The British
BL 6-inch gun Mk XIX
[I.e. Mark 19 : Britain at the time designated Marks (models) of ordnance using Roman numerals. This was a field gun and field ordnance normally used a different Mark series to naval ordnance, but unusually the next available Mark number in the 6-inch naval gun series was used, rather than Mark I as the first 6-inch BL field gun.] was introduced in 1916 as a lighter and longer-range
field gun replacement for the obsolescent
BL 6-inch gun Mk VII.
History, description
The majority of military planners before the First World War were wedded to the concept of fighting an offensive war of rapid maneuver which in a time before mechanization meant a focus on
cavalry and light
horse artillery firing
shrapnel shells. Although the majority of combatants had heavy field artillery prior to the outbreak of the First World War, none had adequate numbers of heavy guns in service, nor had they foreseen the growing importance of heavy artillery once the
Western Front stagnated and
trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became ar ...
set in. The theorists hadn't foreseen that trenches, barbed wire, and machine guns had robbed them of the mobility they had been counting on and like in the
Franco-Prussian War and
Russo-Turkish War
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
the need for heavy artillery reasserted itself. Since aircraft of the period were not yet capable of carrying large diameter bombs the burden of delivering heavy firepower fell on the artillery. The combatants scrambled to find anything that could fire a heavy shell and that meant emptying the fortresses and scouring the depots for guns held in reserve. It also meant converting coastal artillery and surplus naval guns to field guns by either giving them simple field carriages or mounting the larger pieces on rail carriages.
The Mk XIX was designed and built by
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...
specifically as a field gun, unlike its predecessors which originated as naval guns. Its length was reduced from the 45
calibres of its naval gun predecessors to 35 calibres, to reduce weight and improve mobility. The Mk XIX was a typical British
built-up gun of the period constructed of steel with a central rifled tube reinforced with braided
wire wound around the liner, a protective outer jacket, breech bush and breech ring.
[Handbook of artillery, United States. Army. Ordnance Dept, May 1920, p. 245]
The Mk XIX was a
breech-loaded
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition ( cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle).
Modern firearms are generally bree ...
design with a
Welin interrupted screw breech and used
separate-loading,
bagged charges and projectiles. "The breech mechanism is operated by means of a lever on the right side of the breech. On pulling the lever to the rear the breech screw is automatically unlocked and swung into the loading position. After loading, one thrust of the lever inserts the breech screw and turns it into the locked position. The breech mechanism is similar to that used on the
8-inch howitzers both in design and operation".
The Mk XIX utilized the same carriage and recoil mechanism as the
BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI. The carriage was a
box trail with two large spoked steel wheels, a
hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism, and no
gun shield. The carriages had an opening behind the breech to allow high angles of elevation. Due to the weight of the gun, it could not be towed by a horse team and had to be towed by a
traction engine
A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any t ...
or
artillery tractor
An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked.
Traction
There are two ...
instead.
The Mk XIX was most often used for long-range
counter battery fire.
Operational history
Great Britain
310 were built during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the gun served in all theaters, with 108 being in service on the Western front at the end of World War I,
but it did not completely replace the Mk VII gun until the end of the war.
3 batteries served with the
BEF in France early in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and others were deployed in the home defense of Britain. The gun was superseded by the
155-mm Gun M1, and the carriages used for
BL 7.2-inch howitzer
The BL 7.2-inch howitzer was a heavy artillery piece used by the British Army throughout the World War II, Second World War.
History
In 1940 the British Army concluded that the only heavy howitzer available to it, the World War I, First World ...
[Nigel F Evans]
BRITISH ARTILLERY IN WORLD WAR 2. THE GUNS
/ref>
United States
When the United States entered the First World War it had a need for long-range heavy artillery, so guns produced for the US Army were given the designation 6-inch gun M1917. In some US sources the Mark XIX designation was also used. 100 weapons were acquired from the British by the US Army beginning in 1917, along with 50 "gun bodies", presumably as spare barrels. Deliveries were not completed until after March 1920. The carriage was slightly modified from the British BL 8-inch howitzer carriage Mark VII, and was called the 6-inch gun carriage Mark VIIIA.
The US Army Ordnance Department's "Handbook of Artillery" of May 1920 stated that:
"The original British ammunition so closely resembled the American that it was decided to use the Sregular Mark II high-explosive shell... the propellant charge will consist of a base section and increment section having a total weight of approximately 25 pounds".
By 1933 the 99 stored weapons with 51 spare tubes had no ammunition available. Although consideration was given to producing 6-inch ammunition or modifying the guns to use standard 155 mm ammunition, no action was taken and the guns remained in storage.[
]
Brazil
Before the United States entered World War II, the US Army declared the M1917 obsolete and the 99 complete guns were transferred to Brazil as part of a package of military aid in exchange for bases, with deliveries beginning in October 1940. The United States assisted Brazil in producing ammunition for the guns. In 1941, the United States began supplying Brazil with replacement wheels and pneumatic tires
A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...
to allow the guns to be towed at higher speeds.[ They were used by Brazil as ]coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...
until the 1960s when they were retired from service. In Brazil they were sometimes used on circular concrete platforms, similar to the "Panama mount
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...
s" used for towed 155 mm guns in US installations. As of 2016, around a dozen guns remained in museums and as memorials in Brazil and elsewhere, although none in the United States.[
]
South Africa
Prior to the outbreak of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the Union Defence Force had planned to use these guns in the fortification of Durban, Cape Town and Saldanha Bay.
For a short period, two guns were deployed for the protection of Port Elizabeth harbor at the outbreak of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Photo gallery
File:6-inch Mark XIX gun rear left.jpg, Rear left view
File:6-inch Mark XIX gun rear right.jpg, Rear right view
File:6-inch Mark XIX gun rear.jpg, Breech
File:BL-6 inch Gun-Mk 19-001.jpg, Example at the South African National Museum of Military History
The South African National War Museum in Johannesburg was officially opened by Prime Minister Jan Smuts on 29 August 1947 to preserve the history of South Africa's involvement in the Second World War. In 1975, the museum was renamed the South Af ...
.
File:6inchMkXIXGunLeftView.jpg, Diagram showing left elevation.
File:6inchMkXIXGunPlan.jpg, Diagram showing plan.
File:BL 6-inch HE Gun Shell Mk XVI Diagram.jpg, British Mk XVI HE shell, WWI.
File:Vickers 6 inch Mk XIX coast defence gun Copacabana Museum Brazil.JPG, Example at the Brazilian Army museum, Copacabana.
See also
* 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 ...
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
* Canon de 155 mm GPF French equivalent
* 15 cm Kanone 16 German equivalent
Notes
References
Bibliography
* I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972.
* Dale Clarke
British Artillery 1914–1919. Heavy Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2005
Handbook of artillery: including mobile, anti-aircraft and trench matériel (1920), United States Army Ordnance Dept, May 1920
*
External links
Handbook of the B.L. 6-inch mark XIX gun, on traveling carriage, land service, 1920
at State Library of Victoria
Gun drill for 6-inch B.L. gun mark XIX carriages marks VIII and VIIIa 1920,1924
at State Library of Victoria
{{DEFAULTSORT:BL 06-inch gun Mk 19
World War II artillery of the United Kingdom
World War I artillery of the United Kingdom
World War I guns
152 mm artillery
Vickers