BL 8-inch howitzer Mk I–V

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BL 8-inch howitzer Mk V

8inchHowitzerMk1SommeJuly11916.jpg

Eight-inch howitzer Mk V near Carnoy, Battle of Albert, July 1916
Type heavy howitzer
Place of origin United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1915−1918
Wars World War I
Production history
Designer Major M L Wilkinson, RGA [1]
No. built 91 [2]
Specifications
Weight Gun & Breech: 5 Long tons [3]
Total: 13.5 Long tons [4]
Barrel  length

Bore: 9 ft 10 in to 10 ft 5 in (3.00−3.18 m)

Total: 10 ft 8 in to 11 ft 4 in (3.25−3.45 m)
Shell HE  : 200 lb (91 kg), bagged charge
Calibre 8 inches (203 mm)
Recoil Hydro-spring constant. 18-, 13- or 13.25-inch [5]
Elevation -5°−45°
Traverse nill
Muzzle velocity Maximum: 1,301 ft/s (397 m/s)
Maximum firing range 10,500 yd (9,600 m) [6]

The BL 8-inch howitzer Mark I through to Mark V (1 to 5) [note 1] were a British improvisation developed early in the First World War to provide heavy artillery. It used shortened and bored-out barrels from various redundant naval 6-inch guns.

World War I 1914–1918 global war originating in Europe

World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.

Artillery class of weapons which fires munitions beyond the range and power of personal weapons

Artillery is a class of heavy military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry's small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls, and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the large share of an army's total firepower.

Contents

It bore no relation to the later 8-inch howitzer of the First World War, the Vickers 8-inch Mark VI to VIII howitzers which succeeded it.

BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI – VIII howitzer

The BL 8-inch howitzer Marks VI, VII and VIII were a series of British artillery siege howitzers on mobile carriages of a new design introduced in World War I. They were designed by Vickers in Britain and produced by all four British artillery manufacturers, but mainly by Armstrong, and one American company. They were the equivalents of the German 21 cm Morser 16 and in British service were used similarly to the BL 9.2-inch howitzer, but were quicker to manufacture, and more mobile. They delivered a 200 lb shell to 12,300 yards. They had limited service in the British Army in World War II before being converted to the new 7.2-inch calibre. They also equipped a small number of Australian and Canadian batteries in World War I and by the US Army in that war. They were used in small numbers by other European armies.

History

The weapon entered service in February 1915.

The Mark I–V had many relatively minor differences in the carriages and trails and Mk IV, Mk VI and QF Mk II 6-inch naval gun barrels were used. [note 2] However, the ballistic characteristics, propellant charges and shells used were similar for all Mks I–V. They are easily identified by their short thick barrel and twin recoil buffers above the barrel.

A recoil buffer is a factory-installed or aftermarket component of firearms which serves to reduce the velocity and/or cushion the impact of recoilling parts of a firearm.

Mks I–IV were no longer repaired from summer 1917 onwards. [7]

Combat use

At almost full recoil after firing 8inchHowitzerMkIRecoiling.jpg
At almost full recoil after firing

They were operated by siege batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). Holt caterpillar tractors were used to tow them into position.

Royal Garrison Artillery

The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). The RGA were the 'technical' branch of the Royal Artillery who were responsible for much of the professionalisation of technical gunnery that was to occur during the First World War. It was originally established to man the guns of the British Empire's forts and fortresses, including coastal artillery batteries, the heavy gun batteries attached to each infantry division and the guns of the siege artillery. The RGA was amalgamated with the RFA in 1924, from when the only two arms within the Royal Regiment of Artillery are the Royal Artillery and the Royal Horse Artillery.

Holt tractor

The Holt tractors were a range of continuous track haulers built by the Holt Manufacturing Company, which was named after Benjamin Holt.
Between 1908 and 1913, twenty-seven of the first 100 Holt caterpillar track-type tractors were used on the Los Angeles Aqueduct project, which provided a good proving ground for these machines.

Mks I–V were limited by a short range and high weight, being 4–5 tons heavier than the succeeding Mk VI which was designed as a howitzer and hence had a much lighter barrel.

The improvised nature of the design led to failures such as premature explosion and unreliability in action, and difficulties of maintenance in workshops. There were also early quality-control problems with British mass production of ammunition in 1915 and early 1916 : "the 8-inch fuses failed so often that the battlefield was littered with unexploded 8-inch shells". [8]

Despite their shortcomings they were generally considered a success :

"They were monstrous things and extremely heavy, but the machinery of the guns was very simple and that's why they did so extremely well and didn't give nearly as much trouble as some of the more complicated guns that came to appear later on. One was the very first to be made and it was marked, 'Eight-inch Howitzer No. 1 Mark I' so we called that gun, 'The Original'. It was marvellously accurate". Second Lieutenant Montague Cleeve, 36th Siege Artillery Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. [9]

They remained in use on the Western Front throughout the First World War as Britain's need for heavy artillery increased and was never fully met by production of modern equipment.

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

  1. ↑ I.e. models 1 through 5. Britain used Roman numerals to designate "Marks" or versions of guns until after World War II. Hence this article describes the first five models of British BL 8-inch howitzer.
  2. ↑ Mk I used barrels from BLC guns Mk I/IV; Mk II & III used barrels from BL Mk IV or VI; Mk IV used BLC Mk I/VI adapted for Mk IV carriage; Mk V used QF Mk II barrels converted to BL (total of 63). Details from Clarke 2005, page 34, and Tony DiGiulian's website Britain 6"/40 (15.2 cm) QF Marks I, II and III

Related Research Articles

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BL 60-pounder gun

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BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer

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QF 3-inch 20 cwt

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QF 4-inch naval gun Mk I – III QF 4 inch naval gun Mk I – III

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References

  1. ↑ Clarke, page 34. Major Wilkinson suggested the use of bored-out and shortened 6-inch (152 mm) naval gun barrels.
  2. ↑ National Archives MUN5/373/9227 : Mk 1 - 12 (Mar - Jul 15); Mk 2 - 6 (May); Mk 3–6 May Jun; Mk 4 - 8 Oct; Mk 5 - 4 Dec, + 59 1916.
  3. ↑ Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 152. 5 tons is a rounded average for weight of gun with breech. Details: How Mk I 5 ton 6 cwt; Mk II 4 ton 19 3/4 cwt; Mk III 5 ton 2 1/4 cwt; Mk IV 5 ton 6 cwt;Mk V 5 ton 1 cwt
  4. ↑ Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 152. 13.5 tons is a rounded average for total weight of gun and carriage. Carriage averaged 8 ton 8 cwt. Weights for the carriages with gun : Carriage Mk I with Mk I how : 13 ton 13 cwt; Carriage Mk II with how : 13 ton 11 cwt; Carriage Mk III with how 13 ton 3 cwt; Carriage Mk IV with how 13 ton 3 cwt; Carriage Mk V with how 13 ton 5 cwt
  5. ↑ Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 153. Carriage Mk I 18-inch; Mk II, Mk 5 13-inch; Mk III, Mk IV 13.25-inch
  6. ↑ Clarke, page 35
  7. ↑ National Archives MUN5/373/9227
  8. ↑ Farndale 1986, page 135
  9. ↑ Transcription of an interview. IWM Sound: M.S. Cleeve, AC 7310, Reel 2. Quoted from "The Somme" by Peter Hart, published by Cassell, 2006. Page 82.

Bibliography

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