QF 12-pounder 8 cwt gun

Light field gun

QF 12-pounder 8 cwt
Royal Navy gun and crew, late 1890s
Type	Light field gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
Used by	British Empire
Wars	Second Boer War World War I
Production history
Designed	c. 1894
Specifications
Barrel length	84-inch (2.1 m) bore (28 calibres)^[1]

Shell	Separate QF, 12.5 pounds (5.67 kg) Shrapnel, Common Lyddite
Calibre	3-inch (76.2 mm)
Carriage	Wheeled, box trail
Muzzle velocity	1,585 feet per second (483 m/s)^[2]
Maximum firing range	5,100 yards (4,660 m)^[2]

The Ordnance QF 12-pounder 8 cwt was a Royal Navy "landing gun" intended for navy use ashore. "8 cwt" refers to the weight of the gun and breech, approximately 8 cwt = 8 x 112 lb (51 kg) = 896 lb (406 kg). This was how the British often differentiated between guns of the same calibre or weight of shell. This gun had a short barrel and was of relatively low power compared to the 12 pounders of 12 and 18 long cwt (610 and 910 kg), although it fired the same shells.

History

Fourteen were converted into anti-aircraft guns as Mk I*.^[3]

The Royal Navy eventually replaced the gun with the 3.7-inch (94 mm) mountain howitzer.^[4]

Combat use

Second Boer War

The gun was used in the early stages of the Second Boer War in Natal.^[5]

World War I

In action at Fort Dachang, Cameroons, 1915

These guns were employed on land in the West Africa campaign. They were also employed in the East Africa campaign ("Logan's Battery" 6th Field Battery, 2 guns, towed first by Hupmobile cars and then REO lorries).^[6]

This gun was briefly used in the Battle of Gallipoli, as the Royal Navy had supplies of ammunition for it when the army was short of ammunition for its own guns. Several guns were landed in July 1915 and operated from frontline trenches.^[4]

Surviving examples

There is a surviving example held and maintained at Devonport Field Gun Association Heritage Centre & Museum at Crownhill Fort, Plymouth. There are also three examples at the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets summer training camp at HMCS Acadia in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. They still fired regularly, although they only fire blanks for ceremonial and training purposes. One example is located at HMCS Star in Hamilton, Ontario and is in use by the Hamilton Sea Cadet Corps.^[7]

Other uses

This cannon is the type used in the famous British Royal Navy field gun competitions. The Command Field Gun competition originated in 1907 at the annual Royal Tournament and involved the competing teams manhandling a 12-pounder gun, carriage and limber over walls and across an imaginary "chasm". The last of these races was held in 1999. Another race which is still ongoing is the Brickwood's Field Gun competition that also dates to 1907 and involves pulling a gun and limber along a measured course and back, swapping the carriage wheels with the limber wheels twice.^[8]

Another example of this type of gun is the Portsmouth Gun Carriage which has been used to carry the coffin of senior naval; officers at ceremonial funerals. The gun is preserved at HMS Collingwood, a shore establishment at Fareham in Hampshire.^[9]

In popular culture

The RN Field Gun may be seen 'in action' in the 1957 film "Yangtse Incident", when a group of these guns was used on the banks of the River Orwell to depict Chinese PLA gun batteries on the North bank of the Yangtze, which fired on HMS Amethyst as she steamed up to Nanking in April 1949.

Notes and references

^ Text Book of Gunnery 1902, Page 337
^ ^a ^b 1585 ft/s with 13¾ oz Cordite size 10. Text Book of Gunnery 1902, Page 337
^ Friedman, p. 115
^ ^a ^b Clarke 2004, page 40
^ Hall December 1971
^ Farndale 1988
^ "Harold A. Skaarup Web page". silverhawkauthor.com. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
^ "The QF 12 pounder 8 cwt Naval Field Gun". navyhistory.au. Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. June 1982. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
^ Dykes, Godfrey (28 March 2021). "The Portsmouth Gun Carriage". www.commsmuseum.co.uk. RN Communications Branch Museum. 18 April 2024

Bibliography

Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE Archived 2012-07-12 at archive.today
Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914–1919. Field Army Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004 ISBN 1-84176-688-7
General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery : Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914–18. Royal Artillery Institution, London, 1988. ISBN 1-870114-05-1
Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
Major Darrell Hall, "Guns in South Africa 1899–1902 Part III and IV" The South African Military History Society Military History Journal – Vol 2 No 2, December 1971
Major Darrell Hall, "THE NAVAL GUNS IN NATAL 1899-1902" The South African Military History Society Military History Journal – Vol 4 No 3, June 1978

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to QF 12 pounder 8 cwt.

