Ordnance QF 3-inch howitzer

Mk I Churchill tank with hull-mounted 3-inch howitzer on exercises on Salisbury Plain, January 1942

Ordnance QF 3 inch howitzer was a howitzer fitted to British tanks of the Second World War so they could fire a HE shell in "close support" of infantry.

It was used to equip the British Infantry tanks: Matilda II, Churchill tank Mk I, Valentine tank (New Zealand only) and the cruiser tank Crusader (65 rounds).

A field artillery version seems to have been developed or under development in 1941, its ammunition codes are listed in Field Service Pocket Book, Pamphlet No. 9a, dated 29 October 1941. The ammunition is listed in BOTH the anti-tank and field artillery sections.

Later in the war a larger 95 mm howitzer was employed for the same purpose.

Specification

Calibre: 3 inches (76 mm)
Length of barrel: 75 inches (1,900 mm) (25 calibres)
Overall length: 78.2 inches (1,990 mm)
Weight: 256 pounds (116 kg)
Muzzle velocity: 600 to 700 feet per second (180 to 210 m/s)
Ammunition
- Cartridge: 76.2x134R
- Smoke: 13.4 pounds (6.1 kg)
- HE: 13.9 pounds (6.3 kg)
Range 2,000 to 2,500 yards (1,800 to 2,300 m)

Notes and references

Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis British And American Tanks Of World War II

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ordnance QF 3 inch howitzer.

http://www.wwiitanks.co.uk/tankdata/1940-Britain-Matilda-InfTankMkIIMatildaIIICS.html

British Commonwealth artillery of World War II

Tank guns	QF 2 pounder QF 3 pounder QF 6 pounder QF 75 mm QF 3 inch Howitzer QF 17 pounder 77 mm HV QF 95 mm Howitzer

Anti-tank guns	QF 2 pounder QF 6 pounder QF 17 pounder

Field guns and howitzers	75 mm Gun M1917 QF 18 pounder 25 pounder Gun-Howitzer 25 pounder Short QF 4.5-inch howitzer

Medium and Heavy guns and howitzers	BL 4.5-inch Medium Field Gun BL 60-pounder gun BL 5.5-inch Medium Gun BL 6 inch Howitzer BL 6-inch Gun Mk XIX 155 mm Long Tom BL 7.2-inch howitzer BL 8 inch Howitzer BL 9.2-inch howitzer 240 mm howitzer M1

Mountain guns	75mm Pack Howitzer M1 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer

Mortars	SBML 2inch Mortar ML 3-inch Mortar ML 4.2 inch Mortar

Anti-aircraft weapons	Z Battery 20 mm Oerlikon 20 mm Polsten QF 1½-pounder Mk III QF 2-pounder naval gun Bofors 40 mm QF 3 inch QF 3.7 inch QF 4.5 inch Mk II QF 5.25 inch Mk II

Coast defence	QF 6 pounder 10 cwt QF 12 pounder QF 4.7-inch Mk I–IV BL 6 inch Mk VII & Mk XXIV BL 7.5 inch Mk VI BL 8 inch Mk VIII BL 9.2 inch Mk X BL 14 inch Mk VII BL 15 inch Mk I

Railway artillery	BL 9.2 inch Mk XIII railway gun BL 12 inch Mk V railway howitzer BL 18 inch railway howitzer

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