The Ordnance QF 13-pounder ( quick-firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian

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 r ...

at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

History

QF13pounderBouncingNYTribune20October1918

The QF 13-pounder was developed as a response to combat experience gained in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

and entered service in 1904, replacing the Ehrhard QF 15-pounder and BL 12-pounder 6 cwt. It was intended as a rapid-firing and highly-mobile, yet reasonably powerful, field gun for

(RHA) batteries supporting Cavalry brigades, and were expected to be engaged in mobile open warfare. It was developed in parallel with the QF 18-pounder used by

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of ...

. The original Mk I barrel was wire wound. Later Mk II barrels had a tapered inner A tube which was pressed into the outer tube. A hydro-spring recoil system was mounted above the barrel. The carriage was a pole trail type with two seats for the gunners and a protective shield. The first British artillery round on the Western Front in World War I was fired by No. 4 gun of

E Battery Royal Horse Artillery E Battery Royal Horse Artillery is a Close Support Battery of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. It is currently based in Purvis Lines in Larkhill Camp. History E Battery Royal Horse Artillery was formed as E Troop on 1 November 1794. 19th ...

on 22 August 1914, northeast of

Harmignies Harmignies ( wa, Armégnî) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Mons, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country ...

in Belgium. It saw action most famously at the

Battle of Le Cateau The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi (21–23 Aug ...

in August 1914 as the British Expeditionary Force retreated from

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

. It was used to great effect by "L" Bty, Royal Horse Artillery in its famous defensive action on September 1, 1914, at Néry, France, for which three

Victoria Crosses The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

were awarded. The medals, and No. 6 gun and limber involved in this action, are held in the collection of the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

From late 1914, when the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

settled into

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artille ...

, the 13-pounder was found to be too light to be truly effective against prepared defensive positions. As a result, a few RHA batteries that were not supporting cavalry formations converted to 18-pounder guns and 4.5-inch howitzers. However, it was retained in the British and Canadian cavalry brigades on the Western Front. and also used throughout the war in batteries (both RHA and

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

) supporting cavalry and mounted formations in Palestine and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. Batteries normally carried 176 rounds per gun. The gun and its filled limber (24 rounds) weighed and was towed by a six-horse team. All members of the gun detachments were mounted on their own horses. As the war progressed the increasing air activity created a requirement for a medium anti-aircraft gun. Some 13-pounders were slightly modified to become "Ordnance QF 13 pdr Mk III" and mounted on high-angle mounts to produce what became known as the 13-pounder 6 cwt anti-aircraft gun. In 1940, some 13-pounders were brought out of store for use as emergency anti-tank guns, mounted in pill boxes, for the home defence of Britain against possible German invasion. For combat purposes the gun is obsolete, but remains in service with the

King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, is a ceremonial unit of the British Army, quartered at Woolwich. It is a mounted unit and all of its soldiers are trained to care for and drive teams of six horses, each team pulling a First World War-er ...

for ceremonial purposes and as state saluting guns.Clarke 2004

13-pounder 6 cwt QF Mark V naval gun

This was a pedestal-mounted adaptation by

Vickers Limited Vickers Limited was a British engineering conglomerate. The business began in Sheffield in 1828 as a steel foundry and became known for its church bells, going on to make shafts and propellers for ships, armour plate and then artillery. Entir ...

of the Mark I horse artillery gun, intended to arm 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 ...

's new

Motor Launch A Motor Launch (ML) is a small military vessel in Royal Navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high-speed air-sea rescue. Some vessels for water police service are also known as motor launches. ...

es in World War I. 650 examples were constructed, including 250 made in the United States. Because of the German

U-boat campaign The U-boat Campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Allies. It took place largely in the seas around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean. The German Empir ...

, many of the guns were used on

defensively equipped merchant ship Defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) was an Admiralty Trade Division programme established in June 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft. The acronym DEMS was used to descri ...

s, some being removed from motor launches for that purpose.Royal Navy Motor Launches: Armament
/ref>

Ammunition

Surviving examples

* With the

, London *

collection: :The Néry Gun and limber, used during the action at Néry, 1 September 1914. :No.4 Gun,

; fired the first British artillery round on the Western Front, August 1914. *

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 ad ...

, Ottawa * Fort de Seclin – 1914/1918 Museum (near Fromelles) * Musee des Abris, Albert, France. (Mk. 2) * There are six examples in South Africa: ** One restored in 2009, ** One at THA HQ in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, ** Two with the NFA in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, ** Two at the National Memorial in Potchefstroom. * Mark V naval gun recovered from a sunken merchant ship, is on display at the harbour in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. * There is one example on display in the Tsumeb Museum in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. The gun was used by the THA at the Battle of Sandfontein on 26 September 1914 and was captured by German troops and later dumped into Lake Otjikoto prior to the German surrender in June 1915. File:NéryGunIWMApril2008.jpg, The Néry Gun, on display at IWM London File:QF 13 pounder IWM North.jpg, No 4 Gun E Battery RHA, on display at

IWM North Imperial War Museum North (sometimes referred to as IWM North) is a museum in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. One of five branches of the Imperial War Museum, it explores the impact of modern conflicts on p ...

File:QF 13 pounder CWM Ottawa 1.jpg, 13-pounder at the

Popular culture

A QF 13-pounder features in the

Big Guns (Dad's Army) "Big Guns" is the seventh episode of the third series of the British comedy series ''Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on 23 October 1969. The episode was recorded Sunday 6 July 1969. Synopsis The platoon is given heavy artillery and ...

, where it is supplied to the Walmington-on-Sea platoon for home defence.

References

Notes

Sources

* Dale Clarke, ''British Artillery 1914–1919. Field Army Artillery''. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004 * Cruickshank, Dan, ''Invasion – Defending Britain from Attack''. Boxtree, 2001 * General Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnd ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Western Front 1914–18''. Published by Royal Artillery Institution, 1986. * General Sir

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914–18'', Published by Royal Artillery Institution, 1988. * * I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, ''British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918''. published by Ian Allan, London, 1972.

External links

The Affair at Néry, 1 September 1914. With map, illustrations and photographs
* {{GreatWarBritishWeapons Naval guns of the United Kingdom

QF 13 pounder The Ordnance QF 13-pounder (British ordnance terms#QF, quick-firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I. History The QF 13-pounder was developed as a response t ...