12 pound gun. Boris Yulin Battle of Borodino. Austrian cannon data
"Napoleon" on the battlefield at Stone River
To the concept American field artillery civil war includes guns, their equipment and ammunition, which were used to support infantry and cavalry on the battlefield during the American Civil War (1861-1865). This category does not include siege artillery, fortress artillery, coastal defense artillery, and naval artillery. "…Despite a large number of improvements and inventions, the bulk of the artillery of the civil war remained muzzle-loading and smooth-bore, and, except for the use of a new fuse system, did not differ much from the same type of troops from the time of Napoleon. In other words, the "god of war" still did not keep pace with the "queen of the fields", and this lag was the main reason that no fundamentally new artillery tactics were created during the conflict between the North and the South.
George McClellan wrote in his memoirs that in 1861 the US Army was supposed to have 2.5 guns for every 1000 infantrymen and 3-4 guns for every 1000 cavalrymen.
guns
The armies of the North and South used guns the following types:
| Name | Trunk | projectile (lb) |
Charge (lb) |
starting speed (ft/s) |
Range (yard, at 5°) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material | Caliber (inch) | Length (inch) | Weight (lb) | |||||
| 6-pound gun | bronze | 3,67 | 60 | 884 | 6,1 | 1,25 | 1439 | 1523 |
| 12-pound "Napoleon" | bronze | 4,62 | 66 | 1227 | 12.3 | 2,50 | 1440 | 1619 |
| 12-pounder howitzer | bronze | 4,62 | 53 | 788 | 8,9 | 1,00 | 1054 | 1072 |
| 12-pound mountain howitzer | bronze | 4,62 | 33 | 220 | 8,9 | 0,5 | - | 1005 |
| 24-pound howitzer | bronze | 5,82 | 64 | 1318 | 18,4 | 2,00 | 1060 | 1322 |
| 10-pound Parrot gun | iron | 2,9 or 3.0 |
74 | 890 | 9,5 | 1,00 | 1230 | 1850 |
| 3 inch gun | welded iron |
3,0 | 69 | 820 | 9,5 | 1,00 | 1215 | 1830 |
| 14 pound James gun | bronze | 3,80 | 60 | 875 | 14,0 | 1,25 | - | 1530 |
| 20-pound Parrot gun | iron | 3,67 | 84 | 1750 | 20,0 | 2,00 | 1250 | 1900 |
| 12-pound Whitworth breech-loading gun | iron | 2,75 | 104 | 1092 | 12,0 | 1,75 | 1500 | 2800 |
| The numbers in italics are for the projectile (not the core!) | ||||||||
During the Civil War, two main types of guns were used: smoothbore and rifled. Smoothbore subdivided into howitzers and guns.
Smoothbore guns
Smooth-bore guns include guns without rifling. During the years of the Civil War, metallurgy and related technologies made it possible to mass-produce rifled guns, and yet smoothbore artillery was still used and even produced. At that time, there were two types of such guns: cannons and howitzers. Also, these tools can be classified according to the material: bronze or iron. There were also some steel ones. More guns differed by year of manufacture and by belonging to the artillery department.
The guns also differed in caliber and projectile weight. For example, a 12-pound gun fired a 12-pound projectile with a caliber of 4.62 inches (117 mm.). Since the 18th century, the practice has been to mix guns and howitzers in one battery. Pre-war regulations required the combination of 6-pounder guns with 12-pounder howitzers, 9- and 12-pounder guns with 24-pounder howitzers. However, during the war, this tradition was gradually abandoned.
guns
The smoothbore guns were designed to fire direct fire with high-velocity cast projectiles along a shallow trajectory, but shrapnel could also be fired. The barrels of the guns were longer than those of howitzers and they required a more powerful charge. Field guns were produced in 6 pounds (Model 1841 6-pounder Gun - 3.67 inches), 9 pounds (4.2 inches) and 12 pounds (4.62 inches). These guns were mostly bronze, although some iron remained, and the Confederacy produced some more iron as the war progressed.
Six-pounders were present in the form of models 1835, 1838 and 1841, although there were a few old guns from 1819. Several hundred of these guns were used by both armies in 1861. However, their disadvantage was the small mass of the projectile and the low range - they hit 1392 meters with cannonballs and 1097 meters with grenades. Guns of this type were the absolute majority in the Confederate army in 1861. These guns were far inferior in efficiency to 12-pounders, so in December 1862, General Lee proposed that all 6-pounders be melted down into 12-pounders. Already by the middle of 1863, these guns were completely out of use in the Army of the South.
The larger 9- and 12-pounders were rarely used. The first is mentioned in artillery manuals in 1861, but in reality they were hardly issued after 1812 and there is very little evidence of their use in the Civil War. 12-pounder guns were also rare. At least one federal battery (the 13th Indiana) had one such gun in service at the start of the war. The gun was too heavy and required 8 horses for transportation. At the beginning of the war, several of these guns were converted into rifled guns, but nothing is known about their use in combat.
Much more popular among smoothbore guns was the 12-pounder Model 1857 (M1857), a light gun known as the "Napoleon". This model was lighter than the previous 12-pounders and carried by six horses. Sometimes it was called a gun-howitzer (gun-howitzer), since it combined the characteristics of both types.
Howitzers
Howitzers were short-barreled guns designed to fire explosive projectiles at a high trajectory. Occasionally, they also used buckshot, although the radius of destruction of a howitzer volley of shots was small. If conventional guns fired direct fire at a visible enemy, then the howitzer could hit enemy manpower behind earthen shelters and fortifications. howitzers used a charge of a smaller mass than guns of the same caliber. The main types of field howitzers during the war years were: 12-pounder (4.62 inches), 24-pounder (5.82 inches) and 32-pounder (6.41 inches). The howitzers were bronze, with the exception of a few single copies in the Confederate army.
The 12-pounder field howitzer was introduced by the 1838 and 1841 models. It was relatively light and effective, but it was gradually superseded by the 12-pound Napoleon. Near Gettysburg, the northerners used only 2 such howitzers, the southerners - 33.
Heavier howitzers were present in small numbers. Both North and South fired several 24-pounder howitzers during the war, and several Austrian howitzers are known to the Confederate army. These guns were usually used in reserve batteries, but even those were gradually replaced by rifled guns. 24- and 32-pound howitzers were more commonly used as fortress artillery, but at least one such gun was in the 1st Connecticut Artillery Battery in 1864.
Finally, a lesser-known but highly mobile howitzer was the (M1841), a 12-pounder mountain howitzer that accompanied infantry and cavalry on the western prairies and remained with the army through the years of the Indian Wars. It was this gun that John Gibbon lost at the Battle of Big Hole in 1877. This universal tool could be transported by one horse, or in the heavy version by two horses, or could be dismantled and loaded onto horses. It went through the Mexican War, then several hundred more were produced in the civil war. A federal battery of four of these guns performed well at the Battle of Glorietta, and General Forrest often used mountain howitzers during cavalry raids.
12 pound Napoleon
The 12-pound Napoleon was the most popular smoothbore gun of that war. It was named after Napoleon III and was valued for its safety, reliability and stopping power - especially at short distances. In federal artillery manuals, it was referred to as a "light 12-pounder" to distinguish it from a longer and heavier counterpart, which was practically not used as a field gun. "Napoleon" appeared in America only in 1857 and was the last bronze gun of the American army. Federal "Napoleons" had a slight thickening at the end of the barrel. This gun was somewhat heavier than the others and was not easy to move over uneven terrain.
The Confederation produced at least six types of "Napoleon", and almost all with a straight end of the barrel. Currently, 133 guns have survived, of which only eight have a thickened end of the barrel (muzzle swell). The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond produced 125 iron Napoleons, of which four survive. In early 1863, Robert Lee collected all the 6-pound bronze guns of the Northern Virginia Army and sent them to Tredegar to be melted down at the Napoleons. As the war progressed, the Confederacy experienced increasing difficulties with copper for bronze production, and in November 1863 the federal army captured the Ducktown copper mines near Chattanooga, and the production of bronze "Napoleons" ceased. In January 1864, Tredegar began casting Napoleons in iron.
Most famous case The use of "Napoleons" occurred at the battle of Fredericksburg, when two such guns under the command of Major John Pelham delayed the advance of George Meade's division for an hour.
Rifled guns
Rifled guns had spiral grooves inside the barrel to give rotation to the core or projectile, which, as a result of the gyroscopic effect, increased the accuracy of shooting, preventing the projectile from rotating around axes other than the axis parallel to the axis of the gun barrel. Rifling increased the cost of the gun and required a lengthening of the barrel, but it increased range and accuracy. The bulk of the rifled guns were muzzle-loading, although there were some breech-loading ones.
Three inch gun
The three-inch rifled gun was the most common rifled field gun. Invented by John Griffen, its barrel was made from wrought iron manufactured by the Phoenix Iron Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Only a few cases of trunk rupture are known - main problem cast iron tools. The gun was exceptionally accurate. 1st Minnesota easy artillery battery On March 5, 1864, she completely switched to these guns and went through the battle for Atlanta with them. Several of these guns were in Buford's division, and they fired their first shots at the enemy on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Buford wrote that Lieutenant Calef "carried himself gloriously, operating his guns with thoughtfulness, judgment, and skill, inflicting astonishing damage on the enemy." In total, at Gettysburg, the Army of the Potomac had 152 three-inchers, and the Army of the North Virginia - 78.
Parrot's tool
The Parrot cannon, invented by Robert Parker Parrot, came in a variety of sizes, from the 10-pounder to the rare 300-pounder. 10- and 20-pounder guns were used as field guns. The first were more common, they had two types of caliber: 2.9 and 3.0 inches. The southerners used both calibers, which caused some problems with the selection of ammunition. Until 1865, the northerners used only 2.9 caliber Parrots, but they widely used ordinary army three-inch guns. On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, three Federal Parrots were inactive because they received 3.0 caliber ammunition by mistake. Subsequently, all Parrot-2.9s were re-cut to 3.0, and the 2.9 caliber was no longer produced.
Cast iron guns were more accurate but more fragile, so Parrots had a cast iron barrel with steel reinforcement at the rear. It was a gun with good accuracy, but it had a reputation for being dangerous to handle, so gunners disliked it. At the end of 1862, Henry Hunt generally tried to exclude the "Parrots" from the artillery park of the Army of the Potomac. The 20-pound Parrot was the largest field gun of that war, with only one barrel weighing 1,800 pounds - about 800 kilograms. At Gettysburg, the federal army used 6 of these guns, the southerners - 10.
