- Ordnance QF 12 pounder 8 cwt
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Ordnance QF 12 pounder 8 cwt
Royal Navy gun and crew, late 1890sType Light field gun Place of origin United Kingdom
Service history Used by British Empire Wars Second Boer War
World War IProduction history Designed circa. 1894 Specifications Barrel length 84 inch bore (28 calibres)[1] Shell Separate QF, 12.5 pounds (5.67 kg) Shrapnel, Common Lyddite Calibre 3-inch (76.2 mm) Carriage Wheeled, box trail Muzzle velocity 1,585 feet per second (483 m/s)[2] Maximum range 5,100 yards (4,660 m)[2] The Ordnance QF 12 pounder 8 cwt was a Royal Navy "landing gun" intended for navy use ashore. "8 cwt" refers to the weight of the gun and breech, approximately 8 cwt = 8 x 112 lb (51 kg) = 896 lb. This was how the British often differentiated between guns of the same calibre or weight of shell. This gun had a short barrel and was of relatively low power compared to the 12 pounders of 12 and 18 cwt, although it fired the same shells.
Contents
History
The Navy eventually replaced the gun with the 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer.[3]
Combat use
Second Boer War
The gun was used in the early stages of the Second Boer War in Natal.[4]
World War I
Guns were employed on land in the West Africa campaign.
Also employed in the East Africa campaign ("Logan's Battery" 6th Field Battery, 2 guns, towed first by Hupmobile cars and then REO lorries).[5]
This gun was briefly used in the Battle of Gallipoli, as the Navy had supplies of ammunition for it when the army was short of ammunition for its own guns. Several guns were landed in July 1915 and operated from frontline trenches.[3]
Surviving examples
A gun with HMS Victory in the background, at Portsmouth, UK See also
- This cannon is the type used in the famous British Royal Navy Field Gun Runs.
In popular culture
- The RN Field Gun may be seen 'in action' in the 1957 film "Yangtse Incident", when a group of these guns was used on the banks of the River Orwell to depict Chinese PLA gun batteries on the North bank of the Yangtze, which fired on HMS Amethyst as she steamed up to Nanking in April 1949.
Notes and references
Bibliography
- 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 ISBN 1 84176 688 7
- General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery : Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914-18. Royal Artillery Institution, London, 1988. ISBN 1 870114 05 1
- Major Darrell Hall, "Guns in South Africa 1899-1902 Part III and IV" The South African Military History Society Military History Journal - Vol 2 No 2, December 1971
- Major Darrell Hall, "THE NAVAL GUNS IN NATAL 1899-1902" The South African Military History Society Military History Journal - Vol 4 No 3, June 1978
External links
- YouTube Running with 3/4 Soddin Ton! RN team practice with QF 12 pdr for Navy Gun Run
Smoothbore muzzle-loading cannons 18 pounder · 24 pounder · 32 pounder 58 cwt · 68-pounder · Somerset cannon
Smoothbore muzzle-loading shell guns 8 inch 65 cwt · 10 inch 86 cwt
Mortars 10 inch Blomefield · 13 inch Blomefield
Howitzers 12 pounder Millar · 24 pounder Millar
Rifled breechloaders (Armstrong) RBL 20 pounder · RBL 40 pounder · RBL 7 inch 110 pounder
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Lancaster) 68-Pounder Lancaster gun
Rifled muzzle-loaders (converted) RML 64 pounder 71 cwt
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Woolwich) RML 9 pounder 8 cwt · RML 64 pounder 64 cwt · RML 7 inch · RML 8 inch · RML 9 inch · RML 10 inch · RML 11 inch · RML 12 inch 25 ton · RML 12 inch 35 ton · RML 12.5 inch · RML 16 inch
Quick-firing guns QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss · QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss · QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt · QF 12 pounder 12 cwt · QF 4 inch · QF 4.7 inch · QF 6 inch
Breech-loaders (new pattern) BL 4 inch · BL 5 inch · BL 6 inch 80 pounder · BL 6 inch Mk II - VI · BL 8 inch · BL 9.2 inch Mk I - VII · BL 9.2 inch Mk VIII · BL 10 inch · BL 12 inch Mk I - VII · BL 12 inch Mk VIII · BL 13.5 inch · BL 16.25 inch
Light weapons Gatling gun · Gardner gun · Nordenfelt machine gun · 1-inch Nordenfelt gun
Torpedoes Whitehead torpedo
Monitor guns BL 9.2 inch Mk VI · BL 9.2 inch Mk VIII · BL 9.2 inch Mk X · BL 9.2 inch Mk XII · BL 12 inch Mk VIII · US 14 inch 45 cal · BL 18 inch Mk I
Capital ship main armament Vickers 10 inch 45 cal · EOC 10 inch 45 cal · BL 12 inch Mk VIII · BL 12 inch Mk IX · BL 12 inch Mk X · BL 12 inch Mk XI & XII · EOC 12 inch 45 cal Mk XIII · BL 13.5 inch Mk V · EOC 14 inch 45 cal Mk I · BL 15 inch Mk I
Armoured cruiser main armament BL 7.5 inch Mk I · BL 9.2 inch Mk X · BL 9.2 inch Mk XI
Secondary armament &
light cruiser main armamentQF 12 pdr 18 cwt · QF 14 pounder · QF 4 inch Mk III · BL 4 inch Mk VII · QF 4 inch Mk V · BL 4 inch Mk IX · BL 5.5 inch Mk I · QF 6 inch · BL 6 inch Mk VII · BL 6 inch Mk XI · BL 6 inch Mk XII · BL 6 inch Mk XIII-XVIII · BL 7.5 inch Mk II - Mk V
Destroyer & small cruiser armament QF 12 pdr 12 cwt · QF 4 inch Mk III · BL 4 inch Mk VIII · QF 4 inch Mk IV · BL 4.7 inch Mk I
Merchant ship armament QF 4.7 inch Mk I - IV · QF 4.7 inch Mk V*
Submarine guns Anti-aircraft guns Light weapons Torpedoes 18 inch Mk V - VIII · 21 inch Mk II · 21 inch Mk IV
Mines Spherical Mk I, II and III · Vickers Elia mine · Type H mine
Anti-submarine weapons Type D Depth charge · 7.5 inch howitzer
Landing guns QF 12 pounder 8 cwt
Categories:- Artillery of the United Kingdom
- Second Boer War artillery
- World War I artillery of the United Kingdom
- 76 mm artillery
- Naval artillery
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