BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer

The Ordnance BL 6-inch 26cwt howitzer, officially BL 6-inch 26cwt howitzer Mk I on Carriage Mk I, was a British howitzer used during World War I and World War II. The qualifier "26cwt" refers to the weight of the barrel and breech together which weighed.

History

World War I

The howitzer was developed to replace the obsolescent 6 inch 25 cwt and 6-inch 30 cwt howitzers which were outclassed by German artillery such as the 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 13. Design began in January 1915, the first proof-firing occurred on 30 July 1915 and it entered service in late 1915. Its combination of firepower, range and mobility made it one of the British Empire's most important weapons in World War I.
It was originally towed by horses but from 1916 onwards was commonly towed by the FWD 4 wheel drive 3-ton lorry as heavy field artillery. The wooden spoked wheels could be fitted with "girdles" for work in mud or sand to prevent them sinking. Towards the end of the war solid rubber tyres were fitted over the iron tyres on the wheel rims, giving the rims a heavier appearance. The howitzers fired 22.4 million rounds on the Western Front.

Interwar years

During the interwar period, the wooden spoked wheels of the Carriage Mk I were augmented with rubber tyres, these modified carriages were designated Carriage Mk IR. Later on, the carriages received modern steel wheels and pneumatic tyres, designated Carriage Mk IP.

World War II

During World War II, its use was restricted after 1942 when the replacement BL 5.5-inch Medium Gun came into use but it was reintroduced in Burma due to a number of premature detonations in the guns. After 1942, it remained in use in the Far East until the end of the war in 1945, when it was declared obsolete.
During the German conquest across Europe, German troops captured many howitzers from multiple countries. These captured examples received the designation 15.2 cm s.FH. 407, 15.2 cm s.FH. 410, 15.2 cm s.FH. 412, 15.2 cm s.FH. 412, 15.2 cm s.FH. 412, 15.2 cm s.FH. 444.

Variants

Gun variants:

Mark I – Only variant produced

Carriage variants:

Mark I – Wooden wheels
Mark IR – Wooden wheels, rubber tyres
Mark IP – Steel wheels, pneumatic tyres

Surviving examples

, North Head, Sydney, Australia
, Rovereto
South Africa : The Imperial Government presented 6 howitzers to the Union of South Africa after World War I and the six South African Heavy Artillery Memorials were designed, commissioned and paid for by the South African Heavy Artillery Association to honour their fallen Comrades-in-Arms : Memorial to 71st Siege Battery at Johannesburg Zoo ; 72nd Siege Battery at Clyde N Terry Museum, Kimberley; 73rd Siege Battery at Company Gardens, Cape Town; 74th Siege Battery at National Museum, Bloemfontein ; 75th Siege Battery, Warriors' Gate MOTH Shellhole, Old Fort Road, Durban; 125th Siege Battery near the Union Buildings, Pretoria.

These guns are being restored by the Gunner's Association of South Africa

National Museum of Military History, Saxonwold, Johannesburg, South Africa

Barrack Green Armouries, Belonging to and restored by 3rd Field Regt., Saint John, New Brunswick

Ammunition

British

World War I

Projectiles used in World War I weighed. A lighter long-range projectile was introduced in November 1918, too late to see service in the war

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider French equivalent
15 cm sFH 13 German equivalent
152 mm howitzer M1910 Russian equivalent