James rifled gun
James's rifled gun came into being due to the dire need for rifled guns in the early years of the war. Charles Tillenhast James developed a method for slicing 6-pounder bronze tools. Some kept their 3.67 caliber, some were reamed to 3.80 and then cut. Reaming was practiced to eliminate barrel wear. The first type was commonly referred to as the "12-pounder James" and the second, reamed, the "14-pounder James".
James's guns initially fired fairly accurately, but the rifling of the bronze barrel gradually wore out. After 1862, these guns were hardly produced. The exact number of guns produced is unknown.
Whitworth gun
The Whitworth gun, designed by Joseph Whitworth and manufactured in England, was one of the rare Civil War guns, but it is an interesting prototype of modern artillery. This gun was loaded from the treasury and had amazing accuracy. An 1864 artillery magazine wrote: "From 1500 meters, Whitworth fired 10 shots with a lateral deflection of only 5 inches." The accuracy of the fire made it effective for counter-battery fire, that is, it was used almost like a sniper rifle. It was rarely used for shooting at infantry. This gun had a caliber of 2.75 inches and a hexagonal bore. The projectile was shaped to match, and was said to make an eerie sound in flight.
Near Gettysburg, only the southerners used 2 of these guns.
Ammunition
The artillery used ammunition from the most different types, depending on the target. A standard federal artillery battery (six 12-pounder Napoleons) typically had: 288 cannonballs, 96 rounds, 288 shrapnel and 96 grape shots.
Core
Core ( Shot) was an all-metal projectile that did not contain explosives. For smoothbore guns, a ball-shaped projectile was used ( cannon ball). Rifled guns used cylindrical cannonballs, which were commonly called bolt. In both cases, the kinetic energy of the projectile was used. The cores were used mainly for the destruction of enemy guns, charging boxes and wagons. They could also fire at columns of infantry or cavalry. Although effective, many gunners were reluctant to use cannonballs, preferring explosive rounds.
Rifled guns had an advantage in the accuracy of fire, but they could not fire with spherical cannonballs. The advantage of smooth-bore guns was the ability to fire cannonballs that did not burrow into the ground, like cylindrical shells, but ricocheted, which increased their destructive power.
The most famous victim of the cannonball was Federal Major General Daniel Sickles, whose right leg was broken by a 76 mm cannonball during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Shrapnel
projectile
The shells were explosive ammunition and were intended to burst into pieces near the enemy infantry. Explosive projectiles for smoothbore guns were commonly referred to as "spherical shell". The shells were more effective against infantry in fortifications and were handy for destroying wooden structures or setting them on fire. The downside was that the projectile usually broke into only a few fragments, their number usually grew with the caliber. In the middle of the war, the southerners, probably following the example of British imported outfits, began to "segment" the shells - to cut them so that the shell burst into more fragments. Usually the projectile was cut into 12 fragments. This is usually applied to spherical shell, but sometimes also to shells for rifled guns.
Shells of the "spherical shell" type had fuses with a time delay, and shells for rifled guns also had a detonator to break when they hit the ground. The effectiveness of the detonators was in doubt: if the projectile was buried in the ground before the explosion, then it would lose its effectiveness. However, projectiles large calibers, for example for 32-pounder guns, could be effectively used to destroy earthen fortifications.
Buckshot
Buckshot was the deadliest type of ammunition, it was a metal container that contained metal balls, 7 layers of 7 balls. At the time of the shot, the container collapsed and the balls scattered in the manner of a shotgun shot. The effective range of fire was considered to be 400 yards (370 meters). An even more effective weapon was the "double shrapnel", which was used in special cases at short distances. The "double shrapnel" was the firing of two containers at the same time, firing 98 inch-diameter pellets, which would equate to a simultaneous musket salvo of 98 foot soldiers.
Grapeshot
Grapeshot was the forerunner of buckshot and partly a variation of it. It consisted of several metal balls (larger than grape-shot ones) placed between two metal disks. Grapeshot was used in the years when guns sometimes exploded from overdose of charge and fell into disuse when guns became more reliable, having been supplanted by buckshot. For a grapeshot shot from a 12-pound Napoleon, 9 balls were used (while the grapeshot had 27 balls). By the time the civil war began, grapeshot had already been supplanted by buckshot, but there were still some cases of its use.
Equipment
Horse
Horses were used to carry guns and ammunition. On average, one horse accounted for about 700 pounds of cargo (317.5 kg.) Each gun required two teams of 6 horses, one transported the gun itself, the other - boxes of ammunition. The artillery battalion according to the state numbered from 50 to 300 horses, the battery - 70 horses, the section of two guns - 24 horses.
A large number of horses created serious problems for the gunners, since the animals had to be fed, maintained and replaced in case of injury. Second class horses usually served in the artillery (the first class was sent to the cavalry). The service life of one horse usually did not exceed eight months. They suffered from illness, from exhaustion after long marches, and from battle wounds.
Horses were good targets and were easily frightened, so they were often the victim of counter-battery fire.
The term "horse artillery" originated in reference to the light mobile batteries that usually supported cavalry regiments. the expression "flying artillery" was also sometimes used. In such batteries, the gunners always traveled on horseback. An example of such a battery was the federal regular artillery brigade (U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade).
Charging boxes
The charging box (caisson) was a two-wheeled cart with a box. He was harnessed directly to the six horses and a gun or limber was attached to it. In the latter case, it turned out something like a four-wheeled cart, which was somewhat more maneuverable than a regular cart. "Napoleon" with a loaded charging box weighed 3,865 pounds (1,753.1 kg).
front end
The front (limber) was also a two-wheeled wagon. It was loaded with a box of equipment and a spare wheel. A fully loaded front and loading box together weighed 3,811 pounds (1728.6 kg).
The limbers, charging and shell boxes were made of oak. Each box usually held 500 pounds (226.8 kg) of ammunition. In addition to these wagons, the battery had convoy wagons.
1812: Russian artillery.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the armies of the warring states increased significantly, operations became highly maneuverable and fleeting. Now the calculations of field guns were required to combine massive fire on dense battle formations of the enemy with an increase in the distance of aimed, "piece" shooting at individual targets, while the batteries had to have increased mobility. These tasks could be solved by updating the material part and improving organizational structure troops.
For this purpose, the so-called "systems of 1805" are adopted by the Russian army. This term meant bronze 12-pound guns of medium and small proportions, 6-pound guns, half-pound, quarter-pound and 3-pound "unicorns". They differed from previous samples in their lower weight (which affected the maneuverability of the batteries) and increased accuracy of fire. This was achieved through a number of improvements in the design of the guns. In particular, the carriages have reduced the number of different fittings and the angle of fracture of the machine, which improved the stability of the guns when fired.
For 3-pounder guns and "unicorns" of field and siege artillery, limbers with ammunition boxes, usually buckshot, began to be used. Heavier and more massive 12-pounder guns of large proportions, intended for fortress and siege artillery, were equipped with carriages with trunnion nests, where trunnions were placed in the stowed position, and the breech was placed on a special pillow. This achieved a uniform distribution of the weight of the gun over the entire carriage.
The fortress guns of the 1805 model differed from the previous models in two- or four-wheeled carriages with turntables resting on a kind of bearing - cast-iron balls. Mortars of the early 19th century were divided into three calibers and were used only in fortress and siege artillery. In the combat position, their trunks were mounted on machines, which ensured a constant elevation angle of 45 °.
The maximum firing range of field guns reached 2800 m, for "unicorns" - 2500 m, the rate of fire when firing cannonballs and grenades was a shot per minute, and when using buckshot it increased two to three times.
To ensure the range and accuracy of artillery fire, the quality of sighting devices and ammunition is of great importance. Already in 1802, the sight of the AI Markevich system was adopted for service. It was a copper stand with a slot in the middle, along which a copper bar with two aiming holes and a scale moved. The Markevich sight provided accurate shooting at distances up to 1200 m. However, when firing at a long distance, the batteries were forced to use quadrants, which somewhat slowed down the rate of firing of the guns. The fact is that these devices should have been leaned against the muzzle of the gun before each shot, so that, according to the indications of a plumb line and a graduated scale made in the form of a sector of a circle, give the gun the desired elevation angle.
Artillery ammunition, as before, was divided into four categories. The first included projectiles of percussive or penetrating action - cannonballs. To the second - explosive spherical bombs weighing more than a pound and grenades - shells of the same shape and purpose, but weighing less than a pound. Usually buckshot was knitted, with cast-iron bullets, and bulk, with lead. Shells were a special category. special purpose- incendiary, lighting and signal.
Considering experience past wars, the Russian command on the eve of the Napoleonic invasion carried out a number of organizational innovations in artillery. So, field artillery was reduced to brigades, each of which consisted of two battery companies armed with half-pood “unicorns” and 12-pounder guns, and the same number of light companies equipped with 6- and 12-pounder “unicorns”. In addition, the brigade included horse a company with 10-pounder "unicorns" and 6-pounder guns and a pontoon company. Later, divisions appeared in the Russian artillery, which improved command and control.
Half-pood "unicorn" sample of 1805. The weight of the gun is 1.5 tons. The barrel length is 10.5 calibers.
12-pounder small proportion model 1805. Gun weight - 1.2 tons. Barrel length - 13 calibers.
24-pounder model 1801 in the stowed position. Gun weight - 5.3 tons, barrel length - 21 caliber.
Model 1805 large proportion 12-pounder field gun. Barrel length in calibers - 22, gun weight - 2780 kg, firing range 2130-2700 m
Two-pound mortar of the 1805 model. Barrel length in calibers - 3.04, gun weight - 1500 kg, firing range - 2375 m.
In the Russian field artillery in 1812, there were 53 battery, 68 light, 30 horse and 24 pontoon companies. Both foot and cavalry companies had 12 guns each. Artillerymen were divided into fireworkers, bombardiers, gunners and gunlangers. Each artillery garrison had schools in which the gunners learned to read and write, the basic basics of arithmetic. Those who passed the established exam were awarded the rank of scorer (private senior class). The most capable of them were promoted to fireworks. According to the degree of knowledge, experience and combat distinctions, fireworks were divided into four classes.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, Russian artillerymen covered themselves with unfading glory; examples of their courage and heroism are countless. The French officer Vinturini recalled: "The Russian gunners were true to their duty ... lay down on the guns and did not give them up without themselves."
Russian foot gunners wore a general army dark green uniform, but unlike the infantry, they had black collars with red edging and not white, but green pantaloons with black leather stripes below the knees. The cords and etiquettes on the shako were red, the shako sign of the artilleryman was a grenada on one fire with crossed gun barrels above it.
Mounted artillerymen dressed in general dragoon uniform, but with a black collar that had a red edging.
Russian gunners: non-commissioned officer and private gunner of foot artillery, private gunner of horse artillery.
Pounder
Pounder
Pounder
Cannon - depending on the difficulty level 8-pounder, 12-pounder and 16-pounder - Boss that lives in the Thicket.
