Ordnance BL 12-pounder 7 cwt

The Ordnance BL 12-pounder 7cwt[note 1] was the British Army's field gun which succeeded the RML 13-pounder 8 cwt in 1885.

Ordnance BL 12-pounder 7 cwt
With Royal Horse Artillery crew
TypeField gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1885–1895
Used byBritish Empire
Production history
Designed1883
Specifications
Mass784 pounds (356 kg) barrel & breech
Barrel length84 inches (2,134 mm) bore (28 calibres)
Shellseparate loading BL, 12.5 lb (5.7 kg) Shrapnel
Calibre3-inch (76.2 mm)
Traversenil
Muzzle velocity1,710 feet per second (520 m/s)[1]
Maximum firing range5,000 yards (4,600 m)[2]

History

The gun was initially adopted by both the Royal Field Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery, and was in full service by 1885. It marked a return to breech-loading guns, after the British Army had reverted to muzzle-loaders in the late 1860s following the failure of the Armstrong screw breech guns.

Problems arose when it was used by the Horse Artillery in the great Indian cavalry manoeuvres of 1891. The carriage was found to be too complicated and dust caused the metal surfaces of the axle traversing device to seize.[3] It also proved too heavy to manoeuvre for horse artillery, which was intended to support cavalry in battle.

The 12-pounder 6 cwt gun was thus developed in 1892, when the new more powerful cordite replaced gunpowder, as a lighter alternative. It had a barrel 18 inches (460 mm) shorter, on a lighter and simpler carriage, and it entered service with the Royal Horse Artillery in 1894.

The introduction of Cordite also led to the decision that the 12-pounder was capable of firing a heavier shell up to 15 lb (6.8 kg). A 14-pound shell was adopted and the gun became a "15-pounder" from 1895.[4] At that point the 12-pounder 7 cwt became redundant.

Combat use

The gun was normally towed by 6 horses, in 3 pairs.

See also

Surviving examples

Notes
  1. British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately 12 pounds (5.4 kg). "7 cwt" referred to the weight of the gun and barrel to differentiate it from other "12-pounder" guns. 1 long hundredweight (cwt) = 112 pounds (51 kg).

References
  1. 1,710 ft/s firing 12.5 lb (5.7 kg) projectile, with 4 lb (1.8 kg) gunpowder or 15¾ oz cordite size 5 as propellant. Text Book of Gunnery, 1902.
  2. Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. Table XII, Page 336.
  3. Clarke 2004, page 17-18
  4. Clarke 2004, page 17-18

Bibliography
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