allowed firing at very high angles (a useful feature in mountainous terrain).

When first introduced, the gun had two wooden wheels and was light enough be towed by two horses. Later marks had pneumatic tyres and could be towed by any light vehicle such as the Bren Carrier or jeep.