Bandit Cannon - Ancestor's memories
| “ |
Simple folk are by their nature loquacious, and the denizens of the hamlet were no exception. It was not long before rumors of my morbid genius and secretive excavations began to fill local legend. In the face of my increasingly egregious flaunting of public taboos, awe turned to ire, and demonstrations were held in the town square. The wild whispers of heresy roused the rabble to violent action. Such was the general air of rebellion that even my generous offer of gold to the local constabulary was rebuffed. To reassert my rule, I sought out unscrupulous men skilled in the application of force. Tight-lipped and terrifying, these mercenaries brought with them a war machine of terrible implication. Eager to end the tiresome domestic distraction, I instructed my newly formed militia of hardened bandits, brigands and killers to go forth and do their work. Compliance and order were restored, and the noisesome population of the Hamlet was culled to more managable numbers. |
„ |
Story
When rumors of Ancestor's experiments reached the ears of the locals, they went berserk. In order to contain them, the Ancestor hired a band of robbers who brought with them a huge cannon of incredible power. Now that the Ancestor has died, the robbers continue to use it, terrorizing the village.
Behavior
The Bandit Cannon spawns in position two, with three Rogues in the other three positions. The most dangerous of them is the Rogue Pyro Rogue, who makes the Cannon fire. If the Pyro can act on its turn, Cannon uses one of its two attacks. The first one, BOOM! ("BOOOOOOOM!") is a ranged attack that hits the entire squad with huge damage and also imposes a lot of stress. The second attack is a MISSION! ("MISFIRE!") deals no damage and gives the unit a stress heal. By itself, the Cannon cannot use any of its attacks, except for the Reinforcement skill! ("Reinforcements!"), which summons another Rogue. The cannon will use this skill at the start of each turn until all positions are filled. If you killed a Pyro Rogue, Cannon will first summon him, and therefore all other types of Rogues. Cannon's chance to use his devastating attack increases with the level of the dungeon.
Skills
| Apprentice Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill Name | Attack type | From the position | Hitting the position | Hit Chance | Crit Chance | Damage | Effect | Effect on yourself |
| Reinforcement* | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1, 2, 3, 4. (allies) | 0% | 0% | 0 | Summon Brigands** | no effect |
| BOOOOOOOM!*** | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1+2+3+4. | 83% | 0% | 9-27 | Stress +15 | no effect |
| MISFIRE!*** | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1+2+3+4. | 0% | 0% | 0 | Stress -10 | no effect |
| Veteran Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill Name | Attack type | From the position | Hitting the position | Hit Chance | Crit Chance | Damage | Effect | Effect on yourself |
| Reinforcement* | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1, 2, 3, 4. (allies) | 0% | 0% | 0 | Summon Brigands** | no effect |
| BOOOOOOOM!*** | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1+2+3+4. | 89% | 0% | 12-35 | Stress +15 | no effect |
| MISFIRE!*** | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1+2+3+4. | 0% | 0% | 0 | Stress -10 | no effect |
| Champion Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill Name | Attack type | From the position | Hitting the position | Hit Chance | Crit Chance | Damage | Effect | Effect on yourself |
| Reinforcement* | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1, 2, 3, 4. (allies) | 0% | 0% | 0 | Summon Brigands** | no effect |
| BOOOOOOOM!*** | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1+2+3+4. | 103% | 0% | 18-54 | Stress +15 | no effect |
| MISFIRE!*** | Ranged | 1, 2, 3, 4. | 1+2+3+4. | 0% | 0% | 0 | Stress -10 | no effect |
* Bandit Cannon will always use Reinforcements! (Reinforcement) at the beginning of each of his turns, until all positions are occupied by rogues.
** Reinforcements! Reinforcement can only summon Brigand Matchman, Brigand Cutthroat, Brigand Fusilier, and Brigand Bloodletter rogues. If the Rogue Pyro is not on the battlefield, he will always be called first.
** Only 1 rogue of each type can be on the battlefield. This means that Cannon cannot summon two Pyros or Roughnecks.
*** Bandit Cannon will use BOOOOOOOM! and MISFIRE! only after the Pyro's skill "The wick burns!" (Fire In The Hole) regardless of the effects on it.
*** BOOOOOOOM! and MISFIRE! are mutually exclusive. Only one of these skills can be used after the Brigand Matchman uses Wick Burns! (Fire In The Hole).
NOTE: As the difficulty of the dungeon increases, the chance of using BOOOOOOOM! increases significantly, and the probability of MISFIRE! decreases. Approximate table of ratios as difficulty levels increase:
| Apprentice | veteran | Champion | |
| BOOOOOOOM! | 65% | 70% | 75% |
| MISFIRE! | 35% | 30% | 25% |
Strategy
First and foremost - kill the Pyro first! Do not let him live until the end of the turn, as his actions have disastrous consequences for the entire squad. It is recommended to take with you heroes that can attack in all positions, as the Pyro can be moved or re-summoned to the third or fourth position, where it will be out of reach for melee attacks. Luckily, the Pyro has very low speed and low health, making him an easy target to kill. Bleed and Poison can kill the Pyro before it ignites the fuse, and the stun will cause it to miss its turn.
As for the Cannon itself, it has a LOT of defense points and is practically immune to all possible effects. In this fight, it is recommended to take heroes with AOE attacks with you in order to deal with rogues and Cannon at the same time.
One strategy is to kill all the robbers, after which you can attack Cannon without support. This is a fairly long but safe fight as Cannon will be busy summoning more and more rogues. However, any hero with a stun can cut the incoming damage by leaving the rogue stunned instead of having to summon a new one. Hit the rogue with one attack per turn, then stun him and finish him off when he is buffed by increased resistance to stun. This will reduce the incoming damage to the squad without constantly spawning new rogues, and will allow you to quickly finish the Cannon, freeing up additional attacks for this. Outlaw is the most obvious target for this strategy, as he spawns in position one and his attacks deal more concentrated damage than Ranged attacks, making it difficult to control incoming damage with healing.
Another strategy is to ignore the two rogues and focus on Pyro and Cannon. This is a more dangerous and risky strategy, but it will help reduce the number of Reinforcements. High Damage and Evasion stats are recommended for this strategy.
On the hardest difficulty, the Cannon fight can be quite a challenge, as the Pyro's health and evasion increases significantly, Cannon's health doubles, and she starts summoning the Brigand Bloodletter rogue. Due to the increased health and damage of rogues, conventional strategies become less effective. For the last level of difficulty, it is recommended to collect a squad without a healer in order to quickly destroy the robbers and beat Cannon in those moves when she only summoned the Pyro. good option there will be a squad built on interaction with the Mark - Savage-Mercenary-Arbalest-Animal Trainer. However, it is risky to send such a unit into the Thicket without a healer due to the Unclean Giant monster encountered there.
- Entering the boss room, you can catch two rogues by surprise, but not the Cannon and not the Pyro.
Almost continuous wars led to the fact that the Russian economy was heavily militarized. In 1799-1803. V Russian Empire there were 190 large mining enterprises, among which were the largest factories in the world. Russian metallurgy was the first in the world to produce iron and cast iron. It gave more than a third of its world production. Russia in the field of metallurgy was ahead of Britain, France and other European countries. In 1803, the Russian Empire produced 163.4 thousand tons of pig iron, England - 156 thousand tons, France - 80-85 thousand tons. Two-thirds of the pig iron went to meet domestic needs. In terms of copper production, Russia ranked second with 2.8 thousand tons, yielding to England - 5.9 thousand tons. France occupied one of the last places in the production of this metal.
Production and ammunition
Artillery guns and ammunition. At the beginning of the 19th century, Russian artillery was armed with smooth-bore guns. The reduction in the number of calibers and the improvement of artillery systems, which began in 1791, was completed in 1805. An important role in this process was played by the activities of the Military Commission in the period 1802-1805. The number of calibers of guns was established and the best artillery systems were left in service. The field army was armed with: 3-pounder, 6-pounder of small proportion, 12-pounder of small proportion, 12-pounder of medium proportion, quarter-pound unicorn, half-pound unicorn. The siege artillery was armed with 18- and 24-pound guns, one-pound unicorns and five-pound mortars. The production of artillery and ammunition was concentrated at factories in the northwest, the center and the Urals. The guns were cast iron and copper. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, attempts were made to establish the production of "iron-steel artillery". It was noted that it has a number of advantages - it is lighter, more durable, trouble-free and, most importantly, it doubles the firing distance. However, mass production failed.
12-pounder small proportion model 1805. Gun weight - 1.2 tons. Barrel length - 13 calibers.
Several large metallurgical enterprises operated in the north-west of the empire. The most powerful enterprise was the Alexander Plant. Its average annual smelting was about 170 thousand pounds. Until 1808, the plant worked on coal, and after the break in relations with England, on wood. From 1800 to 1812, the enterprise transferred 5701 guns to the artillery department. The production of this enterprise was mainly used to meet the needs of the fortresses and the fleet. The Kronstadt foundry played an important role in the north-west of the country. In the period from 1801 to 1812, he annually produced up to 60-61 thousand pounds of shells. The St. Petersburg foundry also made shells, it produced up to 50 thousand pounds of ammunition per year. Northwestern factories in 1811-1812 were severely short of fuel. Therefore, at this time there was a decrease in output. The government transferred part of the orders to enterprises in the south and center.
The Bryansk foundry stood out in the center of Russia. In 1806, in connection with the re-equipment of artillery, the Bryansk plant was instructed to master the production of guns for cavalry companies. The plant received an order for 120 guns. In 1812, this enterprise handed over 180 guns to the army. A certain number of guns were also manufactured by the Gusevsky plant. Here, in 1800, 120 24-pounder guns were cast for the western fortresses and Black Sea Fleet. Since 1802, the company has produced only ammunition. Ammunition was also produced by Batashev's factories. In the south of the country, the Lipetsk and Lugansk plants played an important role. The Lugansk plant in the period from 1799 to 1811 produced annually 50,000 poods of ammunition and guns. In 1812 he issued 20,000 poods of guns and about 90,000 poods of ammunition. The Lipetsk plant produced only ammunition. The factories of the center and south produced on the eve and during the war of 1812 about half of the guns produced for the army. They received part of the metal from the Urals.
