BL 5 inch Howitzer
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| Ordnance BL 5 inch Howitzer | |
|---|---|
 Territorial Force gunners with howitzer in camp pre-WWI |
|
| Type | Field howitzer |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1895 - 1919 |
| Used by | United Kingdom |
| Wars | Mahdist War Second Boer War First World War |
| Specifications | |
| Shell | Separate loading BL; HE shell 50 lb (Lyddite), later 40 lb (Amatol)[1] |
| Calibre | 5 inch |
| Breech | 3-motion, interrupted screw[2] |
| Recoil | 5.5 inch, hydro-spring constant[2] |
| Carriage | wheeled, box trail |
| Elevation | -5° - 45°[2] |
| Muzzle velocity | 788 ft/s[2] |
| Effective range | 4,800 yds (50 lb shell); 6,500 yds (40 lb shell) |
| Filling weight | 9 lb 15 oz (Lyddite) 5 lb (Amatol) |
The Ordnance BL 5 inch Howitzer was initially introduced to provide the Royal Field Artillery with continuing high explosive (HE) shell capability following the decision to concentrate on shrapnel for field guns.
Contents |
[edit] History
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[edit] Combat service
[edit] Sudan Campaign
The weapon was used by the Royal Field Artillery and served successfully at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. During that campaign they gained the distinction of being the first British guns to fire the new lyddite shells in action.
[edit] Second Boer War
Major D Hall states that in the Second Boer War the Lyddite shells often failed to detonate; the gun was too heavy to be used as a field howitzer, and for siege use its range was too short and shell too light. However it achieved some success in Natal when able to get close enough to bombard Boers in trenches.[3]
[edit] World War I
By 1908 it was obsolete and replaced in British Regular Army brigades by the modern QF 4.5 inch Howitzer.
Territorial Force brigades however continued to use the howitzer in World War I into 1916, including notably in the East African campaign.
A lighter 40 pound (18.14 kg) shell with Amatol filling replaced the original 50 pound (22.68 kg) Lyddite shell early in World War I which increased the maximum range from 4,800 to 6,500 yards. Administrative error led to the new 40 pound shells being sent to Gallipoli without range tables or fuze keys for the new pattern fuzes, rendering them useless.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Treatise on Ammunition 1915, accurate as at 1st August 1914, mentions that there are both "Heavy" 50 lb and "Light" 40 lb shells and mentions a 14 oz 13 dram cartridge for a 40 lb shell (page 142). But only 50 lb shells are listed in tables. It is possible the 40 lb shell was in process of being introduced in 1914.
- ^ a b c d Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 113
- ^ Hall June 1971
- ^ Simpson-Baikie 1920
[edit] References
- Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914-1919. Field Army Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004
- Major Darrell D. Hall, "Guns in South Africa 1899-1902" in The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 2 No 1, June 1971
- I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972
- Brigadier-General Sir Hugh Simpson-Baikie, Ex-Commander of the British artillery at Cape Helles. Appendix I STATEMENT ON ARTILLERY in General Sir Ian Hamilton, G.C.B. Gallipoli Diary Vol. II. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1920
[edit] See also
[edit] Surviving examples
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