The Ordnance BL 12-pounder 6 cwt
[British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately . "6 cwt" referred to the weight of the gun and barrel to differentiate it from other "12-pounder" guns. One hundredweight (cwt) is , so the total weight was ] was a lighter version of the British
12-pounder 7 cwt gun, used by the
Royal Horse Artillery
The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
History
Problems arose when the standard BL 12-pounder 7 cwt gun was used in the great Indian cavalry manoeuvres of 1891. The carriage was found to be too complicated, and dust caused the metal surfaces of the axle traversing device to seize. It also proved too heavy for horse artillery, which was intended to support cavalry in battle, to manoeuvre.
The 12-pounder 6 cwt gun was therefore developed in 1892, when the new more powerful
cordite
Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom since 1889 to replace black powder as a military propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...
replaced
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
, as a lighter version of the BL 12-pounder 7 cwt gun. It had a barrel shorter, on a lighter and simpler carriage, and it entered service in 1894. In 1899 a primitive recoil-absorbing system was added. The weapon was made obsolete in British service by the acquisition of the modern quick-firing Ehrhardt
QF 15-pounder in 1901, and was replaced by that and later by the
QF 13-pounder from 1905.
![No56FuzeMkIVC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/No56FuzeMkIVC.jpg)
The early No. 56 Fuze burned too fast, a maximum of only 13 seconds, and hence could only be time set for a maximum range of . The No. 57 "Blue" Fuze was introduced during the Boer war. It had a slower burning powder train and hence could be time set for ranges up to . A maximum range of was quoted in use in the First World War.
Combat use
Second Boer War
The gun was used by the Royal Horse Artillery, and together with the
BL 15-pounder, it provided the main British firepower. Eighteen guns were also used by the Royal Canadian Artillery in this war. A total of 78 guns fired 36,161 shells.
World War I
A battery of 6 guns served in the
East African Campaign as the 8th Field Battery. It arrived with the Calcutta Artillery Volunteers in October 1914, and the guns were towed by teams of oxen.
[Farndale 1988, page 316]
See also
*
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement.
Until the early 20t ...
*
List of field guns
Field guns are one of two primary types of field artillery. Guns fire a heavy shell on a relatively level trajectory from a longer barrel, allowing for very high muzzle velocity and good range performance. Guns are most adequate for providing l ...
Surviving examples
The Central Museum of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, Shilo Manitoba* One piece made in 1901 and marked "RCD 1907" on gun-metal sight mount, with King Edward VII cypher and crown inletted in top of barrel, parked in front of Stethem Hall, the HQ building of CFB Kingston.
* Gun used by "D" Battery, Royal Canadian Field Artillery, at Leliefontein. Preserved at the
Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in a ...
![Churchill's funeral 1965](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Churchill%27s_funeral_1965.jpg)
* The
Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage
The Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage is a converted Ordnance, BL, 12 pdr 6 cwt, MK II, gun carriage which has been used in the UK to bear the coffin at the funeral processions of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V, King George ...
, used to carry the coffin of the deceased during
State funerals in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, state funerals are usually reserved for Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchs. The most recent was for Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.
A state funeral may also be held to honour a highly disting ...
. In this role it is not pulled by horses but by
ratings of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. State funerals are normally reserved for the monarch although a few notable non-monarch individuals like Winston Spencer Churchill and Lord Mountbatten have been given this honour, the most recent such funeral being
Queen Elizabeth II's on 19th September 2022.
Notes
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
* General
Sir Martin FarndaleHistory of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914–18
* Major Darrell D. Hall
* Major Darrell D. Hall, [http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol024dh.html "Field Artillery of the British Army 1860–1960. Part I, 1860 – 1900" in The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal – Vol 2 No 4, December 1972] (web page is incorrectly titled 1900–1914)
* Ian V. Hogg, I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972
External links
Handbook for the 12-PR. B.L., 6 cwt. gun, mark I-IV Horse artillery: 1896, 1898, 1901, 1903, 1905from Victorian Forts and Artillery website
{{DEFAULTSORT:BL 12-pounder 6 cwt
Artillery of the United Kingdom
Field guns
World War I guns
World War I artillery of the United Kingdom
76 mm artillery