BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer

The Ordnance BL 6-inch 26cwt howitzer, officially BL 6-inch 26cwt howitzer Mk I on Carriage Mk I, 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).

BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer
A 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer on World War II pneumatic tyres at the Royal Artillery Museum.
Type	Medium howitzer
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1916 – 1945
Used by	List of operators  Australia  Belgium  Canada  Estonian Republic  Greece  Italy  Netherlands  New Zealand  Portugal  Russian Empire  South Africa  Soviet Union  United Kingdom
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Vickers
Designed	1915
Manufacturer	List Vickers Beardmore Coventry Ordnance Woolwich Ordnance Midvale Steel
Produced	1915 – ?
No. built	3,633
Specifications
Mass	Total: 8,142 lb (3,693 kg) Barrel: 2,856 lb (1,295 kg)[1]
Length	21 ft 7 in (6.58 m)
Barrel length	Total: 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) Bore: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) L/13.3
Width	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Crew	10
Shell	Gas Incendiary High explosive
Shell weight	WWI: 100 pounds (45.4 kg) WWII: 86 pounds (39.0 kg)
Calibre	6 in (152.4 mm)
Breech	Welin screw
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic, variable
Carriage	Box trail
Elevation	0° to +45°
Traverse	4° L & R
Rate of fire	Max: 2 rpm
Muzzle velocity	Max: 1,400 ft/s (430 m/s)
Maximum firing range	WWI 100 pounds (45.4 kg) shell : 9,500 yards (8,700 m) WWII 86 pounds (39.0 kg) shell : 11,400 yards (10,400 m)[2]
Sights	Calibrating (1930s) & reciprocating

History

World War I

Battery firing, World War I

Use of girdles around wheels, Somme September 1916

Near Boesinghe, Battle of Langemarck, August 1917

The howitzer 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]

Interwar years

During the interwar period, the Carriage Mk I had its wooden spoked wheels augmented with rubber tires, these modified carriages were designated Carriage Mk IR. Later on, the carriages received modern steel wheels and pneumatic tyres, designated Carriage Mk IP.

World War II

British battery in action at Tobruk, 23 January 1941

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. After 1942, it remained in use in the Far East (mainly Burma) until the end of the war in 1945, when it was declared obsolete.

During the German conquest across Europe, German troops captured many howitzers from multiple countries. These captured examples received the designation 15.2 cm s.FH. 407(h) (Dutch howitzers), 15.2 cm s.FH. 410(b) (Belgian howitzers), 15.2 cm s.FH. 412(e) (British howitzers), 15.2 cm s.FH. 412(f) (French howitzers),^{[note 1]} 15.2 cm s.FH. 412(i) (Italian howitzers), 15.2 cm s.FH. 444(r) (Soviet howitzers).

Variants

Gun variants:^[4]

• Mark I – Only variant produced

Carriage variants:^[4]

• Mark I – Wooden wheels
• Mark IR – Wooden wheels, rubber tyres
• Mark IP – Steel wheels, pneumatic tyres

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
• Museo della guerra (War Museum), Rovereto (Italy)
• South Africa : The Imperial Government presented 6 howitzers to the Union of South Africa after World War I and the six South African Heavy Artillery Memorials were designed, commissioned and paid for by the South African Heavy Artillery Association to honour their fallen Comrades-in-Arms : Memorial to 71st (Transvaal) Siege Battery at Johannesburg Zoo (restored); 72nd (Griqualand West) Siege Battery at Clyde N Terry Museum, Kimberley; 73rd (Cape) Siege Battery at Company Gardens, Cape Town; 74th (Eastern Province) Siege Battery at National Museum, Bloemfontein (Restoration is about to begin, May 2009); 75th (Natal) Siege Battery, Warriors' Gate MOTH Shellhole, Old Fort Road, Durban; 125th (Transvaal) Siege Battery near the Union Buildings, Pretoria.

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
• Barrack Green Armouries, Belonging to and restored by 3rd Field Regt.(The Loyal Company), Saint John, New Brunswick

Ammunition

British

World War I

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]

• 
  4lb 11½oz cordite cartridge
• 
  Common pointed 100lb shell Mark XIIA
• 
  100lb chemical shell Mark VIII
• 
  High explosive 100lb shell Mark XVI

World War II

See also

• BL 6 inch 30 cwt howitzer : British predecessor
• List of howitzers

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

• Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider French equivalent
• 15 cm sFH 13 German equivalent
• 152 mm howitzer M1910 Russian equivalent

Notes

1. Mistakenly attributed to the French Army.