At the beginning of the 19th century, 25 state-owned (state) and 133 private metallurgical enterprises operated in the Urals. The Ural enterprises not only supplied other factories with metal, but also produced ammunition and guns themselves. Since 1811, the Kamensky plant was the center for the production of guns in the Urals (in 1800-1810 it produced ammunition). For 1811-1813. the plant received the task of casting 1478 guns. 1415 guns were made in blanks, their drilling took place at other enterprises. The Yekaterinburg plant also cast guns. In 1811, he gave the country 30,000 poods of guns and ammunition, and in 1812, 87,000 poods. State-owned factories could not cope with all the orders, so they also attracted private enterprises. The Zlatoust plant was engaged in casting cannons. Ural enterprises were even more important in the production of ammunition. In 1811, they received an order from the Ministry of War for the production of 400,000 poods of guns and 473,000 poods of ammunition within two years. In addition, the maritime department ordered 33,000 pounds of ammunition.
Russian industry fully provided for the needs of the field army in guns and ammunition. The army during the War of 1812 did not lack ammunition. Only in Kaluga, the Ural enterprises sent 49 thousand nuclei, 2375 bombs, 7734 grenades and up to 400 thousand canister charges. On the eve of the war of 1812, in order to improve the organization of supplying the army with weapons and ammunition, to create the necessary supplies, artillery parks were created. In total, 58 parks were created in three lines. The parks of the first line had their own transport and were intended to supply the divisions. They were located in the zone of deployment of the army. The parks of the second line did not have their own transport and were intended to replenish the parks of the first line with the help of local transport. They were located 200-250 km from the parks of the first line. The parks of the third line were removed from the second line by 150-200 km and had to replenish their stocks with the help of local transport. Withdrawing to the east, the army could rely on these parks. In total, 296 thousand artillery shells and 44 million live cartridges were concentrated in the parks of the three lines.
24-pounder model 1801 in the stowed position. Gun weight - 5.3 tons, barrel length - 21 caliber.
Small arms and edged weapons. In service with the infantry and cavalry at the beginning of the 19th century there were several types firearms. Light infantry (jaegers) were armed with jaeger rifle rifles of the 1805 model (16.5 mm with 6 grooves) with bayonets, non-commissioned officers and the best 12 riflemen of the company were armed with fittings mod. 1805 g (16.5 mm with 8 grooves). Their firing range was 1000 steps. The line infantry (grenadier and musketeer regiments) was armed with infantry flintlock rifles mod. 1805 (19 mm), infantry flintlock smoothbore guns mod. 1808 (17.7 mm). In addition, Russia bought a certain number of guns in England (from 1805 to 1812 - 90 thousand) and in Austria (24 thousand). Infantry 19-mm muskets "Enfield" mod. 1802, and from Austria - infantry 17.6-mm guns mod. 1807 Officers and generals of the Russian infantry were armed with an infantry sword mod. 1798 with a single-edged straight blade 86 cm long and 3.2 cm wide (sheathed weight 1.3 kg). Ordinary and non-commissioned officers of the infantry units had a cleaver arr. 1807 with a single-edged blade 61 cm long and 3.2 cm wide (weight 1.2 kg).
Russian 7-linear (17.8 mm) infantry rifle mod. 1808 Weight 4.47 kg, length without bayonet 145.8 cm, with bayonet 188.8 cm, powder charge weight 10 g, bullet weight 25.5 g.
The hussars had 16 hussar light carbines and musketons per squadron. Dragoons and cuirassiers were armed with smoothbore guns of the 1809 model (17.7 mm). They were a shortened model of the infantry rifle mod. 1808 In addition, in all cavalry regiments, 16 people of each squadron had a 16.5-mm cavalry rifled fitting mod. 1803
Sword of I. S. Dorokhov; saber Ya. P. Kulnev.
D. V. Golitsyn's sword (1); engraving on the sword D. V. Golitsyn (2); sword of A. A. Zakrevsky (3).
Each cavalryman of the Russian field army was armed with a pair of saddle pistols, which were stored in holsters attached to both sides of the saddle pommel. In addition to cavalrymen, horse artillerymen, infantry pioneers and officers of all military branches were also armed with pistols. The range of pistols was very significant (as in French army), since many officers bought these weapons for themselves at their own expense. Wealthy officers had expensive foreign samples of the work of the leading European gunsmiths. Among ordinary cavalrymen, the most common was the 17.8-mm cavalry soldier's pistol mod. 1809 In smaller quantities, an improved version of this weapon was supplied to the troops with a shortened (to facilitate) forearm and a ramrod attached to the barrel by a movable rocker (to avoid loss). These weapons were usually issued to those junior commanders who did not have the money to buy their own weapons. Armed with pistols and Cossacks (at their own expense).
Cavalry pistol model 1809
As melee weapons, the Russian heavy cavalry used straight broadswords with single-edged blades. The dragoons were armed with broadswords mod. 1806: with a blade length of 89 cm, a width of 3.8 cm, a total length of 102 cm, and a weight of 1.65 kg. Broadswords were stored in wooden, leather-covered scabbards with metal lining. Most of the cuirassier units were armed with a broadsword mod. 1810, which was kept in a steel sheath. The length of his blade is 97 cm, width 4 cm, total length 111 cm, weight 2.3 kg. The Russian light cavalry of the era of the Napoleonic wars used curved sabers of two models - 1798 and 1809. Moreover, the saber of the 1798 model mainly remained in the hussar regiments (although the hussars also had a new saber in large numbers), and the 1809 saber in the first turn armed ulans. Blade arr. 1798 was worn in a wooden, leather-covered scabbard with metal plates that covered most of the surface of the scabbard. Blade length 87 cm, width 4.1 cm, total length 100 cm, weight about 1.7 kg. The saber of the 1809 model had two types of scabbard: the same as the old one, and completely steel. Blade length 88 cm, width 3.6 cm, total length 103 cm, weight 1.9 kg. Melee weapons of the Cossacks were of great variety, often they were trophy blades captured in numerous wars, received from their father, grandfather.
Light cavalry saber arr. 1809
The problem was that the troops had guns of various calibers, some of which had already been discontinued. So, infantry rifles had 28 different calibers, screw - 13. Part of the rifle park was domestic, and part was foreign. In 1809, they set the task of establishing a single caliber for all types of guns - in 7 lines (17.7 mm). However, this problem has not been completely solved. Continuous wars, which led to significant losses of guns, did not allow the army to be re-equipped with single-caliber weapons.
The production of small arms was concentrated in Russia at three arms factories: Tula, Sestroretsk and Izhevsk. In addition, the St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kiev arsenals were engaged in the manufacture of guns and their repair. The main center for the production of small arms was the Tula plant - until 1806 it produced annually up to 43-45 thousand guns. In 1808, the Tula plant switched to the production of guns of the 1808 model. An annual rate of 59.6 thousand guns was set for the plant. In 1810, the order was increased: the factory required 59.6 thousand guns for the army and 39.3 thousand guns for the reserve. For 1812, the government set a standard of 144,000 guns. In total, during 1812, the state-owned workshops of the Tula plant, together with contractors (“free masters”), produced 127 thousand guns.
The second center for the manufacture of small arms was the Sestroretsk plant. Its productivity was significantly lower than the Tula plant. So, in 1800, 2.7 thousand guns were manufactured, in 1802 - 3 thousand, in 1805 - 2.1 thousand (plus repaired guns - 10.3 thousand), in 1809 - 7 thousand. In 1812, the plant gave the army 12.5 thousand guns and 1.2 thousand pairs of pistols.
The third center for the production of small arms was the Izhevsk plant. It began to be created in 1807 on the basis of the Izhevsk Metallurgical Plant. According to the project, after the commissioning of all capacities, the plant was supposed to produce 50-75 thousand units of small arms and edged weapons. In 1810, the plant produced 2.5 thousand guns, in 1811 - about 10 thousand, in 1812 - 13.5 thousand.
In addition, arsenals were engaged in the repair of guns. Petersburg arsenal in 1812 repaired - 72.9 thousand guns and barrels, 5.4 thousand carbines, 3.6 thousand fittings. The Moscow Arsenal restored - 29.4 thousand guns and barrels, 4.6 thousand carbines, 806 fittings. The Kiev arsenal returned the army - 33.2 thousand guns and barrels, 1.9 thousand carbines.
Thus, the arms factories of the Russian Empire produced annually up to 150 thousand guns. The arsenals could repair about the same number of guns. In addition, there were craft workshops. For example, Pavlovsk gunsmiths gave in 1812-1813. about 1 thousand guns, they were purchased to arm the militias. The industry of Russia made it possible to solve the problem of the current supply of troops, armament of new formations, and create a certain reserve. So, on January 1, 1812, in the arsenals and factory warehouses there were 162.7 thousand infantry rifles, 2.7 thousand cuirassier rifles, 6.9 thousand carbines, 3.5 thousand dragoon rifles, 3.9 thousand pairs pistols. A significant part of these weapons went into service with the newly formed units.
Not so well was the case with the armament of the militia. It was necessary to get 250-300 thousand guns in a short time. Military factories were not ready to arm the militia. I had to buy 50 thousand guns in England. But the British guns arrived late and were incomplete. As a result, in November 1812, the guns were sent to Arzamas to equip spare parts and militias.
Edged weapons were made at the same three arms factories - Tula, Sestroretsk and Izhevsk. So, the Tula plant in 1808 produced 18.2 thousand cleavers, 596 sapper picks. In 1812, the enterprise produced 7 thousand sabers, 14.3 thousand hatchets, 8.6 thousand spearheads. At the Sestroretsky plant in 1805-1807. 15.4 thousand cleavers were made. In 1810-1812. the enterprise produced about 20 thousand cleavers. Izhevsk plant in 1812 produced 2.2 thousand cleavers. Arsenals in 1812 produced 28.6 thousand sabers, broadswords, 77.4 thousand cleavers. By the time of the reorganization of the army in 1810-1812. arsenals and factories in warehouses had: 91.1 thousand swords, 6 thousand cuirassier broadswords, 21 thousand dragoon broadswords, 53.9 thousand hussar sabers and lancers, etc. Almost all of this stock was spent on newly formed units . I must say that the enterprises rather quickly replenished the stock of edged weapons. Already at the beginning of August 1812, there were 30.3 thousand sabers in the St. Petersburg arsenal, and 65.2 thousand sabers, broadswords and cleavers in the Moscow arsenal.
Cuirassier officer's broadswords of the 1810 model
Gunpowder production. The production of gunpowder in Russia was given great attention. In 1804, a special regulation was developed, according to which the productivity of state-owned gunpowder factories was determined at 47.5 thousand pounds and private - at 9 thousand pounds per year. According to this provision, three state-owned powder factories - Okhtensky, Shostensky and Kazansky, were supposed to give: Okhtensky - 28 thousand pounds per year, Shostensky - 12.5 thousand pounds, Kazansky - 7 thousand pounds. Moscow private factories (Berens and Gubin) were supposed to produce 9 thousand pounds of gunpowder. At the same time, it was determined that about 35 thousand poods would be used for the needs of annual combat training, and up to 21.5 thousand poods of gunpowder were supposed to be transferred to replenish the combat reserve.
