Medium howitzer used during World War I and World War II
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
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 but it was 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 Archived 26 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
Army Memorial Museum, Waiouru, New Zealand
Royal Australian Artillery Museum, North Head, Sydney, Australia
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]
^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.
^ a bClarke 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 11 February 2019.
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