Ordnance, QF 3.7-inch howitzer is a

mountain gun Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are generally capable of being taken apart to make smaller loads for transport by horses, humans, mules, tractor ...

, used by British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

armies in the First and Second World Wars, and between the wars.

History

The

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...

first requested a modern

in 1906 to replace the BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun, which had been hastily developed after 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 ...

, but itself had several shortcomings. In particular, the shell weight was seen as too light and the gun lacked any recoil absorber or recuperator, meaning the gun had to be relaid after every shell was fired. However, financial constraints delayed production of the 3.7-inch weapon until 1915. As a stop-gap, the barrel of the 10-pounder gun was mounted on an updated carriage to produce the 2.75 inch Mountain Gun.

First World War

The 3.7-inch howitzer was first introduced in 1917, and was used in action in that year in the

Mesopotamian Campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

(modern Iraq area). The 22nd (Derajat) Indian Frontier Force mountain battery arrived in the East Africa campaign on 18 December 1916, when they relieved the 28th Battery which returned to India. They appear to have re-equipped from the 10-pounder mountain gun to the 3.7-inch howitzer while in East Africa, and first used the new weapon in action in an attack on German positions at Medo, 11 April 1918.

Interwar years

The 3.7-inch howitzer superseded the 2.75-inch mountain gun following the

First World War 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, ...

. It was used by mountain artillery regiments of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and the Indian Artillery, and saw much service on the North West Frontier of India between the wars.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the weapon equipped artillery units engaged in the North African Campaign (

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

), the Italian Campaign, the

Kokoda Campaign The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was prima ...

, and Burma Campaign, and was also used in the Netherlands and

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

fighting in 1944–45 by units originally destined for mountain warfare in Greece. In the latter theatre, on occasion the gun was dismantled and manually hauled up to the upper floors of buildings to provide close support in urban fighting. A lightened version was used briefly by

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

formations. Several were supplied to the French Army after 1945; one is on display at the Vietnam Army Museum in Hanoi while another is displayed at the Zone 5 Military Museum, Danang. It was also used on Close Support versions of the A9 and A10 Cruiser Tanks in place of the standard 2 pounder, though mostly to fire smoke shells. During the war the gun, and its ammunition, were also manufactured in other Commonwealth countries, including South Africa, by the ISCOR (Iron and Steel Corporation of South Africa), and India. South Africa also produced modified versions of the gun.British Artillery in the Second World War: The 3.7-inch howitzer
/ref> The gun was finally declared obsolete by the British Army in 1960, although it had not seen service since 1945.

Post War

After the war, the gun was used by French forces during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

and by

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

during the

Indo-Pakistani wars Since the Partition of India, Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of Dominion of India, India and Dominion of Pakistan, Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and m ...

of 1965 and

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

. The "Mujib Battery" of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

used this gun in 1971's

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

. They were provided by

to the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

Details

The weapon was designed to be broken into eight mule loads, for transport over difficult terrain. The heaviest single section is the

interrupted screw Breech from Russian 122 mm M1910 howitzer, modified and combined with 105 mm H37 howitzer barrel An interrupted screw or interrupted thread is a mechanical device typically used in the breech of artillery guns. It is believed to have b ...

breech, which weighs . Given an open gun position, a practised crew could have the guns unloaded from the mules, reassembled and deployed ready for action in about two minutes. The 3.7-inch howitzer's adjustable suspension system allowed it to be deployed on almost any position, even those too uneven or with too steep a gradient to allow field artillery to be sited. The process of removing the howitzer from a position and reloading it onto the gun mules involved much more lifting and securing loads than deploying it, but could be accomplished in three minutes in favourable conditions. The howitzer has a

split trail A gun carriage is a frame and mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also used ...

, the first British weapon to do so, which allows firing at very high angles (a useful feature in mountainous terrain). It also has a large rectangular shield to protect the crew from small-arms fire, but this was often omitted to save weight. When it was first introduced, the howitzer had two wooden wheels and was light enough be towed by two horses. Later marks have pneumatic tyres and could be towed by any light vehicle, such as the

Bren Carrier The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...

jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...

. The propellant casing had five "charge zones", but HE was restricted to no more than "charge four", to prevent premature detonation of the shell. The Australian Army did employ charge five in Papua New Guinea in emergencies – the gun crews referred to it as "O'Hara's charge".

Ammunition

File:QF 3.7 inch mountain howitzer cartridge 8 oz 9 drams cordite MD or RDB size 3.75 diagrams.jpg, 8 oz 9 dram

cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom since 1889 to replace black powder as a military propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burn ...

cartridge File:QF 3.7 inch mountain howitzer shrapnel shell diagram.jpg,

Shrapnel shell Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions which carried many individual bullets close to a target area and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike targets individually. They relied almo ...

File:QF 3.7 inch mountain howitzer HE shell Mark I diagram.jpg, Mark I HE shell File:QF 3.7 inch mountain howitzer gas shell Mark I diagram.jpg, Mark I gas shell

Surviving examples

Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London
*1942 Mk I Barrel on Mk II Carriage, at Imperial War Museum Duxford, UK. *

Bangladesh Military Museum Bangabandhu Military Museum is a military museum of Bangladesh. Administered by the Bangladesh Army, the museum is located right beside the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre at Bijoy Sarani of the capital Dhaka. The museum has a co ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

Israel Defense Forces History Museum The Israel Defense Forces History Museum ( he, בתי האוסף, Batei HaOsef, ''lit.'' The Collection Houses) is a museum dedicated to the history of Israel's military, from the underground organizations active during the British Mandate for P ...

(Batey ha-Osef Museum),

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Army Memorial Museum, Waiouru, New Zealand
*Vietnam Army Museum, Hanoi * Zone 5 Military Museum, Danang *The

War Museum of Athens The Athens War Museum ( el, Πολεμικό Μουσείο Αθήνας), established on July 18, 1975, is the museum of the Greek Armed Forces. Its purpose is the exhibition of weapon artifacts and the relevant research in the history of war. It ...

*Example at GEM Homes, Johannesburg South Africa, to be restored shortly (pictures to follow) *Example at Lenz Military Base, Johannesburg, South Africa, to be restored soon. (pictures to follow) *Outside the Military Police Brigade HQ at Camp Cropper Iraq. (as of Jun 2008)

Notes and references

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Handbook of the Q.F., 3.7-inch Mountain Howitzer, Mark I, 1921.
Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
Gun Drill for 3.7-inch Q.F. Howitzer Mark I Carriage Mark I 1921,1923
Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090219124649/http://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/guns/ ra39-45.pwpbr>3.7-inch mountain howitzer at Landships
{{DEFAULTSORT:QF 03.7 inch mountain howitzer World War I howitzers World War I artillery of the United Kingdom World War II artillery of the United Kingdom Mountain artillery World War I mountain artillery World War II mountain artillery 94 mm artillery