The Ordnance BL 5-inch howitzer was initially introduced to provide the
Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...
with continuing explosive shell capability following the decision to concentrate on
shrapnel for field guns in the 1890s.
Combat service
Sudan Campaign
The weapon was used by the
Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...
and served successfully at the
Battle of Omdurman
The Battle of Omdurman, also known as the Battle of Karary, was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert ...
in 1898. During that campaign they gained the distinction of being the first British guns to fire the new
Lyddite shells in action.
Second Boer War
Major D Hall states that in the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
the Lyddite shells often failed to detonate; the gun was too heavy to be used as a field howitzer, and for siege use its range was too short and shell too light. However, it achieved some success in
Natal when able to get close enough to bombard
Boer
Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...
s in
trenches
A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).
In geology, trenches res ...
.
World War I
By 1908 it was obsolete and replaced in British Regular Army brigades by the modern
QF 4.5-inch howitzer.
Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...
brigades, however, continued to use the howitzer in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
into 1916, including notably at the ANZAC and Suvla beachheads, Gallipoli, and in the
East African campaign.
A lighter 40-pound (18.14 kg) shell with
Amatol
Amatol is a highly explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate. The British name originates from the words ammonium and toluene (the precursor of TNT). Similar mixtures (one part dinitronaphthalene and seven parts a ...
filling replaced the original 50-pound (22.68 kg) Lyddite shell early in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Together with an increase in cordite propellant from 11 oz 7 drams to 14 oz 5 drams, this increased the maximum range from 4,800 to . Administrative error led to the new 40-pound shells being sent to
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
without
range tables or fuze keys for the new pattern fuzes, rendering them useless.
[Simpson-Baikie 1920]
Gallery
File:BL 5 inch Howitzer US Field Artillery Journal 1915.jpeg, A rear view of the BL 5-inch Howitzer.
File:BL 5 inch Howitzer Second Boer War LOC LC-USZ62-48652.jpg, Approaching Maddox Hill, Northern Cape, January 1900.
File:5inchHowitzerFiringGallipoli1915.jpeg, In action on Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
, 1915.
File:Chargement d'un obusier et groupe d'artilleurs - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - AP62T122974.jpg, A BL 5-inch Howitzer in Romanian service during World War I. Romania received 28 howitzers in 1917.
Ammunition
See also
*
Howitzer
The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...
*
List of howitzers
Howitzers are one of two primary types of field artillery. Historically, howitzers fired a heavy shell in a high-trajectory from a relatively short barrel and their range was limited but they were slightly more mobile than similar size field guns ...
Notes and references
Bibliography
Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE
*Dale Clarke
British Artillery 1914-1919. Field Army Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004
* Major Darrell D. Hall
* I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972
* Brigadier-General Sir Hugh Simpson-Baikie, Ex-Commander of the British artillery at Cape Helles. Appendix I STATEMENT ON ARTILLERY in
* Hogg, Ian. ''Twentieth-Century Artillery.'' New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000. Pg.46
* ''România în războiul mondial 1916-1919, Documente, Anexe'', Volumul 1, Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului, București. Pg. 42
Surviving examples
*
At Karak Castle, Jordan
*National Military Museum,
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, Romania
External links
Handbook for the 5-inch B.L. howitzer 1905Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
Field service manual Field artillery howitzer brigade 5-inch B.L. 1908Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
Handbook for the 5-inch B.L. howitzer, 1909Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
Handbook and equipment details for the 5-inch B.L. howitzer Mark I field batteries 1896,1901Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
5 inch B.L. howitzer gun drill 1915Hosted online by State Library of Victoria, Australia
*
Bennet Burleigh,
ttp://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25504 Khartoum Campaign, 1898Describes 5-inch howitzer use in the campaign
{{DEFAULTSORT:BL 05 inch howitzer
Field artillery
Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom
World War I howitzers
World War I artillery of the United Kingdom
127 mm artillery
