The Ordnance BL 6 inch 30cwt howitzer was a British medium

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

used in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

and early in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The qualifier "30cwt" refers to the weight of the barrel and breech together which weighed 30

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are disti ...

(cwt) : 30 × 112 lb = 3,360 lb. It can be identified by the slightly flared shape of the muzzle and large

recuperator A recuperator is a special purpose counter-flow energy recovery heat exchanger positioned within the supply and exhaust air streams of an air handling system, or in the exhaust gases of an industrial process, in order to recover the waste heat. ...

springs below the barrel.

History

Introduced 1896, based on an Indian Army design. Its original shell was

Lyddite Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from el, πικρός (''pikros''), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic ...

explosive. In 1901 a lighter shell was introduced which increased maximum range when firing from its wheeled travelling carriage to 7000 yards.Hall June 1972 These were then referred to as the "heavy" and "light" shell respectively. A 100 lb shrapnel shell was also available. It was phased out and replaced by 6 inch 26 cwt howitzer from late 1915 onwards. Also, in 1915 it received barrel, breechlock, recoil system and ammunition upgrade increasing its maximum range to 10400m (8400m with standard ammunition
(See specifications)

Combat use

BL6inch30cwtHowitzerOnSiegeCarriageDiagram

This gun was designed as a siege howitzer firing a special howitzer shell. It was designed to be fired from a static siege platform, with wheels removed, for accurate long-range shooting. When fired mounted on its normal wheeled travelling carriage, which had become standard practice for modern medium artillery, its range and accuracy diminished due to limited elevation and also lack of a modern recoil mechanism.

Second Boer War

Twelve guns were employed in South Africa in the

as part of the British siege train. It was during this campaign that the short range limitation became evident, and shell weight was traded for greater range in 1901 with the introduction of a "light" shell which increased maximum range when firing from its wheeled travelling carriage to 7000 yards. No use was found for the siege platform which allowed elevation to 70°: ”This capability was designed for distinct siege operation, and in South Africa the need for this did not arise. In this theatre the platform was an encumbrance, and it was discovered that it could be dispensed with.”

World War I

When World War I began approximately 80 guns were still available. They constituted the only true heavy artillery the British army possessed, and were heavily engaged in the early battles in France and Flanders. It was adapted to use the standard gun shell, with a slight enlargement of the chamber to produce Mk I*, allowing slightly larger propellant charges. It served in all theatres, including the Western Front, until replaced by the modern 6 inch 26 cwt howitzer from late 1915. At

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...

, where there was a lower priority for modern ordnance, the 6 inch 30 cwt was used at Helles by 14th Siege Battery RGA (4 guns), attached to 29th Division, and at Anzac by the Australian 1st Heavy Artillery Battery (2 guns from the Royal Malta Artillery, crewed by the Royal Marine Artillery, which arrived in May).CEW Bea
"THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA IN THE WAR OF 1914-1918 Volume II"
page 80. 11th Edition, published by Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1941

In Greek Service (1917–1941)

The BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer entered service with the Greek Army in late 1917, when due to shortage and obsoleteness of Greek howitzers, the British Army transferred 40 pieces to the National Defence Army Corps, which was operating in the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers to aid Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, in the autumn of 191 ...

. These pieces made up for a full Howitzer Regiment of 36 guns, composed of 3 squadrons and 3 batteries (4 guns) each, which saw action during the closing phases of the war and the Macedonian Front breakthrough. During the

Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) There have been several Greco-Turkish Wars: *Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire *Undeclared war in 1854 during the Crimean War, with Greek irregulars invading Ottoman Epirus ( Epirus Revolt of 1854) and Thessaly * Fi ...

, the Howitzer Regiment dispatched a 155 mm ''(sic)'' Howitzer Squadron from 1919 to early 1922, which was used as Army Reserve Artillery. After February 1922, the Howitzer Regiment was fully deployed in Asia Minor, but its 9 batteries were being mainly used to reinforce divisional artillery in the front sectors that were deemed dangerous for a turkish breakthrough. The BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer continued to serve in the Greek Artillery for another 18 years, but from 1932 it was already rendered "obsolete" and in need of "extensive repairs to return to operational status". Despite this, at least 16 pieces were deployed behind the " Metaxas Line" along the Greco-Bulgarian border in late 1939 and participated in the desperate battle against the invading German Army from 6 to 9 April 1941.

World War I ammunition

Operators

* - 2 howitzers, 1st Heavy Artillery Battery (see Ross Mallett
AIF 1914-1918 Artillery

* -

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...

* - 12 howitzers, Howitzer Battery (

), 36 howitzers, Howitzer Regiment (

)