QF 13-pounder Mk IV AA gun

QF 13 pounder Mk IV anti-aircraft gun
QF 13 pounder Mk IV anti-aircraft gun
	A posed photo from early in World War I, showing gunners setting fuzes
Type	Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1915 - 1918
Used by	British Empire
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Elswick Ordnance Company
Manufacturer	Elswick Ordnance Company
Produced	1914
No. built	6
Specifications
Barrel length	Bore: 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m);; Total: 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m)
Shell	12.5 pounds (5.67 kg) Shrapnel; later HE
Calibre	3-inch (76.2 mm)
Breech	Nordenfelt eccentric screw
Recoil	Hydro-spring
Carriage	high-angle mounting on lorry
Elevation	0° - 85°
Traverse	360°
Muzzle velocity	1,600 ft/s (490 m/s) approx.

The Ordnance QF 13 pounder Mk IV anti-aircraft gun was an Elswick Ordnance commercial 3 inch 13 pounder gun of which 6 were supplied during World War I. It is unrelated to other British Mks of 13 pounder.

History[]

Gunner of 99th Anti-aircraft Section at Salonika, with gun mounted on a Thornycroft lorry.

Elswick Ordnance had already developed the gun as a commercial venture and supplied the existing 6 guns to the British government in 1915 when the need for anti-aircraft guns became urgent.^[2] All 6 were eventually sent to the Western Front and then various other theatres. Precise theatres of service are difficult to ascertain due to writers often not differentiating between various Mks of 13 pounder guns. 2 guns are known to have been operated by 99th Anti-Aircraft Section at Salonika from July 1917 until the end of the war.^[3]

It is visibly identified by having 2 recoil/recuperator cylinders above the barrel. The cylinder immediately above the barrel is slightly shorter than the barrel, and the top cylinder is slightly longer than the barrel. The overall appearance is of a standard 13 pounder with an additional, slightly longer, recuperator cylinder on top. The gun breech also differed from standard British practise, in that it used a Nordenfelt breech similar to that of the French 75, but inverted : the breech was opened and closed by rotating it about an axis near the top of the barrel, which uncovered and covered the slot for entering the cartridge, rather than unscrewing and swinging it out as with the typical British Welin or Asbury breech.

Notes[]

^ ^a ^b ^c Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 63
^ Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 62
^ War Diary of 99th AA Section, 7 January 1918 refers explicitly to 13 pdr 6 cwt Mark IV guns. National Archives, Kew, UK

References[]

I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918. London:Ian Allan, 1972.
Brigadier NW Routledge, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Anti-Aircraft Artillery, 1914-55. London: Brassey's, 1994

Surviving examples[]

External links[]

[Hogg&Thurston1972page63-1] Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 63

[Hogg&Thurston1972page62-2] Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 62

[3] War Diary of 99th AA Section, 7 January 1918 refers explicitly to 13 pdr 6 cwt Mark IV guns. National Archives, Kew, UK

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t 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

QF 13-pounder Mk IV AA gun

Contents

History[]

Notes[]

See also[]

References[]

Surviving examples[]

External links[]