BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun on:
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The Ordnance BL 10 pounder mountain gun was developed as a BL successor to the RML 2.5 inch screw gun which was outclassed in the
There is some evidence that the Turkish defenders on Gallipoli were also using the 10 pounder, bought prewar from New Zealand, as the ANZACs discovered 10 pounder shell bodies fired at them made in India which were not from their own guns.
In the East Africa campaign, the following Indian batteries used the 10 pounder with distinction in constant action :-
* 27th Mountain Battery (6 guns), part of the Indian Expeditionary Force C, from 27 August 1914 to 2 January 1918.
* 28th Mountain Battery with 6 guns arrived with Indian Expeditionary Force B from 30 October 1914, returned to India December 1916. 28th Battery's first engagement occurred with the guns tied to the deck of HM Transport ship Bharata, firing in support of the unsuccessful British attempt to capture Tanga on 3 & 4 November 1914. Gunner Mehr Khan was awarded the Indian Distinguished Service Medal and Subadar-Major Nur Allam was awarded the Order of British India for their actions in 28th Battery defending Jasin on 18 January 1915.
*1st Kashmir (4 guns) arrived 5 December 1916, returned to India 2 February 1918. Between them the 1st and 27th were awarded 2 Order Of British India, 1 Indian Distinguished Service Medal, 7 Meritorious Service Medals, 12 Mentioned in Despatches.
* 24th Hazara Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) served in East Africa from 26 April 1917, taking up the 6 guns left by 28th Battery. A typical extract from their War Diary reads : "Ndundwala 2nd July 1917... one section came into action and fired 87 rounds shrapnel at enemy holding river crossing place at range 750 yards. Forward observer reported three direct hits on his breastworks. Sniping continued" 19 August 1917 : "constructed an emplacement within 150 yards of enemy... tubes which were dated 1901 are very bad and several misfires occurred... during last 15 days fired 548 shrapnel, 35 common and 4 star shells at average range of 1,000 yards". They returned to India in November 1918.
* 22nd (Derajat) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) arrived in the East Africa campaign on 18 December 1916, when they relieved the 28th Battery which returned to India. They appear to have initially used 10 pounders and re-equipped with howitzers some time later, as Farndale reports they first used their howitzers in action in the attack on German positions at Medo, 11 April 1918.Farndale 1988, page 351 They returned to India in November 1918.
The gun was also used in the Palestine campaign.
*A restored gun is on display at th
Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London
British Artillery 1914–1919. Field Army Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004
* General Sir Martin Farndale, "History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base, 1914–18". London : The Royal Artillery Institution, 1988. * I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London:Ian Allan, 1972.
1970s Command Magazine SCREW GUN article with rare photos and art work
Handbook for 10 – pr. jointed B. L. gun, mule equipment, 1902
at State Library of Victoria
Handbook for 10 – pr. jointed B. L. gun, mule equipment, 1904
at State Library of Victoria
from Victorian Forts and Artillery website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bl 10 Pounder Mountain Gun Artillery of the United Kingdom World War I artillery of the United Kingdom Mountain artillery World War I mountain artillery 70 mm artillery
Second 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 So ...
.
History
Thisbreech-loading
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 breec ...
gun was an improvement on the muzzle-loading
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) desig ...
screw gun but still lacked any recoil absorber or recuperator
A recuperator is a special purpose counter-flow energy recovery heat exchanger positioned within the supply and exhaust air streams of an air handling system, or in the exhaust gases of an industrial process, in order to recover the waste heat. ...
mechanism. It could be dismantled into 4 loads of approximately for transport, typically by mule.
It was originally manufactured without a Gun shield
A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield
A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery pi ...
, but these were made and fitted locally during 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, ...
e.g. at Nairobi in 1914 for the East Africa campaign, also at Suez in 1915 for the Gallipoli campaign.
It was eventually replaced by the BL 2.75 inch Mountain Gun from 1914 onwards but was still the main mountain gun in service when 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, ...
began.
