RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun | |
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Fortification mounted MK III gun firing at Fort Glanville Conservation Park, South Australia |
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Type | Naval gun Fortification gun |
Place of origin | United Kingdom |
Service history | |
In service | 1865 - 190? |
Used by | British Empire |
Production history | |
Designer | Woolwich Arsenal |
Designed | 1864 |
Manufacturer | Woolwich Arsenal Elswick Ordnance Company |
Variants | Mk I, II, III |
Specifications | |
Weight | 64-long-hundredweight (3,300 kg) |
Length | 9 ft 10 inches[1] |
Barrel length | 97.5 inches bore |
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Shell | 64 pounds (29 kg)[2] |
Calibre | 6.3 inches (160 mm) |
Action | RML |
Breech | none - muzzle loading |
Muzzle velocity | wrought-iron tube : 1,252 feet per second (382 m/s) Mk III steel tube : 1,390 feet per second (420 m/s)[3] |
Effective range | 5,000 yards (4,600 m) [2] |
The RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun was a Rifled, Muzzle Loading (RML) naval, field or fortification artillery gun manufactured in England in the 19th century[2], which fired a projectile weighing approximately 64 pounds (29 kg). "64 cwt" refers to the gun's weight rounded up to differentiate it from other "64-pounder" guns : 1 hundredweight (cwt) = 112 pounds.
Contents |
The calibre of 6.3 inches was chosen to enable it to fire remaining stocks of spherical shells originally made for the obsolete 32 pounder guns if necessary.
Mark I (adopted in 1864) and Mark II (adopted 1866) guns, and Mark III guns made from 1867 - April 1871 had wrought-iron inner "A" tubes surrounded by wrought-iron coils.
Mark III guns made after April 1871 were built with toughened mild steel "A" tubes, and earlier Mark III guns were re-tubed with steel and were classified as a siege gun in land service. Remaining guns with iron tubes were used for sea service.[4]
Rifling of all guns consisted of 3 grooves, with a uniform twist of 1 turn in 40 calibres (i.e. 1 turn in 252 inches).[4]
The gun's standard shell was "common shell", for firing on troops in cover, ships and buildings, weighed 57.4 pounds (26.0 kg) when empty with a bursting charge of 7.1 pounds (3.2 kg). Shrapnel shells could also be fired; a 66.6 pounds (30.2 kg) shell with a 9-ounce (260 g) bursting charge propelling 234 metal balls.[5]
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