The RML 6.3-inch howitzer was a British rifled muzzle-loading "siege" or "position" howitzer/mortar proposed in 1874 and finally introduced in 1878 as a lighter version of the successful 8-inch howitzer that could be carried by the existing 40-pounder gun carriage.Treatise on Construction of Ordnance in the British Service, 1879, pages 79; 171; 259-260 By 1880, the RML was superseded by a longer howitzer with a higher muzzle velocity.

Description

The barrel consisted of an inner "A" tube of toughened mild steel, surrounded by

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 ...

"B" tube and jacket. Rifling was of the "polygroove" type, with 20 grooves and a twist increasing from 1 turn in 100 calibres (i.e. ) to 1 in 35 (i.e. ). The howitzers could be mounted on either a travelling siege carriage, which enabled them to be semi-mobile, or on a steel bed, which were then positioned in fixed defences or

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

Operational use

Ten Howitzers were landed in Egypt in 1882 to form part of a Royal Artillery Siege Train during the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

, however they were not used in action. Many were mounted in Forts and batteries around the United Kingdom as part of the fixed defences scheme. Most were dismounted and scrapped after 1902. A number of RML howitzers were used by the British forces during the

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 South ...

, normally mounted on 40 pr RML carriages.

Ammunition

The Howitzer used a number of different types of projectiles, depending on the selected target. This included common shell for use against buildings, earthworks or vehicles, or shrapnel shell for use against 'soft' targets, such as infantry or cavalry on open ground. Case shot could be used against soft targets at close range, typically less than . The howitzer used black powder propellant, in silk bags which were ignited by friction tube. The gun was the first British rifled muzzle-loader to dispense entirely with studs on shells to impart spin : its shells from the beginning had gas checks attached to their base which expanded and engaged with rifling on firing to impart spin to the shell.

Surviving examples

Two of these guns, called Castor and Pollux, used during the

Siege of Ladysmith The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Background As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the War Offic ...

, stand in front of the

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

town hall. They have been declared Heritage Objects by the

South African Heritage Resource Agency The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) is the national administrative body responsible for the protection of South Africa's cultural heritage. It was established through the ''National Heritage Resources Act, number 25 of 1999'' and ...

. Both the guns and their ammunition were outdated by the time of the siege and they tended to make a lot of smoke when fired.

Notes

References

Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANETreatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service. War Office, UK, 1879

External links

Handbook for the 6.3 inch R. M. L. howitzer on bed and ground platform, or on siege travelling carriage, 1886
at State Library of Victoria

{{DEFAULTSORT:RML 06.3 inch Artillery of the United Kingdom Howitzers 160 mm artillery