18 pdr QF field gun M. 1904

 

 

 

 

British designation :

Ordnance QF 18-pdr gun Mk. I or II on carriage field QF 18-pdr gun Mk. I or II

Calibre :

83.8mm L/29.36

Weight of the barrel :

455 kg

Weight of the carriage :

768 kg

Weight in action :

1223 kg

Weight of the gun limber :

745 kg

Weight in marching order :

1968 kg

Weight of ammunition limber :

913 kg

Weight of the caisson :

953 kg

Weight of ammunition wagon :

1866 kg

Length of the whole gun :

4.170 m

Barrel length :

2.460 m

Rifling

length :

2.040 m – 23.34 calibres

twist :

uniform, right-handed, 1 in 30 calibres

Barrel grooves

number :

18

depth :

1 mm

width :

9.8 mm

Height of the line of fire :

940 mm 

Ammunition

 

Cartridge

length :

295 mm

weight :

1.3 kg

charge :

650 g of cordite

H.E. Shell

weight :

8.4 kg – charge : 370 g Amatol

length :

552.5 mm

fuze :

Graze H.E. Fuze No. 100

Shrapnel

weight :

8.4 kg – charge : 50 g of black powder

364 bullets x 11 g

length :

552.5 mm

fuze :

Time and Percussion Fuze No. 80 Mk V

Muzzle velocity :

491 m/s

Max. range :

5760 m

Elevation :

+ 16° / - 5°

Traversing angle :

8°

Recoil :

1140 mm

Wheels

weight :

81 kg each

height :

1.43 m

track :

1.68 m

Transport :

drawn by eight or six horses

Ammunition :

gun limber – 24 shells, wagon limber – 28 shells, wagon body – 48 shells

12 ammunition wagons for every battery

Remarks :

Quick firing field guns, hydro-spring recoil mechanism, single-action interrupted-screw breech, traverse on pivot. The gun was equipped with aiming circle and Goerz panorama telescope, and was fitted for an independent line of sight. It could fire also smoke, incendiary and gas shells; H.E. shell was introduced only in September 1914.

By the outbreak of war in 1914, 1225 guns had been produced, including 99 in India, by Armstrong Whitworth, Vickers and Woolwich Ordnance factory, joined during the war by Beardmore and the American firm Bethlehem Steel. Total wartime production 1914–1918 was 9908 guns and 6926 carriages. In 1915 the Bulgarian Army captured 8 of these guns, and in July 1916 the Inspection of the Artillery ordered to repair them and commissioned shells for them in Germany. However, there is no evidence of their use in combat.