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SURVIVING GUN FILE (# 850)
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Great Britain

BL 6-in. Mk.XIX gun

Heavy artillery

Contributor :
(Wikimedia commons) RCButcher      http://commons.wikimedia.org/
     
     
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Location :
South Africa
Johannesburg
South African Museum of Military History
Coordinates : Lat : -26.16330 / Long : 28.04220
General comments on this surviving gun :


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


Historic and technical information
Denomination :     BL 6-in. Mk.XIX gun Origin :       ( Vickers)          

Historic context :

The BL 6in Mk VII gun, in service since the beginning of the war, gave satisfactory results when considering the shell destructive power, but had an insufficient range for counter-battery missions (12500 m), limited by the too little elevation angles.

In 1916, Vickers proposed a variation of the 6 inches tube mounted on a 8 inches Mk VI carriage, and equipped with a modern hydro-pneumatic recoil recuperating system with variable course. The BL 6 inches Mk XIX gun that was created that way had a considerably improved range (17000 m), while keeping the same destructive power. Moreover, the new gun was half as heavy as its cumbersome 'father', and was therefore much more adapted to the battlefields use.

310 such guns were produced during WW1, but only 108 of them were on the front a the end of the war. They never entirely replaced the old Mk VII. These guns stayed in service until 1940 in numerous countries including the USA. Some of them were used by Brasil afterwards.

Technical data :

  • Complete description : Ordnance Breech Loading 6 inchesgun Mark XIX
  • Design year : 1916
  • Calibre : 152.40 mm (6 in)
  • Weight in firing position : 10338 kg
  • Weight for transportation :
  • Tube length in calibres : 36.50
  • Grooves : 0 unknown
  • Projectile weight : 45.4 kg
  • Initial speed : 733 m/s
  • Fire rate :
  • Range : 17150 m
  • Elevation range : 0 à +48 degrees
  • Direction range : 8 degrees total range


Sources
  • Allied Artillery of World War One           Ian V. Hogg                   Crowood   1998  
  • British Artillery 1914-19, Heavy Artillery       Dale Clarke                   Osprey Publishing   2005