Talk:BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk 1 - 5

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According to the draft history in Kew's MUN5/373/9227

Originally a conversion from 6" gun, shortened and chamber enlarged. Mk was wire bound A tube., mks 1 - 5 had differing cradles all elevs -5 to + 45 deg. Hydraulics buffers and springs. It was easier to make than 9.2 and much like 6" How. Repair of Mks 1 - 4 was discontinued in summer 1917.

At first production was confined to the Admiralty (comment - probably because 6"gun was basically naval) but in Dec 1914 Armstrongs and Vickers were each asked to convert 4 and Beardmore's 3. Demand for 8" upset the production plan that each gun would have only 2 manufacturers. In autumn 1915 Woolwich were converting 40.

Production figures:

Mk 1 - 12 (Mar - Jul 15) Mk 2 - 6 (May) Mk 3 - 6 May Jun Mk 4 - 8 Oct Mk 5 - 4 Dec, + 59 1916 Nfe 04:15, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for contributing that ! I've updated the page, would you like to review it and make any further corrections ? Rcbutcher 07:00, 16 November 2007 (UTC)