The Ordnance QF 13-pounder ( quick-firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

at the outbreak of

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 ...

History

QF13pounderBouncingNYTribune20October1918

The QF 13-pounder was developed as a response to combat experience gained in the

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 an ...

and entered service in 1904, replacing the Ehrhard QF 15-pounder and BL 12-pounder 6 cwt. It was intended as a rapid-firing and highly-mobile, yet reasonably powerful, field gun for

(RHA) batteries supporting Cavalry brigades, and was expected to be engaged in mobile open warfare. It was developed in parallel with the QF 18-pounder used by

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 ...

. The original Mk I barrel was wire wound. Later Mk II barrels had a tapered inner A tube which was pressed into the outer tube. A

hydro-spring This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces' Materiel, ordnance (weapons) and ammunition. The terms may have different meanings depending on their usage in another country's military. BD Between decks: applies to a naval gun mou ...

recoil system was mounted above the barrel. The carriage was a pole trail type with two seats for the gunners and a protective shield. The first British artillery round on the Western Front in World War I was fired by No. 4 gun of E Battery Royal Horse Artillery on 22 August 1914, northeast of Harmignies in Belgium. It saw action at the

Battle of Le Cateau The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi (21–23 A ...

in August 1914 as the British Expeditionary Force retreated from

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

. It was used by "L" Bty, Royal Horse Artillery in the defensive action at Néry, France, on 1 September 1914, for which three Victoria Crosses were awarded. The medals, and No. 6 gun and limber involved in this action, are held in the collection of the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

From late 1914, when the Western Front settled into

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

, the 13-pounder was found to be too light to be truly effective against prepared defensive positions. As a result, a few RHA batteries that were not supporting cavalry formations converted to 18-pounder guns and 4.5-inch howitzers. However, it was retained in the British and Canadian cavalry brigades on the Western Front. and also used throughout the war in batteries (both RHA and

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 ...

) supporting cavalry and mounted formations in Palestine and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. Batteries normally carried 176 rounds per gun. The gun and its filled limber (24 rounds) weighed and was towed by a six-horse team. All members of the gun detachments were mounted on their own horses. As the war progressed the increasing air activity created a requirement for a medium anti-aircraft gun. Some 13-pounders were slightly modified to become "Ordnance QF 13 pdr Mk III" and mounted on high-angle mounts to produce what became known as the 13-pounder 6 cwt anti-aircraft gun. In 1940, some 13-pounders were brought out of store for use as emergency anti-tank guns, mounted in pill boxes, for the home defence of Britain against possible German invasion. For combat purposes the gun is obsolete, but remains in service with the

King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, is a ceremonial unit of the British Army, quartered at Woolwich. It is a mounted unit and all of its soldiers are trained to care for and drive teams of six horses, each team pulling a First World War-e ...

for ceremonial purposes and as state saluting guns.Clarke 2004

13-pounder 6 cwt QF Mark V naval gun

This was a pedestal-mounted adaptation by

Vickers Limited Vickers Limited was a British engineering conglomerate. The business began in Sheffield in 1828 as a steel foundry and became known for its church bells, going on to make shafts and propellers for ships, armour plate and then artillery. Entir ...

of the Mark I horse artillery gun, intended to arm the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's new

Motor Launch Launch is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In naval use, the launch was introduced as a ship's boat ...

es in World War I. 650 examples were constructed, including 250 made in the United States. Because of the German

U-boat campaign The U-boat campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Allies, largely in the seas around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean, as part of a mutual blockade betwe ...

, many of the guns were used on

defensively equipped merchant ship Defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) was an Admiralty Trade Division programme established in June 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft. The acronym DEMS was used to descr ...

s, some being removed from motor launches for that purpose.Royal Navy Motor Launches: Armament
/ref>

Ammunition

Surviving examples

* With the

, London *

collection: :The Néry Gun and limber, used during the action at Néry, 1 September 1914. :No.4 Gun, E Battery Royal Horse Artillery; fired the first British artillery round on the Western Front, August 1914. * Cart and Wagon Shed heritage centre,

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness ( ), or simply Shoebury, is a coastal town in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England; it lies east of the city centre. It was formerly a separate town until it was absorbed into Southend in 1933. I ...

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...

, Ottawa * Fort de Seclin – 1914/1918 Museum (near

Fromelles Fromelles () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. it had a population of 1,041; its inhabitants are called ''Fromellois''. It is located about to the west o ...

) * Musee des Abris, Albert, France. (Mk. 2) * There are six examples in South Africa: ** One restored in 2009, ** One at THA HQ in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, ** Two with the NFA in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, ** Two at the National Memorial in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

. * Mark V naval gun recovered from a sunken merchant ship, is on display at the harbour in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire District, the district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the No ...

. * There is one example on display in the Tsumeb Museum in

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. The gun was used by the THA at the Battle of Sandfontein on 26 September 1914 and was captured by German troops and later dumped into Lake Otjikoto prior to the German surrender in June 1915. File:NéryGunIWMApril2008.jpg, The Néry Gun, on display at IWM London File:QF 13 pounder IWM North.jpg, No 4 Gun E Battery RHA, on display at IWM North File:QF 13 pounder CWM Ottawa 1.jpg, 13-pounder at the

Popular culture

A QF 13-pounder features in the Big Guns (Dad's Army), where it is supplied to the Walmington-on-Sea platoon for home defence.

References

Notes

Sources

* Dale Clarke, ''British Artillery 1914–1919. Field Army Artillery''. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004 * Cruickshank, Dan, ''Invasion – Defending Britain from Attack''. Boxtree, 2001 * General Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farn ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Western Front 1914–18''. Published by Royal Artillery Institution, 1986. * General Sir

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914–18'', Published by Royal Artillery Institution, 1988. * * I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, ''British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918''. published by Ian Allan, London, 1972.

External links

The Affair at Néry, 1 September 1914. With map, illustrations and photographs
* {{GreatWarBritishWeapons Naval guns of the United Kingdom QF 13 pounder QF 13 pounder QF 13 pounder QF 13 pounder