Campaigns 1805-1807 showed that these reserves are insufficient. In 1807, gunpowder production was doubled. Gunpowder factories produce 116.1 thousand pounds. At this level, production was kept for the rest of the years. By the end of 1811, the armed forces had a sufficient supply of gunpowder - 322.8 thousand pounds. In addition, up to 50 thousand pounds were in stocks of ready-made ammunition. In 1812, the factories produced: Okhtensky - 41.9 thousand pounds, Shostensky - 24.5 thousand, Kazan - 19.7 thousand, private factories - 9 thousand. Some of this gunpowder remained for the campaign of 1813.
To be continued…
GUNS IN THE BOER WAR 1889-1902
(Part 1. The British) The Boer War of 1899-1902 coincided with interesting period in the development of artillery and made military experts doubt the validity of many seemingly indisputable truths of that time, including the thesis "one gun - one projectile." Undoubtedly, when shrapnel was used as the main projectile, the high rate of fire of the new guns made it possible to very effectively suppress or destroy a large number of open targets, especially cavalry and dense infantry columns. However, the use by the warring parties of the tactics of loose formation with a low density of shooting chains (British), natural and artificial shelters (Boers) showed the unsuitability of shrapnel for solving the tasks assigned to it and an acute shortage of powerful grenades. New inventions required new techniques in artillery. The need for the development of means of communication, artillery reconnaissance, camouflage of firing positions and revision of artillery tactics became obvious. The specifications of artillery systems vary from source to source, and it should be remembered that the data presented in this work can only serve as a guide to better understand the events that took place on the battlefields of the Great Boer War. The state of the atmosphere, especially the strength of the wind and air temperature, significantly affects the range of the shot. A gun placed on top of a hill (typical Boer artillery placement) will have a greater range than a gun level with the target. Maps were inaccurate or non-existent, so eyewitness accounts of the range of artillery are often inaccurate, with the result that the guns were credited with a greater range than in reality. True, in some cases, the gunners increased the range of the shot, resorting to various tricks. For example, deepenings were dug under the trunk of the gun carriage of the marine "Long 12-pounders" to provide a greater angle of elevation of the barrel, the guns were stopped by braces to completely eliminate recoil, which also slightly increased the firing range, although it caused damage to the wheel axle and gun carriage. For the same purpose, the Boers used additional semi-charges for firing from captured 15-pounder British guns. To facilitate the perception of the text, I will give some explanations: The designation of artillery systems in the British Army of that time in most cases included: cm); 2) barrel weight in quintals (1 cwt=50.8 kg); 3) type of implement:
QF (quick-firing) - quick-firing, a term usually indicating that the gun is equipped with recoil devices and uses a unitary cartridge;
BL (breech-loading) - breech-loading, before the introduction of a unitary cartridge, the term BL meant only that the gun was loaded from the treasury, and with the introduction of the term QF, it began to be used mainly with separate loading of the combat and propelling part of the projectile or the absence of recoil devices; 4) sometimes in the description of the gun the type of gun carriage is mentioned (under the gun carriage are understood: wheels, axle, frame and, if any, the recoil system). For example, British field guns were mounted on the following carriages: Carriage type Mk І - had a simple design without an opener and elastic elements. Carriage type Mk II - additionally equipped with a hydraulic buffer of not very good design, capable of only partially extinguishing the rollback. Carriages of the Mk І* and Mk ІІ* types received this designation after equipping the corresponding carriages with spring-loaded coulters. The coulter, burrowing into the ground, prevented the rollback of the gun, but instead it pretty much bounced, still knocking down the tip. Most of the British field guns during the war in South Africa had a carriage Mk І*. Example: 12pr 6cwt on a Mk I carriage, a gun with a projectile weight of 12 pounds, a barrel weight of 6 quintals, separate loading, mounted on a Mk I type carriage. When the abbreviation RML (rifled muzzle-load) is encountered, this means a rifled, muzzle-loading gun. Although the Boers often referred to many of the British guns as "Armstrong" guns, most of the RN (Royal Navy), RHA (Horse Artillery), RFA (Field Artillery) and RGA (Fortress Artillery) guns were manufactured at the Royal Armory Factory (RGF) at Woolwich or Illswick. Armstrong Ordnance Company (EOC). Carriages were usually supplied by the Royal Carriage Department (RCD). BRITISH FIELD AND HORSE ARTILLERY (RFA and RHA)
A Brief History of the Development of British Field Guns In the second half of the 19th century, after many centuries of using muzzle-loading smoothbore guns, gunners around the world switched over to rifled, breech-loading rapid-fire guns in just fifty years. In all European armies, this process was not without problems. Numerous commissions created in Britain were not always inclined to make radical decisions, as a result, new types of guns were tested for several years before entering the army. Due to the rapid development of new technologies and the almost daily appearance of new inventions, it often happened that by the time new guns arrived in the batteries, they were already obsolete and rarely remained in service for a long time. In 1858, the Royal Artillery adopted Armstrong's revolutionary breech-loading rifled (RBL) gun, but, having encountered problems with its operation in the army, returned to muzzle-loading rifled guns (RML) in the late 60s. The army received a 9-pounder muzzle-loading gun, which entered the batteries of both the Field and Horse Artillery. Later, when the need arose for a more effective projectile, a 16-pound muzzle-loading gun was adopted for the batteries of the Field Artillery. It did not replace, but supplemented 9 pr RML, and both systems remained in service as "light" and "heavy" field artillery. Only ten years after their introduction into service, it was decided that both guns were still outdated. The 9-pr RML lacked firepower and the 16-pr RML proved to be too heavy for use in the field.
16 pounds RML
Progress in the development of improved projectiles and improved slow-burning powders was accompanied by an increase in the length of the barrels of new guns, which made it difficult to load from the muzzle. A significant gas breakthrough in the "Woolwich rifle" with its free-entering projectiles caused unproductive loss of shot energy and significant erosion of the bore. After a series of experiments in 1878, gunners obtained a cup-shaped copper seal located between the projectile and the propellant charge. Initially, it was not attached to the base of the projectile, but rotated independently. But it soon became clear that, being fixed on the projectile and crashing into the rifling of the barrel, the seal can be used to give the projectile rotation, after which the protrusions on the body of the projectile are a thing of the past. The rejection of the protrusions, in turn, made it possible to return to the multi-threaded fine cutting of the trunk. The fruit of new achievements in the field of artillery technology was the 13-pounder RML and RBL prepared for the next comparative tests. Both guns proved to be the best, but unexpectedly, while continental Europe already recognized breech-loading systems, Britain again preferred the RML system for both Field and Horse Artillery. The new gun had an elongated barrel and a number of improvements, such as a steel carriage, as well as a lifting sector instead of the usual lifting screw in the vertical aiming mechanism. However, due to the strong recoil when fired, the new gun did not enjoy much love among the troops. The re-equipment of the batteries with 13 pr RML had not yet been completed, as the developers created another weapon. New pattern was 12 pr 7 cwt BL, i. was treasury. Finally, the gunners of Queen Victoria decided that muzzle-loading guns were a thing of the past. From 1883 to 1885, the RFA and RHA batteries received new guns. 12 pr 7 cwt BL These new breech-loading guns were equipped with a modified breech of the French De Bange system, had separate loading with a shot in fabric caps. The designers paid special attention to reducing recoil during firing. The combat axis was connected to the gun carriage with braces and powerful coil springs. The wheel hubs were equipped with ratchet mechanisms that wedged the wheels during the rollback, but allowed the gun to roll freely. In some cases, skid shoes were used to assist the brakes. Additional improvements have also been made to the vertical aiming mechanism: in addition to the introduction of a worm-driven barrel lifting mechanism, the designers equipped it with a friction clutch that slides when fired and reduces shock loads on the teeth of the lifting sector and gears. For more accurate aiming of the gun at the target, in addition to the usual tangential gun, they equipped it with a new telescopic sight. Some carriages had a system of horizontal aiming of the barrel at a small angle. Operation in the army and, especially, the Great Indian Maneuvers of 1891 of the year revealed several weak points of this weapon. In particular, the gunners considered the gun carriages too complicated and argued that the dust deposited on the sliding surfaces of the horizontal aiming mechanism led to the “sticking” of the mechanism. In addition, for a team of six horses, the full limber gun proved too heavy for an RHA battery to gallop. Another weak point, according to the gunners, was the insufficient effect of the 12-pound grenade (common shell) on earthen fortifications. Field Artillery needed a heavier grenade, and the creation of "cordite" - a new powerful smokeless powder, made it possible to increase the weight of the projectile without making the gun heavier and making significant changes to the existing design. To solve the problems that arose in 1892, another Commission was convened, which, as a result of its work, issued the following recommendations: - convert 12 pr 7 cwt BL into 15 pr 7 cwt BL (actually 14 pounds 1 ounce) for use in batteries of the Royal Field Artillery; - Lightweight 12 pr 6 cwt BL with a simplified carriage to be adopted by batteries of the Royal Horse Artillery. The same Commission recommended that guns be equipped with only shrapnel with one type of fuse. For self-defense of the guns, buckshot was left. It was planned to equip only howitzer batteries with grenades (or bombs). Let's not criticize this decision too much - there were reasons for it. In addition, by the end of the century, when the Boer War broke out, not only the British Royal Artillery professed the principle of "one gun - one projectile." Operations in South Africa quickly showed that shrapnel, which explodes when the fuse is set on impact, as a projectile is of little value, and the timing of the existing tube limited the range of the shrapnel. (Although, again, not everything is so simple. Shooting with shrapnel requires especially careful monitoring of the results of shooting by the shooter, which is virtually impossible when the target is further than 2-3 kilometers away.) The problem with increasing the range of shrapnel was solved by introducing a new fuse, but even with it, the British 12-pr and 15-pr were inferior to the continental systems of the Boer army, having a lower rate of fire, b O More recoil problems, a less effective projectile and, at the initial stage of the war, a shorter range of fire. 12 pr 6 cwt BL Caliber: 3" Weight in firing position: 901 kg Weight in stowed position: 1663 kg Type of projectile: shrapnel, buckshot Range with remote tube: 3700 yards (1 yard = 91.44 cm) Range with percussion fuse: 5400 yards Rate of fire: 7-8 rounds per minute
12 pr 6 cwt BL(no axle seats)
In 1894, after the 12 pr 7 cwt BL was found to be too heavy to be used in RHA batteries, the army began to receive the lighter 12 pr 6 cwt BL gun. The gun was specially designed for firing with "cordite", had a shortened barrel and a simplified, lightweight gun carriage. When the British army entered the war in 1899, this gun was in service with all batteries of the Horse Artillery (except for the batteries that arrived from India, which were still using 12 pr 7 cwt). The 5 lb 6 inch barrel consisted of an inner tube reinforced with steel wire rings, onto which a steel casing with trunnions was pressed. From the side of the breech, a bolt block was screwed into this casing, to which a piston bolt was attached. The barrel had a slight influx to the front cut and 18-start cutting of progressive steepness. A special mechanism prevented the possibility of a shot until the bolt was completely closed. In order to reduce weight, the carriage did not have any buffers, springs and seats on the axles. All numbers of the calculation moved on horseback and could constantly accompany their guns. The guns used in South Africa were mounted on carriages MkI and MkI *, carrying ammunition boxes (shrapnel and buckshot) on axles. The typical firing range for the "56th" tube was 3700 yards ("on impact" - 5400 yards). After the arrival of the "57th" (Blue) tube, the firing range increased. The charge of cordite was packed in fabric caps. Friction tube ignition. Aiming either by means of a front sight, or through a telescopic sight, mounted on a special bracket. Although these guns used new gunpowder, the short range, and in some cases overconfidence, prompted the crews to advance closer to the enemy, exposing themselves to intense return fire. On one occasion Major Albrecht (Orange Republic Artillery) silenced General French's batteries with a pair of "Krupp" guns firing black powder. During the period from June 1, 1899 to June 1, 1902, 78 guns were sent to South Africa, firing 36,161 shells during the fighting. The use of buckshot is only mentioned once, when the two guns of battery "Q" fired it at Zilkaatsnek on July 11th, 1900. 15 pr 7 cwt BL Caliber: 3" Weight in combat position: 1040 kg Weight in stowed position: 1903 kg Type of projectile: shrapnel, buckshot Range with remote tube: 4100 yards Range with percussion fuse: 5600 yards Rate of fire: 7-8 rounds per minute.
