QF 13-pounder gun

Ordnance QF 13-pounder
Ordnance QF 13-pounder
	Battery and detachments of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) near Belah, Palestine, March 1918
Type	Light field gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1904–1940 (UK)
Used by	British Empire
Wars	World War I, Easter Rising, World War II
Production history
No. built	416
Variants	Mk I, Mk II
Specifications
Mass	Barrel & breech; 685 lb (311 kg);; Total 2,236 lb (1,014 kg)
Barrel length	Bore 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m);; Total 6 ft (1.8 m)
Crew	9
Shell	Fixed QF 76.2 x 313 mm R
Shell weight	12.5 lb (5.7 kg) Shrapnel, later HE
Calibre	3-inch (76.2 mm) L/23
Recoil	Hydro-spring, constant, 41 in (1.0 m)
Carriage	Wheeled, pole trail
Elevation	-5°to +16°
Traverse	4° L & R
Muzzle velocity	1,675 ft/s (511 m/s)
Maximum firing range	5,900 yd (5,400 m)

The Ordnance QF 13-pounder^[a] (quick-firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I.

History[]

Photo showing gun team galloping into action

It was developed as a response to combat experience gained in the Boer War and entered service in 1904, replacing the Ehrhard QF 15-pounder and BL 12-pounder 6 cwt. It was intended as a rapid-firing and highly-mobile yet reasonably powerful field gun for Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) batteries supporting Cavalry brigades, which were expected to be engaged in mobile open warfare. It was developed in parallel with the QF 18-pounder used by field artillery.

The original Mk I barrel was wire wound.^[2] Later Mk II barrels had a tapered inner A tube^[1] which was pressed into the outer tube. A hydro-spring recoil system was mounted above the barrel. The carriage was a pole trail type with two seats for the gunners and a protective shield.^[4]

The first British artillery round on the Western Front in World War I was fired by No. 4 gun of E Battery Royal Horse Artillery on 22 August 1914, northeast of Harmignies in Belgium.^[5]

It saw action most famously at the Battle of Le Cateau in August 1914 as the British Expeditionary Force retreated from Mons.

It was used to great effect by "L" Bty, Royal Horse Artillery in its famous defensive action on September 1, 1914, at Néry, France, for which 3 Victoria Crosses were awarded. The medals,^[6] and No. 6 gun and limber involved in this action,^[7]^[8] are held in the collection of the Imperial War Museum.

From late 1914, when the Western Front settled into trench warfare, the 13-pounder was found to be too light to be truly effective against prepared defensive positions. As a result, a few RHA batteries that were not supporting cavalry formations converted to 18-pounder guns and 4.5-inch howitzers. However, it was retained in the British and Canadian cavalry brigades on the Western Front.^[9] and also used throughout the war in batteries (both RHA and Territorial Force) supporting cavalry and mounted formations in Palestine and Mesopotamia.^[10]

Batteries normally carried 176 rounds per gun. The gun and its filled limber (24 rounds) weighed 3,368 lb (1,528 kg) and was towed by a 6 horse team. All members of the gun detachments were mounted on their own horses.

As the war progressed the increasing air activity created a requirement for a medium anti-aircraft gun. Some 13-pounders were slightly modified to become "Ordnance QF 13 pdr Mk III" and mounted on high-angle mounts to produce what became known as the 13-pounder 6 cwt anti-aircraft gun.

In 1940, some 13-pounders were brought out of store for use as emergency anti-tank guns, mounted in pill boxes,^[11] for the home defence of Britain against possible German invasion.

13 pdr state saluting guns of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery in the 2009 Trooping the Colour

For combat purposes the gun is long obsolete, yet it remains in service with the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery for ceremonial purposes and as state saluting guns.^[1]

13-pounder 6 cwt QF Mark V naval gun[]

This was a pedestal-mounted adaptation by Vickers Limited of the Mark I horse artillery gun, intended to arm the Royal Navy's new Motor Launches in World War I. 650 examples were constructed, including 250 made in the United States.^[12] Because of the German U-boat campaign, many of the guns were used on defensively equipped merchant ships, some being removed from motor launches for that purpose.^[13]

Ammunition[]


Mk II Shrapnel round	No. 80 T. & P. (Time and Percussion) Fuze	Shrapnel shell on display at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra 234 balls, 41/lb (90/kg)^[2]	Sectioned high explosive round, which contained 9oz 4dr (262 gm) Amatol explosive (white area). Cartridge held 1 lb 3.9 oz (536 gm) Cordite propellant (simulated with bundle of cut string).^[2] Shell from the Imperial War Museum collection.^[14]

Surviving examples[]

A 13-pounder of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, firing a gun salute in Hyde Park, London in April 2018.

