Ordnance BL 12 pounder 7 cwt
Lua error in Module:Infobox at line 235: malformed pattern (missing ']'). The Ordnance BL 12 pounder 7cwt[note 1] was the British Army's field gun, which succeed the RML 13 pounder 8 cwt in 1885.
Contents
History
The gun was initially adopted by both the Royal Field Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery, and was in full service by 1885. It marked a return to breech-loading guns, after the British Army had reverted to muzzle-loaders in the late 1860s following the failure of the Armstrong screw breech guns.
Problems arose when it was used by the Horse Artillery in the great Indian cavalry manoeuvres of 1891. The carriage was found to be too complicated and dust caused the metal surfaces of the axle traversing device to seize.[3] It also proved too heavy to manoeuvre for horse artillery, which was intended to support cavalry in battle.
The 12 pounder 6 cwt gun was thus developed in 1892, when the new more powerful cordite replaced gunpowder, as a lighter alternative. It had a barrel 18 inches (460 mm) shorter, on a lighter and simpler carriage, and it entered service with the Royal Horse Artillery in 1894.
The introduction of Cordite also led to the decision that the 12 pounder was capable of firing a heavier shell up to 15 lb (6.8 kg). A 14 pound shell was adopted and the gun became a "15 pounder" from 1895.[4] At that point the 12 pounder 7 cwt became redundant.
Combat use
The gun was normally towed by 6 horses, in 3 pairs.
See also
Surviving examples
Notes
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- Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE
- Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914-1919. Field Army Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004
- Major Darrell D. Hall, "Field Artillery of the British Army 1860-1960. Part I, 1860 - 1900" in The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 2 No 4, December 1972
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to BL 12 pounder 7 cwt Gun. |
- Diagram of 12pr B.L.7cwt Field Gun Mark I from Victorian Forts and Artillery website
- Diagram of 12pr B.L.7cwt Field Gun Mark II from Victorian Forts and Artillery website
- ↑ 1,710 ft/s firing 12.5 lb (5.7 kg) projectile, with 4 lb (1.8 kg) gunpowder or 15¾ oz cordite size 5 as propellant. Text Book of Gunnery, 1902.
- ↑ Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. Table XII, Page 336.
- ↑ Clarke 2004, page 17-18
- ↑ Clarke 2004, page 17-18
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