15 pr on carriage Mk І*, the spring casing above the coulter is clearly visible
New 15 pounder guns, converted from 12 pr 7 cwt, began to enter the batteries of the Royal Field Artillery in 1895. The gun inherited the main features of its predecessor, but the barrel lifting mechanism was changed. Some of the converted guns were still called 12 pr 7 cwt Mark I, while those built after 1895 were already called 15 pr 7 cwt Mark I. The gun barrel was made of steel. The basis was an inner pipe, on which a steel casing with trunnions was pressed. A hoop with brackets for sights was mounted in front of the trunnions "in tension". Guidance was carried out using a tangential sight and a front sight or a telescopic sight held by a bracket at the right trunnion. The shutter of the De Bange system with a steel mushroom obturator head, an asbestos gasket and an eccentric lever was screwed into the barrel casing. The front cut of the trunk had an influx. The rifling is multi-thread, originally 12 threads, but all guns made after 1897 had 18 progressive threads. The gun was mounted on steel field carriages of various types. Initially, on the Mark I, they tried to control the rollback with shoes placed under the wheels. The later Mark II was additionally equipped with a 4" hydraulic buffer, which did not solve the problem. The next step in the fight against recoil was wheel brakes and a spring-loaded coulter connected by a cable extension to a powerful spring fixed in the trunk of the gun carriage. The casing of this spring is usually clearly visible in photographs. Carriages Mark I and Mark II, equipped with such a system, received the designation Mark I * and Mark II *. Produced and other types of gun carriages that had coulters, but without buffers. Most of the 15 pounder guns used in the Boer War used a Mark I* carriage, four Mark II* batteries, three Mark IIIs. The carriages of the batteries that arrived from India did not have coulters. Shells 15 pr were equipped with a leading copper belt. A charge of "cordite" in fabric caps. The main type of ammunition is shrapnel. For self-defense - buckshot. Grenades were not included. After the introduction of the "blue 57" tube, the range of shrapnel increased to 5900 yards. In the Field Artillery, two crew numbers during the march had to ride on the gun, so two ammunition boxes mounted on the axle 15 pr served as seats at the same time. During the course of the war, the 15 pr was the main field gun of the British Army. On June 1, 1899, there were 27 such guns in South Africa. From June 1, 1899 to June 1, 1902, another 322 guns were sent to Africa. Of these, one battery (6 guns) was lost at sea. 26 of these cannons were captured by the Boers. As with the 12 pr, the short range of the British RFA batteries often put them at a disadvantage in artillery duels with grenade-wielding Boers. During the war, according to the expenditure sheets, 15 pr fired 166548 shells. Buckshot was used only once, by two guns of the 75th battery at Buffelspoort on December 3rd, 1900. The coulter recoil system was not effective enough, because, by reducing the recoil, it made the gun bounce when fired, knocking down the sight, as a result of which, in a real battle, 15 pr were often inferior to burgher guns in rate of fire. 5-inch BL howitzer on a Mk II carriage Caliber: 5 inches (127 mm) Barrel weight: 9 cwt (475 kg) Weight in the stowed position: just over 48 cwt (2462 kg) Projectile type: bomb (common) in 50 pounds ("common" - a hollow shell filled with explosive, either on impact or in the air, depending on the type of fuse) Firing range: 4900 yards.
5 inch howitzer with a limber on a railway platform
The abolition of the common shell grenade for field guns exacerbated the need for guns with more destructive projectile power than shrapnel on the battlefield. Attempts to adapt the guns for conducting mounted fire, reducing the power of the charge, were unsuccessful. The real answer to the needs of the military were field howitzers. The first RFA howitzer batteries were organized in 1896 and were armed with 5-inch howitzers. Almost simultaneously, the 6-inch howitzer was adopted by the siege (garrison) artillery (RGA). The 5 inch howitzer was first used in the Sudan in 1898. As the filling of the bomb, again for the first time, "lyddite" was used. The press chocked with delight, describing the effectiveness of the new projectiles, and claimed that the shock wave was enough to kill everyone in the vicinity of the projectile. Too much was expected from these guns in South Africa, but everything did not turn out so smoothly. In addition, it was found that liddite often does not detonate. However, in those cases when the 5-inch guns could get close enough to the enemy, they effectively acted on the Boers who had taken refuge in the trenches. The howitzer turned out to be too heavy for action in the field, the projectile was not powerful enough for such a weight, and the firing range was unsatisfactory. But structurally, it contained several interesting features. The gun had an extremely simple design - a riveted steel carriage with wooden wheels, on which the barrel was attached. The recoil device consisted of four springs. The barrel, when fired, moved back about six inches (15.2 cm), after which it automatically returned to its original position. In itself, the installation of such a mechanism was already a huge step forward compared to earlier artillery systems. Muzzle velocity from 402 to 782 fps (depending on charge). Comparison with the 15 pr, which has a muzzle velocity of 1574 fps, clearly demonstrates the difference between a howitzer and a cannon. 39 such guns were sent to South Africa, firing 9790 shells during the war. 12 pr 12 cwt QF Caliber: 3" Weight in fire position: 1524 kg Weight in stowed position: 2235 kg Type of projectile: grenade and shrapnel Range with remote tube: 4200 yards Range with impact fuse: 6500 yards for shrapnel and 8000 yards for grenade.
"Ilswick" 12pr12cwtQF in South Africa.
These guns were in service with the Ilsvik battery. The barrel of the naval "Long 12-pounder" gun, which will be described below, was taken as a basis. The trunks were removed from a Japanese battleship under construction by Armstrong. Six 3-inch 12 prs, commissioned by Lady Meux, were converted into field guns at the Ilswick gun factory in Newcastle upon Tyne, and presented to Lord Roberts in February 1900. The personnel of the battery consisted of people who made these guns. The guns had a high muzzle velocity (2210 ft/s when firing a grenade) and a considerable firing range, but they were too heavy for field artillery (four pairs of horses were required to transport the gun instead of the usual three pairs) and had an insufficiently powerful projectile for heavy artillery. At first, the guns operated with Ian Hamilton's division as part of one battery, later disbanded into sections of two guns. One guarded the railway line to Pretoria near Edenburg, the second was given to the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, and it operated in the Western Transvaal until the end of the war. The third section also served in the Western Transvaal. 75mm MAXIM-NORDENFELT (12.5pr VICKERS MAXIM) QF Caliber: 2.95" (75 mm) Weight in firing position: 1046 kg Weight in stowed position: 1954 kg Type of projectile: grenade, shrapnel, buckshot Range with remote tube: 5200 yards These guns were called differently in different years of production, which sometimes leads to confusion. On July 17th, 1888, Maxim and Nordenfelt merged their companies under the "brand" Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited (MNG&ACL). In 1896, Albert Vickers and son bought the firm for £1,353,000 and officially changed their name to Vickers, Sons & Maxim Limited (VSM) on 1 October 1897. The gun had a 7'4" steel barrel with a piston breech. Mounted on a light but durable field carriage. The length of the axle slightly exceeded the diameter of the wheels, which, in combination with the low landing of the barrel, gave the gun extreme stability. The maximum angle of elevation of the trunk was 15 degrees. In addition, there was a horizontal aiming mechanism (4.5 degrees), which very few guns of that time could boast of. It can also be considered one of the first truly fast-firing field guns, as it was equipped with two hydraulic buffers and loaded with a unitary projectile. Smokeless powder was used as propellant. Ammunition and fuses may have been imported from Germany or produced under license, as they were of German design, distinguished by reliability and efficiency. The fuses were undoubtedly among the best fuses of the time. Compared to similar weapons of similar complexity, it was extremely reliable and did not cause excessive worries. Both the guns and the gun carriages proved to be excellent in the South African veld, moving easily, without tipping over rough terrain. Possessing a simpler recoil system in comparison with the "continental" samples (the same "Creso"), the gun, however, had a smaller recoil than most of its contemporaries who served in South Africa. One gun of this type was at the disposal of Colonel Plumer. It was one of the two guns that Jameson bought at the time for the ill-fated raid (at the very end of 1896), but because of the non-arrival of the gun carriage, he left it in Bulawayo.
75 mm MAXIM-NORDENFELT Plumera
Two more "Maxim-Nordenfelts" were taken by the British in the battle near Elandslaagte on October 30, 1899. These were the first guns of the Boer War lost by the Boers. Later they fought against their former owners in the defense of Ladysmith. On May 31, 1900, in one of the abandoned forts of Johannesburg, the British discovered a front end for a 75-mm "Maxim-Nordenfelt", fully loaded with 44 shells, and another 200 shells in boxes. All fuses on them were produced by Krupp and were marked "made in Germany". The battery of Imperial City Volunteers also had four guns, which received them just before they were sent to South Africa. GUNS OF THE ROYAL NAVY In the first weeks of the war, the British discovered that the Boer artillery was superior to the British in terms of firing range. The Army asked the Royal Navy to provide their guns and artillerymen to restore the balance. Of course, the heavy guns of the "siege parks" could adequately respond to the enemy, but their arrival in South Africa was expected no earlier than the New Year. Having shown amazing efficiency and ingenuity, the sailors installed their guns on temporary field gun carriages and delivered them to the battlefield. These tools proved to be invaluable. It's a bit of a stretch to agree with the Royal Navy's claim that his "long 12-pounder" and 4.7-inchers saved Ladysmith. Even if from a military point of view this sounds a bit of an exaggeration, the moral value of naval guns, no doubt, can not be overestimated.
