The British 25 Pounder

[Brian Wolfe]

Hello Everyone,

Here are some photos of a couple of 25 pounders that are at the Canadian Military Heritage Museum in Brantford, Ontario. Many thanks to the museum for allowing me to photograph their collection.

To quote Wikipedia's article,

"The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun/howitzer that was introduced into service just before WW II to replace the 18 pounder Gun and 4.5 inch Howitzer. It was the British Army's primary field piece into the 1960s. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a reasonably lethal shell in a highly mobile piece. Smaller numbers served in training the United Kingdom into the 1980's, while many Commonwealth of Nations countries used theirs until about the 1970's. Since leaving UK service the 25 pounder has been used in combat during the Battle of Mirbat in 1972 in Oman. One of the last uses of the 25 pounder in combat was by the Cypriot National Guard during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and by Kurds in N Iraq 2003. Ammunition for the weapon is currently produced by Pakistan Ordnance Factories.

Some Stats on the 25 pounder:

Designed : 1930's Variants: Marks I,II, III and Short

Weight: 1.8 tonnes Lenght: 18 ft. 2 inches (5.53 m) from muzzel brake to tip of handspike

Barrel length: 31 calibres [sic] (should this be 3.1 m?)

Width: 7 feet wheelbase (Mk I carriage)

Crew: 6 Shell: Normal, Super

Calibre: 3.45 in (87.6mm) Breech: Verticle sliding block

Recoil: Hydropneumatic Carriage: Box trail

Elevation: -5 to 45 degrees (70 degrees with modified sight mount and digging)

Traverse: 360 degrees on platform and 4 degrees left and right on carriage.

Rate of fire: 6-8 rounds/min. at Gunfire

Muzzle velocity: 1700 ft/s Charge Super

Probably more than anyone wanted to know but what the heck I there it is.

I hope you like the photos.

Cheers

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

Here a view from the rear of the gun.

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

A closeup of the breach.

[Brian Wolfe]

This is a brass plate that is on another 25 pounder that was donated to the Museum by the Royal Canadian Artillery.

Sorry for the glare.

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

This is a photo of the gun's limber.

Sorry for the blurry photo.

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

My last photo of this post shows the breach area of the gun. You can just see one of the rounds for the gun in the lower right hand corner of the photo.

Thanks for looking.

Brian

Edited August 7, 2008 by Brian Wolfe

[Brian Wolfe]

Oops, time to take a rest. Here's a better though still blurry photo.

Brian

[Guest IMHF]

I need to take a trip to this Canadian Military Heritage Museum in Brantford, Ontario.

Thank you for sharing your trip:

Lorenzo

[unit8]

South Africa used the 25 pounder and 5.5" gun well into the 1980's for training as well as in combat.

Both guns were used in Angola in 1975 and all through what is termed the Border War on the Namibian (South West African) Angolan border which ended in 1989/90.

Edited July 15, 2009 by unit8

[Brian Wolfe]

South Africa used the 25 pounder and 5.5" gun well into the 1980's for training as well as in combat.

Both guns were used in Angola in 1975 and all through what is termed the Border War on the Namibian (South West African) Angolan border which ended in 1989/90.

Thanks for adding this information to the post. It is most interesting.

Regards

Brian

[leigh kitchen]

I'm checking for photos of one that stands above the front door of the RSL in Darwin, Australlia - it's a nice surprise to walk down a road & see a 25 Pdr perched above a doorway.

[Kev in Deva]

The Irish Defence Forces, only in the last couple of years,

retired them from service with the Reserve Defence Forces as well.

Main reason was getting spare parts I believe.

Kevin in Deva. :beer:

[Hugh]

Some Stats on the 25 pounder:

Designed : 1930's Variants: Marks I,II, III and Short

Weight: 1.8 tonnes Lenght: 18 ft. 2 inches (5.53 m) from muzzel brake to tip of handspike

Barrel length: 31 calibres [sic] (should this be 3.1 m?)

Width: 7 feet wheelbase (Mk I carriage)

Crew: 6 Shell: Normal, Super

Calibre: 3.45 in (87.6mm) Breech: Verticle sliding block

Recoil: Hydropneumatic Carriage: Box trail

Elevation: -5 to 45 degrees (70 degrees with modified sight mount and digging)

Traverse: 360 degrees on platform and 4 degrees left and right on carriage.

Rate of fire: 6-8 rounds/min. at Gunfire

Muzzle velocity: 1700 ft/s Charge Super

[unquote}

Just a quick note on barrel length. This is typically expressed by gunners in calibers. The caliber of this piece is 3.45 in.; hence the length of the barrel is 3.45 x 31 or 106.95 inches. That's ~ 8.9 feet.

Just another bit of militrivia.

Best,

Hugh