BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer

BL 6 inch 26 cwt Howitzer
A 6 inch 26 cwt on World War II pneumatic tyres at Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum.
Type	Medium howitzer
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1915 to 1945
Used by	United Kingdom Canada Union of South Africa Australia New Zealand Kingdom of Italy Netherlands Belgium Kingdom of Greece Russian Empire Portugal
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Vickers
Designed	1915
Manufacturer	Vickers, Beardmore, Coventry Ordnance Works, Woolwich Ordnance Factory, Midvale Steel Company
No. built	3,633
Specifications
Weight	Barrel: 2,856 lb (1,295 kg) Total: 8,142 lb (3,693 kg)^[1]
Length	21 ft 7 in (6.58 m)
Barrel length	Bore: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Total: 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) L/13.3
Width	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Crew	10

Shell	Gas Incendiary High explosive
Shell weight	WWI: 100 pounds (45.4 kg) WWII: 86 pounds (39.0 kg)
Calibre	6 in (152.4 mm)
Breech	Welin screw
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic, variable
Carriage	Box trail
Elevation	0° to +45°
Traverse	4° L & R
Rate of fire	Max: 2 rpm
Muzzle velocity	Max: 1,400 ft/s (430 m/s)
Maximum firing range	WWI 100 pounds (45.4 kg) shell : 9,500 yards (8,700 m) WWII 86 pounds (39.0 kg) shell : 11,400 yards (10,400 m)^[2]
Sights	Calibrating (1930s) & reciprocating

The Ordnance BL 6 inch 26cwt howitzer was a British howitzer used during World War I and World War II. The qualifier "26cwt" refers to the weight of the barrel and breech together which weighed 26 long hundredweight (1.3 t).

History

World War I

Battery firing, World War I

Use of girdles around wheels, Somme September 1916

Near Boesinghe, Battle of Langemarck, August 1917

It was developed to replace the obsolescent 6 inch 25 cwt and 6 inch 30 cwt howitzers which were outclassed by German artillery such as the 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 13. Design began in January 1915, the first proof-firing occurred on 30 July 1915 and it entered service in late 1915.^[1] Its combination of firepower, range and mobility (for its day) made it one of the British Empire's most important weapons in World War I.

It was originally towed by horses but from 1916 onwards was commonly towed by the "FWD" 4 wheel drive 3 ton lorry as heavy field artillery. The wooden spoked wheels could be fitted with "girdles" for work in mud or sand to prevent them sinking. Towards the end of the war solid rubber tyres were fitted over the iron tyres on the wheel rims, giving the rims a heavier appearance. It fired 22.4 million rounds on the Western Front.^[3]

World War II

British battery in action at Tobruk, 23 January 1941

During the interwar period the carriage had its wooden spoked wheels replaced with modern steel wheels and pneumatic tyres. During World War II, its use was restricted after 1942 when the replacement BL 5.5 inch Medium Gun came into use. It was however reintroduced in Burma due to a number of premature detonations in 5.5-inch (140 mm) guns. It was declared obsolete with the end of the war in 1945.

Captured examples received the designation FH-412(e) in German use.

Surviving examples

Restored gun, the Memorial to 71st (Transvaal) Siege Battery at Johannesburg Zoo.

Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London
Army Memorial Museum, Waiouru, New Zealand
Royal Australian Artillery Museum, North Head, Sydney, Australia
Museo della guerra (War Museum), Rovereto (Italy)
South Africa : The Imperial Government presented 6 howitzers to the Union of South Africa after World War I and the six South African Heavy Artillery Memorials were designed, commissioned and paid for by the South African Heavy Artillery Association to honour their fallen Comrades-in-Arms : Memorial to 71st (Transvaal) Siege Battery at Johannesburg Zoo (restored); 72nd (Griqualand West) Siege Battery at Clyde N Terry Museum, Kimberley; 73rd (Cape) Siege Battery at Company Gardens, Cape Town; 74th (Eastern Province) Siege Battery at National Museum, Bloemfontein (Restoration is about to begin, May 2009); 75th (Natal) Siege Battery, Warriors' Gate MOTH Shellhole, Old Fort Road, Durban; 125th (Transvaal) Siege Battery near the Union Buildings, Pretoria.

These guns are being restored by the Gunner's Association of South Africa

National Museum of Military History, Saxonwold, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Central Museum of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, Shilo Manitoba
Barracks Green Armouries, Belonging to and restored by 3rd Field Regt.(The Loyal Company), Saint John, New Brunswick

World War I ammunition

Projectiles used in World War I weighed 100 pounds (45.4 kg). A lighter 86 pounds (39.0 kg) long-range projectile was introduced in November 1918, too late to see service in the war ^[3]

4lb 11½oz cordite cartridge
Common pointed 100lb shell Mark XIIA
100lb chemical shell Mark VIII
High explosive 100lb shell Mark XVI

Notes and references

1 2 Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 126-127
↑ Clarke page 37 quotes 9,500 and 11,400 yd (10,400 m); General Farndale page 129-130 quotes a range of 9,800 yd (9,000 m) for the WWI 2 c.r.h. shell, with a range of 12,500 yd (11,400 m) for the later 5/10 c.r.h. shell. The longer ranges were obtained with the 86 lb (39 kg) Mk 2D 5/10 c.r.h. shell with an augmenting ("Super") charge.
1 2 Clarke 2005, page 37

Bibliography

Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914-1919. Heavy Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2005 ISBN 978-1-84176-788-8
General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Western Front 1914-18. London: Royal Artillery Institution, 1986. ISBN 978-1-870114-00-4
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 6 inch 26 cwt Howitzer.

Handbook of the B.L. 6-inch 26-cwt. Mark I howitzer on Mark I travelling carriage, (land service), 1919. Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
Gun drill for 6-inch B.L. 26-cwt howitzer Mark I carriage Mark I 1920 Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
Gun drill for B.L. 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer Mark 1 carriage Mark 1 1926 Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
War Office (1916). "Chapperton Down Artillery School [film]". IWM Film. Imperial War Museum. 10:01:02:00. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
Video clips on YouTube
Nigel F Evans, British Artillery in World War 2. 6-Inch Howitzer
W L Ruffell, BL 6-in 26-cwt howitzer
6 inch 26 cwt Howitzer at Landships
Walk around BL 6-inch 26-cwt howitzer WWI exposed to the Sacrario Militare di Redipuglia / Italy

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

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 13.5 inch Mk V railway gun BL 18 inch railway howitzer

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