HMS Terrible
The protagonist at this critical moment was Captain Percy Scott of the Terrible. The personality is undoubtedly talented, energetic and, like everyone else, talented people quite conflicting. Overcoming the "quiet sabotage" of his naval superiors, he quickly and successfully set about converting naval guns for land service, testing them and sending them to the front, where they became worthy adversaries"Long Volumes" until the moment when, at the beginning of 1900, the Royal Fortress Artillery finally arrived in Africa with their "siege parks" and people who replaced sailors at large-caliber guns. 12 pr 8 cwt QF
Calculation of sailors with 12 pr 8 cwt QF
This 3-inch gun was in service with the ground parties and did not need to make a special gun carriage. With a shrapnel range of about 5100 feet and a light grenade, it did not play a significant role in the war (compared to other "sea" guns). I do not yet know the number of guns involved in the conflict, but I do not think that it is more than a few units. 12 pr 12 cwt QF "Long 12 lb" Caliber: 3" Projectile type: grenade, shrapnel, buckshot Range with remote tube: 4,500 yards Range with percussion fuse: 9,000 yards
"Long 12 lb." The wooden carriage is clearly visible.
As the range of the torpedo attack of the destroyers grew, so did the anti-mine guns. In response to the rapidly changing conditions of naval warfare, the Armstrong Elswick Ordnance Company (EOC) developed a new 12-pounder gun in 1884. Soon the Royal Navy adopted it as an anti-torpedo weapon, and the army as a coastal defense gun. This 3-inch (76.2mm) gun had a 40-caliber barrel, a composite, pre-stressed design with "Ilswick" multi-thread rifling. The breech was locked by a piston valve attached to the barrel casing. Obturation was achieved by expanding the brass sleeve when fired. To extract the sleeve, one of the calculation numbers had a special hook with which he pulled the sleeve out of the chamber. At that time, this was a fairly satisfactory solution, since extractors appeared much later. The shot itself was fired with the help of a striker passing through the axis of the shutter. The gun fired grenade, shrapnel and buckshot, the weight of which fluctuated between 12 and 14 pounds. Although a brass case was used when fired, the projectile and charge were loaded separately. 2 pounds of cordite was used as propellant. The 12-pr 12 cwt QF was mounted on a bollard carriage and had an oil-spring buffer with a recoil length of 12 inches. Most naval guns were equipped with a shoulder rest to make it easier to aim the gun at the target. With barrels longer than the military 12 pr, they were nicknamed "long 12 pounds". The carriages, designed by Captain Scott and built under his supervision in less than 48 hours, were of wood construction, 12 feet long and had wagon wheels. Although the barrel had an oil and spring buffer, the wheels were either locked or braces were used to reduce recoil. Four of these guns arrived at Ladysmith in a very timely manner, managing at the last moment to cover the retreat of the British infantry. For the defense of Durban, Scott made 16 more guns, which were later widely used by Buller's army. Although a home-made carriage made it possible to bring the gun into the field, of course, it was not without flaws. Wheels and axles were not interchangeable. Most were too narrow and too high, sometimes causing the guns to tip over when transported over rough terrain. There were no brakes, and until they were adapted, the wheels had to be tied. When it was required to fire at a range of over 7000 yards, the buffer began to hit the bed, and a recess was dug under the trunk of the gun carriage. But with the guns themselves, there were rarely any troubles. There were no special charging boxes, and "Cape" vans were used to transport ammunition. Until April 10, 1901, the Royal Navy transferred 30 guns of this type to land, which by that time had consumed 23,594 shells. Between June 1899 and June 1902, 18 more similar guns were sent to South Africa, firing 6143 shells. When the naval crews were recalled to the ships, they handed over their guns to the Army. In addition to the guns that stood on improvised field carriages, 12-pr were also mounted on railway platforms.
Artillery platforms "New sample".
The guns had horseshoe-shaped shields and a circular sector of fire.
4.7 in on fixed concrete base in Ladysmith
For the defense of Durban, Captain Scott made two more 4.7-inch guns on iron wheels and wooden carriages. The design of the carriage was extremely simple. A huge wooden bar played the role of the trunk of the carriage, compensating for the weight of the barrel and preventing the gun from tipping over during the rollback. Shoes were placed under the wheels, and the carriage itself was attached with cables to strong piles driven in front of the gun. On a mobile carriage, the guns proved themselves well, operating with the army in the field. True, having only one pair of wheels and weighing more than the "Long Tom" of the Boers, they demanded more effort from the personnel during transportation. Sometimes teams of 32 oxen were used to transport them, which is why the guns received the nickname "cow". For the most part, these were not new weapons. On average, they already fired 200-300 shots before they were on land, despite the fact that usually these barrels lived 700 shots. Later, lighter steel carriages were made for 4.7 in guns, which increased the mobility of the guns. In this version, an additional removable wheel was mounted on the carriage trunk. Such guns entered the companies of the Fortress Artillery. One of them was named "Lady Roberts" and became famous for being captured by the Boers on December 29, 1900. The Boers managed to take away the gun and charges, but the wagon with the shells got stuck and had to be abandoned. The Boers tried to use shells from " Big Tom", filled with four Pom-pom shells. At the very first test shot, such a shell exploded as soon as it left the gun barrel. Until the end of the war, the Boers did not succeed in capturing shells for the Lady Roberts, and the gun had to be blown up so that it would not again returned to the British.
In the foreground is Captain Scott's 4.7 inch, followed by "Long 12 pr", designed to protect Durban
On January 16, at the request of General Barton, one 4.7 in was mounted by Scott on a railway platform. The first shot was fired by Lady Randolph Churchill, after whom the gun was named.
4.7 in Lady Randolph Churchill. The bars of the cruciform platform are clearly visible.
Crossbars are shortened so as not to interfere with traffic through the tunnel
Then, for three more guns, semi-mobile, collapsible cruciform platforms were made from beams fastened with bolts. These guns proved to be better than wheeled guns, because, without rolling back when fired, they made it possible to fire more frequently, while at the same time having satisfactory mobility.
4,7
in on a collapsible cruciform platform
By April 10, 1901, the Navy handed over to the Army 21 guns of this type, which fired 11,299 shells. An additional two guns were taken from the coastal defenses of Capa. Between June 1899 and June 1902, another 24 guns were sent to South Africa from the mother country. Of this total, four were mounted on railway platforms, while the majority served on wheeled carriages. With the arrival of the Fortress Artillery units, 19 guns were handed over to the Army, and some were returned to the ships. In artillery duels, they were more than serious weapons. But action against infantry revealed their main drawback - powerful liddite shells were intended to destroy forts and naval armored targets. Undoubtedly, the explosion of such a projectile left a hefty funnel, but the damaging effect spread over a short distance. The Boers said that, despite the terrifying roar, 4.7 inches rarely caused any sensitive harm to the shooters. 6 in QF (QFC) Caliber: 6 inches (152 mm) Barrel weight: approx.
6
in QFon Scott's carriage
The 6-in QF was the largest "quick-firing gun" of the British. This 100 pounder was made in 1890 in Ilswick. After trials, it entered the Royal Navy as the Mark I and was the first mass-produced gun to have a "wire" barrel design. In 1891 the Mark II produced by the Royal Gun Factory followed, followed by the Mark III produced by the EOC. Mark I and II were installed on the ships of the Cape Squadron ("Doris", "Terrible", "Powerful" and "Forte"). In 1895, the old 6-in Mark III, IV and VI BL, which had been in service since the 1880s, were converted. Received index QFC (QF Converted). They had the old familiar composite barrel design with conventional rings and a casing pressed onto the base, in contrast to the new "wire". The barrel was locked by a piston valve. Ammunition included a projectile (common) and shrapnel weighing approximately 100 pounds. With an impact fuze, the range of the shot reached 12,000 yards, and with shrapnel with a remote tube, 6,500 yards. The QF guns had separate loading with a charge in brass cases, while the BL variants used fabric caps. In both cases, cordite was used as a propellant. 6-in guns were mounted on pedestal gun carriages similar to 4.7-in guns, but with two hydraulic buffers located under the barrel. In February, General Buller, for his final attack on Peter's Hill, demanded a naval gun with a greater range than the 4.7-in. Captain Scott removed one 6-in QF (Mark I or II) from HMS Terrible and mounted it on a wheeled carriage, using converted wheels from unused 4.7-inch rims with an increased rim width. The gun turned out to be too heavy for a field carriage and was subsequently mounted on a railway platform. By April 10, 1901, it fired 200 shells.
