6 inch 26cwt howitzer

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6 inch 26 cwt Howitzer
A 6 inch 26 cwt at Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum.
Type	howitzer
Place of origin	UK
Service history
In service	1915 to 1945
Wars	WWI, WWII
Production history
Number built	4,000
Specifications
Weight	4.2 tonnes
Length	2.2 m
Barrel length	13.3
Crew	10

Shell	HE, smoke, star 39.01 kg
Calibre	6 in ( 152 mm)
Breech	Welin screw
Recoil	hydro-pneumatic
Rate of fire	1
Muzzle velocity	429
Effective range	~ 9,600 yd (8,784 m)

The Ordnance BL 6 inch 26cwt howitzer was a British howitzer used during World War I and World War II. The qualifier "26cwt" refers to the weight of the barrel and breach together which weighed 26 hundredweight(cwt), approximately 1.3 tonnes.

[edit] History

It was developed as the follow on to the 6 inch 25 and 30cwt howitzers. It first entered service in 1915 and was retrofitted during the interwar period with the carriage receiving tyres instead of wooden wheels. During the Second World War, its use was restricted after 1942 when the replacments 5.5 inch gun came into use. It was however reintroduced in Burma due to a number of premature detonations in 5.5 inch guns. It was declared obsolete with the end of the war in 1945.

Captured examples received the designation FH-412(e) in German use.