QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun

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QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun
QF2.95inchMountainGun.jpg
British QF 2.95 inch mountain gun, Cameroons and Togoland campaign, WWI
Type Mountain gun
Place of origin United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1897 - WWII
Used by United KingdomBritish Empire
 United States
 Philippines
Wars World War I, World War II
Production history
Manufacturer Vickers
Specifications
Weight 236 lbs (gun)
830 lbs (total)
Barrel length 31.6 inch (bore);
35.85 inch (total)[1]
Width 32 inches
Height 26 inches (barrel axis)
36 inches (wheel)
Shell QF fixed round.
12.5 lb Common shell;
18 lb Double common shell;
12.5 lb Shrapnel
Calibre 75-millimetre (2.953 in)
Recoil 14 inches; short recoil hydro-spring
Carriage Wheeled, box trail, assembly
Elevation -10° - 27°[1]
Traverse 0°
Rate of fire 14 / minute[2]
Muzzle velocity 920 ft/s[1]
Maximum range 4,825 yds[3]
Filling weight Shrapnel : 212 167 grain (10.8214 gram) balls (US)[4]
203 x 11.088 gram balls (British)[5]
HE : TNT 0.756 lb (US)[4]

The QF 2.95 inch mountain gun was the designation given by the British to a Vickers 75mm gun. It was originally produced for the Egyptian Army. It was taken into British service in the late 19th Century to provide the 'movable armament' at some coaling stations. Also known as 'The Millimetre Gun',[6] it was used by the West African Frontier Force in several theatres in Africa during World War I. It was also used by USA and Philippines.

Contents

[edit] History

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[edit] Combat use

The weapon could be broken down and carried by 4 horses or mules, or in British use in Africa by men.

[edit] British service

The weapon was not adopted by the British or Indian army, which used the BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun and later the 2.75 inch Mountain Gun, but it was used from 1901 by the defence forces of some British African colonies as part of the West African Frontier Force (WAFF). The officers and most NCOs were British, and the gunners, gun carriers and some NCOs were African. As part of the British Empire these units became part of the British war effort in World War I.

30 guns were originally supplied to West Africa (Sierra Leone, Gold Coast & Nigeria).[7] Guns involved in the West Africa campaign of World War I were Sierra Leone Company RGA (6 guns), Gold Coast Battery WAFF (6 guns), 1st and 2nd Nigerian Battery WAFF (6 guns each).[8]

Guns of the Gold Coast Battery fired the first British Empire artillery rounds of World War I, in the attack on Khra in Togoland on 22 August 1914.[9]

The gun was also used in the East Africa campaign, originally a section of the Gold Coast Battery, and from December 1916 the 1st Nigerian Battery.[10]

[edit] Notable actions

  • Corporal Awudo Kano and 5 Nigerian gunners fought a notable action during the British attack near Melong in Kamerun, 4 March 1915. Their officer was wounded and the infantry forced to retire, but though isolated they refused to abandon the officer or their guns, and continued firing until relieved.[11]

[edit] British Ammunition

The British "Treatise on Ammunition" of 1915 stated that available rounds were Shrapnel (203 bullets), Case shot (330 bullets), Star shell and the Double common shell of 18 lb (exploding charge of 14 oz "P" mixture - gunpowder).[12]

QF2.95inchMkIVDoubleShell.jpg
QF2.95inchMkIVShrapnelRound.jpg
 No65AMkILFuze.jpg
British Double Common round
British Shrapnel round
No. 65A Fuze

[edit] US service

The US purchased 12 guns in 1899 and used them in the Philippine-American War (otherwise known as the Philippine Insurrection). By June 30, 1904 another 120 guns were purchased. Carriages and pack saddles were manufactured at Watertown and Rock Island.

It was also used in World War II by US and Philippine forces defending against the Japanese invasion.[1]

[edit] US Ammunition

The US manual of 1916 stated that the 18 lb (8.2 kg) Double explosive shell was no longer in US use.

2.95inchMountainGunCartridgeCaseDiagram.jpg
2.95inchMountainGun12.5lbHEShell.jpg
2.95inchMountainGun12.5lbShrapnel.jpg
US Cartridge case
US HE shells
US Shrapnel shell

[edit] Image gallery=

[edit] Photographs

[edit] See also

[edit] Surviving examples

At the Military Museum in Bogota, Colombia

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c d Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 46
  2. ^ 14 rounds per minute is the figure given by Vickers. Quoted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1901
  3. ^ Clarke 2004
  4. ^ a b US Army Handbook, 1916
  5. ^ Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 239. They quote 16 lb weight for the shrapnel shell on page 239, this is assumed to be a misprint as they correctly quote 12.5 lb on page 46
  6. ^ Headlam 1934, page 104
  7. ^ Farndale 1988, page 293
  8. ^ Farndale 1988, page 291
  9. ^ Farndale 1988, page 290
  10. ^ Farndale 1988, page 338-339
  11. ^ Farndale 1988, page 299
  12. ^ Treatise on Ammunition. 10th Edition, 1915. War Office, UK. Page 415-419

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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