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The RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun was a Rifled, Muzzle Loading (RML) naval, field or fortification
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
gun manufactured in England in the 19th century, which fired a projectile weighing approximately . "64 cwt" refers to the gun's weight rounded up to differentiate it from other "64-pounder" guns.


Description

The calibre of 6.3 inches was chosen to enable it to fire remaining stocks of spherical shells originally made for the obsolete 32 pounder guns if necessary. Mark I (adopted in 1864) and Mark II (adopted 1866) guns, and Mark III guns made from 1867 – April 1871 had
wrought-iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" t ...
inner "A" tubes surrounded by wrought-iron coils. Mark III guns made after April 1871 were built with toughened
mild steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...
"A" tubes, and earlier Mark III guns were re-tubed with steel and were classified as a siege gun in land service. Remaining guns with iron tubes were used for sea service.Treatise on Construction and Manufacture of Service Ordnance, 1879, pages 292, 261-265 Rifling of all guns consisted of 3 grooves, with a uniform twist of 1 turn in 40 calibres (i.e. 1 turn in 252 inches).


Ammunition

The gun's standard shell was " common shell", for firing on troops in cover, ships and buildings, weighed when empty with a bursting charge of .
Shrapnel shell Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions which carried many individual bullets close to a target area and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike targets individually. They relied almo ...
s could also be fired; a shell with a bursting charge propelling 234 metal balls.


Surviving Examples of Guns


Mark IMark II number 164
an
Mark III
guns at Fort George, near Inverness, Scotland, UK * Mark III gun number 17, on board HMS ''Gannet'', Chatham Dockyard, UK * Mark III gun number 294, dated 1867,
Nothe Fort Nothe Fort is a fort in Weymouth, Dorset, England, situated at the end of the Nothe Peninsula, which juts eastwards from the town of Weymouth, and Weymouth Harbour, into the sea to the north of the ex-military Portland Harbour. The fort is l ...
, Weymouth, UK
Mark III gun
at
Fort Brockhurst Fort Brockhurst is one of the Palmerston Forts, in Gosport, England, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is now an English Heritage property. History Construction, 1858–1862 Fort Brockhurst was designed by William Crossman in the 19th cent ...
, Gosport, UK * Two Mark III guns, including no. 318 dated 1867 at
Pendennis Castle Pendennis Castle (Cornish: ''Penn Dinas'', meaning "headland fortification") is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII near Falmouth, Cornwall, England between 1540 and 1542. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect agai ...
, Cornwall, UK * Mark III guns number 462 and 463 at
Fort Glanville Fort Glanville Conservation Park is a protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia located in Semaphore Park, a seaside suburb of Adelaide consisting of a functional 19th century fort listed on the South Australian Heritage ...
, Adelaide, South Australia
Mark III gun number 739, dated 1878
Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
, Queensland, Australia * Mark III gun number 742 dated 1878 - ex HMQS Otter (Queensland colonial navy) example displayed in Queens Park Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia * Two Mark III guns, including No 729 dated 1878, a
Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct
Brisbane, AustraliaThe two 1878 guns are still fired regularly * Lei Yue Mun Fort's Central Battery, Hong Kong
6 guns at Fort Siloso, Singapore
includin
Mark III gun Number 767, dated 1874


at
Albert Park, Auckland Albert Park is a public park in central Auckland, bounded by Wellesley Street East, Princes Street, Bowen Avenue and Kitchener Street. From the entrance at the corner of Bowen Ave and Kitchener St, sealed footpaths climb steeply through native tre ...
, Auckland, New Zealand


Surviving Examples of Ammunition

* RML 64pdr shell that has been fired, and RML 64 fuse a
Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct
Brisbane, Australia * RML 64pdr Mark I shell (no fuse) is held in the collection of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra


See also

*
RML 64-pounder 71 cwt gun The RML 64-pounder 71 cwt guns (converted) were British rifled muzzle-loading guns converted from obsolete smoothbore 8-inch 65 cwt shell guns in the 1860s-1870s."71 cwt" refers to the gun's weight rounded up to differentiate it from other "64-po ...
: conversion of SBML 8-inch 65 cwt gun


Notes and references


Bibliography


Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service. War Office, UK, 1879

Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE


External links


YouTube video showing re-enactment of loading and firing with blank cartridge at Fort Lytton, Queensland

Handbook for the 64 – pr. R.M.L. gun of 64 cwt., marks I-III land service 1888, 1893, 1900, 1902
at State Library of Victoria

at Victorian Forts website *1916 "The Brisbane Courier" newspaper clipping showing the 64 pounder muzzle loader siege gun,bearing the date 1881, that was on the beach, at Manly (Queensland, Australia) for many years. It may now be one of the surviving guns at Fort Lytton. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1588925 Here are links to other photos of the same gun https://library-brisbane.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/23652/0 https://library-brisbane.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/23748/0 https://library-brisbane.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/23373/0 {{DEFAULTSORT:RML 64-pounder 64 cwt Naval guns of the United Kingdom Artillery of the United Kingdom Elswick Ordnance Company 160 mm artillery Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom