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SURVIVING GUN FILE (# 1283)
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Great Britain

BLC 15-Pdr field gun

Light artillery

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Location :
Australia
Sydney, NSW
North Head Artillery School
Coordinates : Lat : -33.81770 / Long : 151.29720
General comments on this surviving gun :
After closure of North Head the collection was moved to storage at Bandiana awaiting setup of display at Puckapunyal VIC. Australian Army Artillery Museum Collects, preserves and exhibits the history of Artillery in Australia.General and Research Enquiries: peter.armstrong1@defence.gov.au

The Artillery Collection is currently in storage pending the development of a new facility at Puckapunyal Military Area, near Seymour in Victoria. A small display of the Museum's collection can be viewed at the Australian Army Tank Museum. http://www.army.gov.au/our-history/army-museum-network/corps-museums. 'Unfortunately due to heightened security restrictions and the museum's location within an active army base, it is currently not open to the public'



Identical items in the same location : 1
Items covered by this file : 1

This gun has been noticed by a contributor, but no picture proof of its existence was received


Historic and technical information
Denomination :     BLC 15-Pdr field gun Origin :       ( Royal Arsenal)          

Historic context :

Starting in 1904, the Ordnance BL 15-Pdr, standard gun of the British field artillery only since 1892 but already technologically obsolete, began to be replaced by the modern QF 18-Pdr field gun.

At the exception of the old model guns kept untouched in some training units or on some remote fronts, 526 of them were converted into Quick Firing field guns from 1907. This conversion gave birth to the gun named 'BLC 15 pounder' ('BLC' = 'Breech Loading Converted').

The word 'conversion' is not representative of the huge quantity of big modifications that were given to the old gun. Here are the most important only :

  • the tube was disassembled and its trunnions removed
  • the original 3-movements breech block was replaced by a new single movement one,
  • the tube was suspended into a inverted U-shape section craddle in forged steel and equipped with a hydro-spring recoil recuperation placed over the barrel,
  • a brand new carriage with a spade was used
  • the axle seats were removed to give their place to a shield
586 such guns were built this way and used in the British territorial forces field artillery unit and in the infantry divisions of the Canadian army on the western front as soon as in 1914. They were progressively replaced by the modern QF 18-Pdr from 1916, but remained in service in Europe as anti-tank weapons, in the Middle East and in South West Africa. Numerous guns were also sent to the Italian armies.

Technical data :

  • Complete description : Ordnance Breech Loading Converted 15 pounder field gun (or 15 pounder 7 cwt)
  • Design year : 1907
  • Calibre : 76.20 mm (3 in)
  • Weight in firing position : 1441 kg (3,177 lb)
  • Weight for transportation :
  • Tube length in calibres : 28.00
  • Grooves : 0 unknown
  • Projectile weight : 6.35 kg (14 lb) shrapnel
  • Initial speed : 485 m/s (1590 ft/s)
  • Fire rate :
  • Range : 5260 m (5,750 yd)
  • Elevation range : -9 to +16 degrees
  • Direction range : 4 degrees total range


Sources
  • British Artillery 1914-19, Field Army Artillery           Dale Clarke                   Osprey Publishing   2004  
  • Wikipedia http://fr.wikipedia.org/