BL 12-inch howitzer

BL 12-inch howitzer
12-inch howitzer Mk IV manned by Newfoundland troops training in the UK, 1942
Type	Heavy siege howitzer
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1916 - 1945
Used by	UK and Commonwealth
Wars	World War I, World War II
Production history
Designer	Vickers
Manufacturer	Vickers
No. built	14 (Mk II); 43 (Mk IV)
Variants	Mk II, Mk IV^{[note 1]}
Specifications
Barrel length	160 inch (Mk II) 207.6 inch (Mk IV)^[1]

Shell	HE 750 lb (340 kg)
Calibre	12 inches (304.8 mm)
Recoil	Variable hydropneumatic
Carriage	siege carriage
Maximum firing range	11,340 yd (10.37 km) (Mk II) 14,350 yd (13.12 km) (Mk IV)^[1]

The Ordnance BL 12-inch howitzer was a scaled-up version of the successful BL 9.2-inch siege howitzer.

History

Following the success of their BL 9.2-inch howitzer, Vickers designed an almost identical version scaled up to a calibre of 12 inches, the Mk II entering service on the Western Front in August 1916.^[2] Eight complete equipments are reported as arriving in August 1916 and being in action in France shortly afterwards.

It was similar but unrelated to the BL 12 inch railway howitzers Mk I, III and V produced by the Elswick Ordnance Company at the same time.

The Mk IV was a more powerful version with longer barrel produced from 1917.

Later models were used for British home defence in World War II.

Service use

Shell marked "For Fritz" is readied for loading, bombardment of Thiepval September 1916

As with other large-calibre weapons, it was operated by the Royal Garrison Artillery in World War I.

The 12-inch was dismantled and transported in six loads mounted on traction engine wheels. It was then reassembled on its static siege mounting on top of a steel "holdfast", with 22 tons of earth in a box sitting on the front of the holdfast in front of the gun, to counteract the kick of firing.

Ammunition

Mk V HE shell, World War I
12 inch shell being loaded

Notes

↑ Mk II = Mark 2, Mk IV = Mark 4. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (i.e. models) of ordnance until after World War II. Hence this article describes the second and fourth models of British BL 12-inch howizers. Marks I, III and V were the models of the unrelated BL 12-inch railway howitzer.

References

1 2 Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 181, 184
↑ Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 180.

Bibliography

Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914-1919. Heavy Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2005 ISBN 978-1-84176-788-8
I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972. ISBN 978-0-7110-0381-1

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BL 12 inch howitzer.

Newsreel showing 12" siege howitzers and other heavy weapons in action

British Empire small arms and ordnance of the First World War

No. 1
No. 2 Hales Pattern
Nos. 3, 20, 24, 35 Hales rifle grenades
Nos. 5, 23, 36 Mills
No. 6
Nos. 8, 9 Jam Tin
No. 13 Battye
No. 14 Pitcher
No. 15 Ball
No. 16 Oval
No. 17 Opera hat
No. 18
No. 19
No. 21 "Spherical"
No. 22 Newton-Pippin
No. 25 Sangster
No. 27
No. 28 Chemical
No. 29 Gas
No. 31 Day Signal
No. 32 Night Signal
No. 32 "Spherical E"
No. 34 Egg
No. 37
No. 39 Steuart Pattern

Artillery

Tank guns	QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss QF 6 pounder 6 cwt
Infantry guns	1.59-inch Breech-Loading Vickers Q.F. Gun, Mk II ("Vickers-Crayford rocket gun")
Field Artillery	BL 12 pounder 6 cwt QF 12 pounder 8 cwt QF 12 pounder 18 cwt QF 13 pounder BL 15 pounder BLC 15 pounder QF 15 pounder QF 18 pounder QF 4 inch gun Mk III BL 4 inch gun Mk VII QF 4.5 inch Howitzer
Mountain artillery	RML 2.5 inch Mountain Gun BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun BL 2.75-inch Mountain Gun QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer
Howitzers, medium, and heavy artillery	QF 4.7 inch Gun BL 5 inch Howitzer BL 5.4 inch Howitzer BL 60 pounder gun BLC 6 inch siege gun BL 6 inch Gun Mk VII BL 6 inch Gun Mk XIX BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk I - V BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk VI - VIII
Siege artillery	BL 7.5 inch Mk III naval gun BL 9.2-inch howitzer BL 9.2 inch Mk X naval gun BL 12 inch Howitzer BL 12 inch Mk X naval gun BL 15 inch Howitzer
Coastal artillery	QF 12 pounder 12 cwt QF 4 inch naval gun Mk I – III BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun BL 9.2 inch gun Mk IX–X RML 9 inch

Mortars

Grenade launchers

Smoke and chemical weapons

Railway guns

Anti-aircraft guns

Foreign weapon designs
in British Empire Armies use

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