- QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun
Infobox Weapon
name=QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun
caption=British QF 2.95 inch mountain gun, Cameroons and Togoland campaign, WWI
origin=flagcountry|United Kingdom
type=Mountain gun
is_ranged=yes
is_artillery=yes
is_explosive=yes
is_UK=yes
service=1897 - WWII
used_by=British Empire
USA
PHI
wars=World War I World War II
designer=
design_date=
manufacturer=Vickers
unit_cost=
production_date=
number=
variants=
weight=236 lbs (gun)
830 lbs (total)
length=
part_length=31.6 inch (bore);
35.85 inch (total)
width=32 inches
height=26 inches (barrel axis)
36 inches (wheel)
crew=
caliber=convert|75|mm|sing=on|sigfig=4
cartridge=QF fixed round.
12.5 lb Common shell;
18 lb Double common shell;
12.5 lbShrapnel
action=
rate=
velocity=920 ft/s
range=
max_range=4,825 ydsClarke 2004]
feed=
sights=
breech=
recoil=14 inches; short recoil hydro-spring
carriage=wheeled, box trail, assembly
elevation= -10° - 27°Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 46]
traverse= 0°
diameter=
filling=
filling_weight=Shrapnel : 212 167 grain (10.8214 gram) balls (US)US Army Handbook, 1916]
203 x 11.088 gram balls (British) [Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 239. They quote 16 lb weight for the shrapnel shell on page 239, this is assumed to be a misprint as they correctly quote 12.5 lb on page 46]
HE : TNT 0.756 lb (US)
detonation=
yield=The QF 2.95 inch mountain gun was the designation given by the British to a Vickers 75mm gun. It was originally produced for the Egyptian Army. It was taken into British service in the late 19th Century to provide the 'movable armament' at some coaling stations. Also known as 'The Millimetre Gun' [Headlam 1934, page 104] , it was used by the West African Frontier Force in several theatres in Africa duringWorld War I . It was also used by USA and Philippines.History
Combat use
The weapon could be broken down and carried by 4 horses or mules, or in British use in Africa by men.
British service
The weapon was not adopted by the British or Indian army, which used the
BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun and later the2.75 inch Mountain Gun , but it was used from 1901 by the defence forces of some British African colonies as part of the West African Frontier Force (WAFF). The officers and most NCOs were British, and the gunners, gun carriers and some NCOs were African. As part of the British Empire these units became part of the British war effort inWorld War I .30 guns were originally supplied to West Africa (Sierra Leone, Gold Coast & Nigeria) [Farndale 1988, page 293] . Guns involved in the West Africa campaign of
World War I were Sierra Leone Company RGA (6 guns), Gold Coast Battery WAFF (6 guns), 1st and 2nd Nigerian Battery WAFF (6 guns each). [Farndale 1988, page 291]Guns of the Gold Coast Battery fired the first British Empire artillery rounds of
World War I , in the attack on Khra inTogoland on 22 August 1914. [Farndale 1988, page 290]Corporal Awudo Kano and 5 Nigerian gunners fought a notable action during the British attack near Melong in
Kamerun , 4 March 1915. Their officer was wounded and the infantry forced to retire, but though isolated they refused to abandon the officer or their guns, and continued firing until relieved. [Farndale 1988, page 299]The gun was also used in the East Africa campaign, originally a section of the Gold Coast Battery, and from December 1916 the 1st Nigerian Battery. [Farndale 1988, page 338-339]
British Ammunition
The British "Treatise on Ammunition" of 1915 stated that available rounds were Shrapnel (203 bullets), Case shot (330 bullets), Star shell and the Double common shell of 18 lb (exploding charge of 14 oz "P" mixture - gunpowder). [Treatise on Ammunition. 10th Edition, 1915. War Office, UK. Page 415-419]
US service
The US purchased 12 guns in 1899 and used them in the
Philippine-American War (otherwise known as the Philippine Insurrection).By June 30 1904 another 120 guns were purchased. Carriages and pack saddles were manufactured at Watertown and Rock Island.
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