6 inch 26 cwt howitzer

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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 South Africa New Zealand
Wars	World War I, World War II
Production history
Number built	3,633
Specifications
Weight	4.2 tonnes
Length	21.6 ft (6.58 m)
Barrel length	87.55 inches (2.224 m)
Width	6.8 feet (2.1 m)
Crew	10

Shell	HE, smoke, illumination 100 pounds (45.36 kg) ; 86 pounds (39.01 kg) streamlined (post-WWI)
Calibre	6-inch (152.4 mm)
Breech	Welin screw
Recoil	hydro-pneumatic, variable
Carriage	box trail
Elevation	0° - 45°
Traverse	4° L & R
Rate of fire	2 p/m max
Muzzle velocity	1400 ft/s (430 m/s) max
Maximum range	9,500 yd (8,700 m) 100 lb (45 kg) shell; 11,400 yd (10,400 m) 86 lb (39 kg) shell (post-WWI)^[1]
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 hundredweights (1.3 t).

1 History
- 1.1 World War I
- 1.2 World War II
2 Surviving examples
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 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.^[2] 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]

[edit] World War II

During the interwar period the carriage had its wooden spoked wheels replaced with modern steel wheels and pneumatic tyres. During the Second World War, 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.

[edit] Surviving examples

Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London
Army Memorial Museum, Waiouru, New Zealand
Royal Australian Artillery National Museum, North Head, Sydney, Australia

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

BL 6 inch 26 cwt Howitzer

[edit] Notes

^ 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 Mk 2D 5/10 c.r.h. shell with an augmenting ("Super") charge.
^ Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 126
^ Clarke 2005, page 37