QF 2.95-inch Mountain Gun

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QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun
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British QF 2.95 inch mountain gun, Cameroons and Togoland campaign, WWI
Type Mountain gun
Place of origin United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1897 - World War II
Used by British Empire
USA
Philippines
Wars World War I, World War II
Production history
Manufacturer Vickers
Specifications
Weight 236 lb (107 kg) gun
830 lb (380 kg) total
Barrel length 31.6 in (0.80 m) bore;
35.85 in (0.911 m) total[1]
Width 32 in (0.81 m)
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 Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Recoil 14 in (360 mm); short recoil hydro-spring
Carriage Wheeled, box trail, assembly
Elevation -10° - 27°[1]
Traverse 0°
Rate of fire 14 rounds per minute[2]
Muzzle velocity 920 ft/s (280 m/s)[1]
Maximum firing range 4,825 yd (4,412 m)[3]

The QF 2.95 inch mountain gun was the designation given by the British to a Vickers 75mm calibre 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',[4] 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.

Service history

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

British service

The weapon was not adopted by the British Army or the Indian Army, which used the BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun and later the BL 2.75 inch Mountain Gun, but it was used from 1901 by the defence forces of some British African colonies as part of the Royal 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.

Thirty guns were originally supplied to West Africa (Sierra Leone, Gold Coast and Nigeria).[5] Guns involved in the West Africa campaign were Sierra Leone Company RGA (6 guns), Gold Coast Battery WAFF (6 guns), 1st and 2nd Nigerian Battery WAFF (6 guns each).[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

In one action, Corporal Awudo Kano and five Nigerian gunners stayed by their gun 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.[9]

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] Approximately 50 were issued to the Filipino Army artillery regiments. The US Army Philippine Division had one battalion of the 23rd Artillery (Philippine Scouts) equipped with the 2.95 in mountain gun.[10][11]

Ammunition

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]

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 No65AMkILFuze.jpg
British Double Common round
British Shrapnel round
No. 65A Fuze

US ammunition

According to the US manual of 1916 the 18 lb (8.2 kg) "Double explosive" shell was no longer in US use.

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US Cartridge case
US HE shells
US Shrapnel shell

Gallery

  • Pack Howitzer2.jpg
    Front view of British example on display at US Army Ordnance Museum
  • QF2.95inchMountainGun3.jpg
    Side view of British example on display at US Army Ordnance Museum
  • QF2.95inchMountainGunDiagram.jpg
    gun & carriage diagram
  • QF2.95inchMountainGunMule.jpg
    transportation of gun barrel by mule in US use
  • QF 2.95 inch Vickers-Maxim mountain gun.jpg

    Illustration from Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary

See also

Surviving examples

At the Military Museum in Bogota, Colombia
  • A British example is on display at US Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA[13]
  • HM Royal Armouries Fort Nelson, Fareham, Hampshire, UK[14]
  • At the Military Museum in Bogota, Colombia
  • U.S. Army Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, USA

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 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. ↑ Headlam 1934, page 104
  5. ↑ Farndale 1988, page 293
  6. ↑ Farndale 1988, page 291
  7. ↑ Farndale 1988, page 290
  8. ↑ Farndale 1988, page 338-339
  9. ↑ Farndale 1988, page 299
  10. ↑ The Fall of the Philippines – U. S. Army in World War II, p. 21.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Treatise on Ammunition. 10th Edition, 1915. War Office, UK. Page 415-419
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/pav1/mountaingun.htm

Bibliography

Further reading

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External links

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