YouTube Running with 3/4 Soddin Ton! RN team practice with QF 12 pdr for Navy Gun Run
For access to view the surviving example

British Empire naval weapons of the Victorian era

Smoothbore muzzle-loading cannons

Smoothbore muzzle-loading shell guns

8-inch
10-inch 86 cwt

Mortars

10-inch Blomefield
13-inch Blomefield

Howitzers

12-pounder Millar
24-pounder Millar

Rifled breechloaders (Armstrong)

Rifled muzzle-loaders (Lancaster)

68-pounder Lancaster gun

Rifled muzzle-loaders (converted)

RML 64-pounder 71 cwt

Rifled muzzle-loaders (Woolwich)

Breech-loaders (new pattern)

Quick-firing guns

Light weapons

Torpedoes

Whitehead torpedo

v t e British Empire naval weapons of the First World War
Monitor guns	BL 9.2-inch Mk VI BL 9.2-inch Mk VIII BL 9.2-inch Mk X BL 9.2-inch Mk XII BL 12-inch Mk VIII BL 14-inch Mk II (US built) BL 15-inch Mk I BL 18-inch Mk I
Capital ship main armament	Vickers 10-inch 45 cal. EOC 10-inch 45 cal. BL 12-inch Mk VIII BL 12-inch Mk IX BL 12-inch Mk X BL 12-inch Mk XI & XII EOC 12-inch 45 cal. Mk XIII BL 13.5-inch Mk I – IV BL 13.5-inch Mk V BL 13.5-inch Mk VI EOC 14-inch 45 cal. Mk I BL 15-inch Mk I
Armoured cruiser main armament	BL 7.5-inch Mk I BL 9.2-inch Mk X BL 9.2-inch Mk XI
Secondary armament and light cruiser main armament	QF 12-pounder 18 cwt QF 14-pounder Maxim-Nordenfelt QF 14-pounder Mk I & II QF 4-inch Mk III BL 4-inch Mk VII QF 4-inch Mk V BL 4-inch Mk IX BL 5.5-inch Mk I QF 6-inch Mk I – III BL 6-inch Mk VII BL 6-inch Mk XI BL 6-inch Mk XII BL 6-inch Mk XIII-XVIII BL 7.5-inch Mk II – Mk V
Destroyer and small cruiser armament	QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mk II QF 4-inch Mk III BL 4-inch Mk VIII QF 4-inch Mk IV BL 4.7-inch Mk I
Merchant ship armament	QF 4.7-inch Mk I – IV QF 4.7-inch Mk V*
Submarine guns	BL 4-inch Mk XI QF 4-inch Mk XII
Anti-aircraft guns	QF 2-pounder "pom-pom" Mk II QF 3-inch 20 cwt QF 4-inch Mk V
Light weapons	.303 Vickers machine gun QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF 3-pounder Vickers QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss
Torpedoes	18-inch Mk V – VIII 21-inch Mk II 21-inch Mk IV
Mines	Spherical Mk I, II and III Vickers Elia mine Type H mine
Anti-submarine weapons	Type A Depth charge Type B Depth charge Type C Depth charge Type D Depth charge Type E Depth charge Type F Depth charge Type G Depth charge Cruiser Mine 7.5-inch howitzer
Landing guns	QF 12-pounder 8 cwt

v t e British Empire artillery of the First World War
Armoured vehicle guns	QF 3-pounder Vickers QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder 6 cwt
Infantry guns	1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. gun, Mk II
Field artillery	BL 12-pounder 6 cwt QF 12-pounder 8 cwt QF 12-pounder 18 cwt QF 13-pounder BL 15-pounder BLC 15-pounder QF 15-pounder QF 18-pounder QF 4-inch gun Mk III BL 4-inch gun Mk VII QF 4.5-inch howitzer
Medium & heavy artillery	QF 4.7-inch gun BL 5-inch howitzer BL 5.4-inch howitzer BL 60-pounder gun BLC 6-inch siege gun BL 6-inch gun Mk VII BL 6-inch gun Mk XIX BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 8-inch howitzer Mk I – V BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI – VIII
Siege artillery	BL 7.5-inch Mk III naval gun BL 9.2-inch howitzer BL 9.2-inch Mk X naval gun BL 12-inch howitzer BL 12-inch Mk X naval gun BL 15-inch howitzer
Mountain artillery	RML 2.5-inch mountain gun BL 10-pounder mountain gun BL 2.75-inch mountain gun QF 2.95-inch mountain gun QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer
Mortars	Garland trench mortar 3-inch Stokes mortar Vickers 1.57-inch mortar 2-inch medium mortar Newton 6-inch mortar 9.45-inch Heavy Mortar
Smoke and chemical weapons	4-inch Stokes Mortar Livens Projector Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector
Anti-aircraft guns	QF 1-pounder pom-pom QF 2-pounder "pom-pom" Mk II 75 mm AA gun QF 12-pounder 12 cwt QF 13-pounder 6 cwt QF 13-pounder Mk IV QF 13-pounder 9 cwt QF 3-inch 20 cwt QF 18-pounder QF 4-inch Mk V
Coastal artillery	QF 12-pounder 12 cwt QF 4-inch naval gun Mk I – III BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun BL 9.2-inch Mk IX – X naval gun RML 9-inch
Railway guns	BL 9.2-inch railway gun BL 12-inch railway gun BL 12-inch railway howitzer BL 14-inch railway gun