Combat service
Britishmountain gun
Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are generally capable of being taken apart to make smaller loads for transport by horses, humans, mules, tractor ...
s were operated by men of the Royal Garrison Artillery
The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...
.
World War I
Guns of the 26th Mountain Battery of the Indian Army were the first British Empire artillery to open fire in the Middle East inWorld 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, ...
, on 26 January 1915, Qantara (Kantara), against the Turkish advance towards the Suez Canal.Farndale 1988
The gun was used notably in the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 by two Indian Army
The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...
units, the 21st (Kohat) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) and 26th (Jacobs) Mountain Battery of the 7th Indian Mountain Brigade with 6 guns each at Anzac, and by the Scottish 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 ...
unit, the 4th Highland (Mountain) Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery (Argyllshire and Ross & Cromarty Batteries with 4 guns each) at Helles and then Suvla. The 21st Battery was granted the title "Royal" in 1922 for its actions including Gallipoli, unique for an artillery battery.
There is some evidence that the Turkish defenders on Gallipoli were also using the 10 pounder, bought prewar from New Zealand, as the ANZACs discovered 10 pounder shell bodies fired at them made in India which were not from their own guns.
In the East Africa campaign, the following Indian batteries used the 10 pounder with distinction in constant action :-
* 27th Mountain Battery (6 guns), part of the Indian Expeditionary Force C, from 27 August 1914 to 2 January 1918.
* 28th Mountain Battery with 6 guns arrived with Indian Expeditionary Force B from 30 October 1914, returned to India December 1916. 28th Battery's first engagement occurred with the guns tied to the deck of HM Transport ship Bharata, firing in support of the unsuccessful British attempt to capture Tanga on 3 & 4 November 1914. Gunner Mehr Khan was awarded the Indian Distinguished Service Medal and Subadar-Major Nur Allam was awarded the Order of British India for their actions in 28th Battery defending Jasin on 18 January 1915.
*1st Kashmir (4 guns) arrived 5 December 1916, returned to India 2 February 1918. Between them the 1st and 27th were awarded 2 Order Of British India, 1 Indian Distinguished Service Medal, 7 Meritorious Service Medals, 12 Mentioned in Despatches.
* 24th Hazara Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) served in East Africa from 26 April 1917, taking up the 6 guns left by 28th Battery. A typical extract from their War Diary reads : "Ndundwala 2nd July 1917... one section came into action and fired 87 rounds shrapnel at enemy holding river crossing place at range 750 yards. Forward observer reported three direct hits on his breastworks. Sniping continued" 19 August 1917 : "constructed an emplacement within 150 yards of enemy... tubes which were dated 1901 are very bad and several misfires occurred... during last 15 days fired 548 shrapnel, 35 common and 4 star shells at average range of 1,000 yards". They returned to India in November 1918.
* 22nd (Derajat) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) arrived in the East Africa campaign on 18 December 1916, when they relieved the 28th Battery which returned to India. They appear to have initially used 10 pounders and re-equipped with howitzers some time later, as Farndale reports they first used their howitzers in action in the attack on German positions at Medo, 11 April 1918.Farndale 1988, page 351 They returned to India in November 1918.
The gun was also used in the Palestine campaign.
See also
* List of mountain artilleryWeapons of comparable role, performance and era
* Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906 approximate French equivalentSurviving examples
*A restored gun is on display at thRoyal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London
Notes and references
Bibliography
* Dale ClarkeBritish Artillery 1914–1919. Field Army Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004
* General Sir Martin Farndale, "History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base, 1914–18". London : The Royal Artillery Institution, 1988. * I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London:Ian Allan, 1972.
1970s Command Magazine SCREW GUN article with rare photos and art work
External links
Handbook for 10 – pr. jointed B. L. gun, mule equipment, 1902
at State Library of Victoria
Handbook for 10 – pr. jointed B. L. gun, mule equipment, 1904
at State Library of Victoria
from Victorian Forts and Artillery website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bl 10 Pounder Mountain Gun Artillery of the United Kingdom World War I artillery of the United Kingdom Mountain artillery World War I mountain artillery 70 mm artillery