With the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, London
Imperial War Museum collection:

The Néry Gun and limber, used during the action at Néry, 1 September 1914.^[7]^[8]

No.4 Gun, E Battery Royal Horse Artillery; fired the first British artillery round on the Western Front, August 1914.^[4]

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa
Fort Seclin – 1914/1918 Museum (Between Ypres and Vimy – Near Fromelles)
Musee des Abris, Albert, France. (Mk. 2)
There are 6 examples in South Africa:
- 1 restored in 2009,
- 1 at THA HQ in Johannesburg,
- 2 with the NFA in Durban,
- 2 at the National Memorial in Potchefstroom.
Mark V naval gun recovered from a sunken merchant ship, is on display at the harbour in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
There is one example on display in the Tsumeb Museum in Namibia. The gun was used by the THA at the Battle of Sandfontein on 26 September 1914 and was captured by German Troops and later dumped into Lake Otjikoto prior to the German surrender in June 1915.

The Néry Gun, on display at IWM London, April 2008

No 4 Gun E Battery RHA, on display at IWM North, February 2010

13-pounder at the Canadian War Museum

Popular culture[]

A QF 13-pounder features in the Big Guns (Dad's Army), where it is supplied to the Warmington-on-Sea platoon for home defence.^[15]

References[]

Notes[]

^ British artillery denoted guns by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately 13 pounds (5.9 kg), and mortars and howitzers by calibre.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Clarke 2004
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 58
^ "77-77 MM CALIBRE CARTRIDGES". www.quarryhs.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
^ ^a ^b Imperial War Museum (2013). "QF 13 pdr Mk 1 (ORD 101)". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
^ Farndale 1986, page 10
^ Imperial War Museum. "Search results for "Néry" [in category 'medals and decorations']". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
^ ^a ^b Imperial War Museum (2013). "QF 13 pdr Mk 1 (Nery Gun) (ORD 102)". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
^ ^a ^b Imperial War Museum (2013). "Limber for QF 13 pdr Mk 1 (Nery Gun) (ORD 102.2)". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
^ Farndale 1986, page 388
^ Farndale 1988, page 380
^ Cruickshank 2001
^ Friedman 2011, p. 112.
^ Royal Navy Motor Launches: Armament
^ Imperial War Museum (2013). "Round 13 Pdr HE (Sectioned) (MUN 504)". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
^ Dad's Army "The Big Gun" on YouTube

Sources[]

Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914–1919. Field Army Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004
Cruickshank, Dan, Invasion – Defending Britain from Attack. Boxtree, 2001 ISBN 0-7522-2029-2
General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Western Front 1914–18. Published by Royal Artillery Institution, 1986. ISBN 1-870114-00-0
General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914–18, Published by Royal Artillery Institution, 1988. ISBN 1-870114-05-1
Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. published by Ian Allan, London, 1972.

External links[]

The Affair at Néry, 1 September 1914. With map, illustrations and photographs
Baker, Chris. "The British artillery weapons of 1914–1918". The Long, Long Trail:The British Army in the Great War. Archived from the original on 2007-06-16.

[4] British artillery denoted guns by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately 13 pounds (5.9 kg), and mortars and howitzers by calibre.

[Clarke-1] Clarke 2004

[Hogg&Thurston-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 58

[3] "77-77 MM CALIBRE CARTRIDGES". www.quarryhs.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-09-05.

[ord101-5] Imperial War Museum (2013). "QF 13 pdr Mk 1 (ORD 101)". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 10 March 2013.

[6] Farndale 1986, page 10

[7] Imperial War Museum. "Search results for "Néry" [in category 'medals and decorations']". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 17 April 2013.

[nery-8] Imperial War Museum (2013). "QF 13 pdr Mk 1 (Nery Gun) (ORD 102)". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 10 March 2013.

[nerylimber-9] Imperial War Museum (2013). "Limber for QF 13 pdr Mk 1 (Nery Gun) (ORD 102.2)". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 10 March 2013.

[10] Farndale 1986, page 388

[11] Farndale 1988, page 380

[12] Cruickshank 2001

[FOOTNOTEFriedman2011112-13] Friedman 2011, p. 112.

[14] Royal Navy Motor Launches: Armament

[15] Imperial War Museum (2013). "Round 13 Pdr HE (Sectioned) (MUN 504)". IWM Collections Search. Retrieved 10 March 2013.

[YT-DA-16] Dad's Army "The Big Gun" on YouTube

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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