6 inch gun on railway platform
Two more such guns were put on platforms under the direction of Captain Paul and the director of the Biatti locomotive depot (Cape Government Railways) at the Royal Docks of Simonstown. The guns on native pedestal carriages were placed on reinforced railway platforms. However, in this version, they could fire only in a sector of 16-20 degrees relative to the axis of the car. An additional increase in the firing sector relative to the railway line was obtained by the construction of special branches (sidings). These two guns fired at the Boer positions at Magersfontein, and one of them fired at Fourteen Brooks before the relief of Mafeking. There is evidence that they operated in the Transvaal in April-May 1900. Later, one of the guns was adapted for all-round fire. The modification consisted in the installation of beams on both sides of the platform, which ensured its stabilization during firing. The engineers claimed that the gun was brought into combat position in five minutes. Incorporated into the N2 armored train, it was used several times in the Orange Republic until the very end of the war, either as part of an armored train, or as a surprise reinforcement of strategic points threatened by Boer attack. In the latter case, the gun was delivered to the position under the cover of darkness. In total, four guns were removed from the Cape Coastal Defense, firing 317 shells during the war. The coastal defense of Capa used guns of various modifications. The exact type of guns used in the war is not known. Sometimes they are referred to as QF, sometimes as BL guns. Most likely these were "converted" QFs, i.e. QFC samples. These guns could fire over the entire range from 3,000 to 12,000 yards. A greater elevation angle of the barrel was achieved by firing from additional railway tracks laid with an inclination towards the front. Fire was reported at a range of 15,000 yards. Shooting was carried out with land mines and shrapnel. According to eyewitnesses: "it was hard to wish for anything more than a burst of 100-pound shrapnel." BRITISH MOUNTAIN , LIGHT AND OBSOLETE ARTILLERY Shooting light projectiles at a short distance, these guns did not prove themselves too much on the battlefield. However, despite their shortcomings, they proved to be in demand during the initial phase of the war, helping to defend the Kimberley and participating in the early battles in Natal. These guns were mainly used by the Colonial Forces (troops recruited from the inhabitants of the colonies). 7 pr ("Steel") Mark IV 200lb RML Caliber: 3" Barrel Weight: 200 lbs Projectile Type: Grenade (7 lb 5 oz), "Double" Grenade (12 lb 3 oz), Shrapnel (7 lb 11 oz), Buckshot (6 lb 4 oz) Grenade Range: 3,100 yards Projectile speed: 914 ft/sec In 1864/65, after it was found that Armstrong's 6 pr 3 cwt mountain gun was too heavy to be transported by mule, it was decided to replace it with a lighter muzzle-loading gun. The first 7-pounder gun (sometimes referred to as 3-in 2 cwt) was designated Mark I and was made by reaming a smoothbore muzzle-loading bronze cannon in the "Woolwich" manner. This gun was also recognized as heavy and was replaced by the Mark II 200 lb, (the barrel was shortened by two inches and turned on the outside). 50 guns underwent a similar conversion, but they never entered the troops, since their characteristics were recognized as unsatisfactory. In 1865, five Mark I 190 lb. steel guns were made. In 1867, thirteen Mark II 150 lb saw the light of day, but again none of them were accepted into service. This was followed by another 150 lb (Mark III), which turned out to be insufficiently powerful and, finally, in 1873 it was replaced by a gun with a longer barrel (Mark IV 200 lb). 7 pr Mark IV 200 lb was the first all-steel gun to enter British service. The barrel was reamed and cut according to the "Woolwich" system in increments of one turn per 20 calibers. The gun fired projectiles with guides. The propelling charge, as in all RMLs, was a fabric cap filled with black powder. The sight is marked at 12 degrees.
Royal Navy paratroopers with 7pr
Mark
IV 200
lb
Intended for use by mountain garrisons and Royal Navy landing parties, the gun had an easily dismantled gun carriage to allow it to be transported over obstacles. To transport the disassembled gun, three mules were required: one carried the barrel, the second carried the gun carriage, and the third carried the wheels. An additional mule carried ammunition. When used by landing parties or as field artillery, it clung to the limber. Ammunition was transported in two leather cases attached to the limber. Guns of this type took an active part in almost all British expeditions in South Africa. After experience showed that in local conditions a small mountain carriage easily capsizes when driving fast on the veld, and high grass makes it difficult to aim, a large number of guns were moved to high field carriages with an increased wheelbase. Reminiscent of the 9 pr RML steel carriages, they became known as "Kaffir carriages". On the other hand, the narrow wheel travel allowed the gun to easily move along narrow paths in thickets impassable for a field gun carriage. The gun was brought into combat position in 20 seconds. The grenade used was not very effective. It was said that in India, when fired from 450 yards, it got stuck in the adobe walls of houses, and often bounced off the palisades, exploding on the ground. Shrapnel also did not differ in effectiveness due to the low speed of the projectile. To increase the efficiency of shooting, they introduced a "doubled" grenade, increasing the length of the projectile and the volume of the explosive. For firing such a grenade, a reduced charge was used, but due to the low initial speed, the projectile began to tumble in flight.
7 pr Mark IV 200 lbon a field carriage
Twenty-eight 7 pr Mark IV 200 lb guns, obsolete by the beginning of the war of 1899, mounted on carriages various types, continued to serve in the local colonial troops. The Royal Navy also sent one such gun into the field. At the very beginning of the war, in response to the insistent requests of Colonel Baden-Powell, two guns were sent to Mafeking, but on October 12, 1899, the armored train carrying them was ambushed, and the guns went to the Boers, who later used them during the siege of Mafeking. The effectiveness of their shooting can be judged from the diaries of the inhabitants of Mafeking, who mentioned that the Boers fired 7-pound "dolls", most of which did not explode, but simply fell with a heavy slap without causing much harm. Another such cannon was lost by the British on November 15, 1899 in Natal, when the Transvaalers captured an armored train between Freer and Chiveli. The gun was mounted on the bow of one of the wagons and was serviced by sailors. This may have been the only 7 pr Mark IV the Navy gave to the Army. 2.5 in RML Mk II ("Screwed Cannon") Caliber: 2.5" Barrel Weight: 400 lbs Gun Weight: 800 lbs Projectile Type: Frag (8 lb 2 oz), Shrapnel (7 lb 6 oz), Buckshot Range: Frag 4,000 yards, Shrapnel 3,300 yards More about this gun referred to as the "Screw gun", a nickname made famous by Kipling. They owe it to a collapsible barrel, connected by a thread.
"
screw
gun"in the besieged Kimberley
In an attempt to increase the power of the guns intended to replace the 7 pr Mark IV 200 lb, in 1877 Colonel Le Mejurier (Royal Artillery) proposed new design 7 pounder mountain gun. He settled on a 2.5-inch caliber. Since the barrel of the new cannon weighed twice as much as the barrel of its predecessor and was too heavy for one mule, it was made collapsible in the trunnion area. The Ilswick Ordnance Company (EOC) produced twenty of these guns, which went to Afghanistan in 1879. Having received confirmation of the advantages of the new gun, the Royal Gun Factory (RGF) produced a large number of new guns for service in the mountain batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery. Samples made at RGF differed from those produced by EOC mainly in the shape of the o-ring. To reduce windage, a leading copper cup was used here, the same as in the 6.3 inch howitzer. The barrel had eight 0.05-inch deep grooves with progressive twist (from one turn per 80 calibers at the charging chamber to one turn per 30 calibers at 3.53 inches from the front cut of the barrel, remaining constant in the last section). The trajectory of the shot was very gentle. To hit a target that was flush with the gun and a distance of 4000 yards, the barrel was raised by only 11 degrees. Five mules were required to transport the barrel and carriage. Two carried half of the barrel, the third carried a carriage, the fourth carried wheels, the fifth carried an axle, a lifting mechanism, a banner and other accessories. At one time, this gun was considered the best gun of its type in the world, and remained in service with the mountain batteries of the RGA and in the Colonial Forces until the Boer War of 1899. Before the start of hostilities, 26 2.5-in RML guns were in the Colony. Seven more went to South Africa already during the war. As part of the Natal Field Battery, the 2.5-in RML was present at Elandslaagte, and with the Diamond Field Artillery was in the besieged Kimberley. Part of the barrels were mounted on "Kaffir carriages".
On a field carriage
Of course, by 1899 these guns were already outdated and not very popular. In addition, because of the black powder, each shot unmasked the position. Alluding to the smoke, short range, and weak projectile, Cecil Rhodes referred to them as "Imperial Pugachs". But, nevertheless, they contributed to the victory of Britain. 3 pr 5 cwt HOTCHKISS QF Caliber: 1.65 inch Type of projectile: grenade, buckshot Grenade range: 3400 yards (this is how the sight was graduated, although the maximum range reached 4000 yards). Benjamin Burnkley Gottchkiss was born in the United States of America in 1826. There he began his career as a weapons engineer. After failing to get the United States government interested in his inventions, Gotchkiss moved to France, where he founded the Hotchkiss Company in 1867. His first factory was located near Paris, where he made weapons and explosives for the French government. By the end of the 1870s, its light, rapid-fire guns were adopted by the navies of many countries around the world. The main purpose of 3 pr HOTCHKISS QF is to protect ships from destroyer attacks. In addition, it was used in coastal defense to protect the raid or as an anti-assault. As the armor protection of destroyers grew, 3-pounders were replaced by 6- and 9-pounders, and most of the early 3-prs were returned to artillery depots, where they were converted into field guns for landing parties, salute guns, or adapted to arm small ships. Although sometimes referred to as the 3 pr BL, this gun is a true QF gun with all the attributes of this class. The barrel of the "Gotchkiss" was made of steel, while the breech was reinforced with a casing. Locking was carried out by a vertical sliding gate. The brass sleeve of the projectile solved the problem of obturation, because, expanding in the chamber during firing, it reliably prevented the breakthrough of gases through the shutter. The shot was fired by hitting the striker, which was cocked when the bolt was locked and lowered by a trigger located on the pistol grip. When the shutter was opened, the sleeve was automatically removed from the barrel. A unitary projectile allowed a trained crew to fire 25 non-aimed shots per minute, or 15 shots at a target. At the beginning, the gun used black powder, but soon it was replaced by smokeless. The British 3 pr HOTCHKISS were the first QF guns to enter the fleet in 1885, replacing the Nordenfelt guns. Early copies did not have recoil devices and were mounted on pedestals. Inventions in the field of hydraulics made it possible to create piston shock absorbers, equipping some of the guns with them. On such models, the barrel was connected with pistons fixed on both sides, and moved in a cylindrical sleeve, without the need for trunnions. But some guns retained trunnions and could be mounted on wheeled carriages for use by landing parties and garrisons of coastal fortresses. The Royal Navy used the following modifications of the "Gotchkiss": 3 pr 5 cwt QF Mark I * - on a naval base 3 pr 5 cwt QF Mark I - garrison 3 pr 5 cwt QF Mark II - on a wheeled carriage By the beginning of the Second Boer War, part of the ships of the Cape Squadron , based in South Africa, still had 3 pr 5 cwt QF on board. When on November 8, 1899, the Navy, responding to the request of the Army, sent some of its guns to the theater of war, among them were two 3-pounder "Hotchkiss". By mid-April 1900 one of them fired 1120 shells. When the Naval Brigade began to return to the ships, these guns were handed over to the men of the Royal Garrison Artillery. The second source of 3 pr 5 cwt QF in South Africa was Natal and Cap. In June 1899, the colonies had seven "Hotchkisses", while another seven 3-pounder guns were taken from coastal defenses (although, in addition to the "Hotchkisses", the last seven included 3-pound "Nordenfelts", the exact number of which is still not installed). It is not known exactly how many of them had recoil systems, and on which carriages they stood.
3 pr 5cwt
QF
"Hotchkiss" on an armored platform
Guns on conical pedestals were usually mounted on armored trains or installed in long-term defensive positions. Two guns on a wheeled carriage were used by the "Gotchkiss Unit of the Natal Marine Volunteers" or, as they were also called, "Walker's Maritzburg Battery". The guns were on landing field carriages and did not have recoil systems. They were simple, light and very accurate, but the lack of shrapnel in the ammunition load reduced their effectiveness. Shortly after the start of the war, the guns ended up in the besieged Ladysmith. Due to their relatively short firing range, they could not respond to the fire of the Boer artillery, but, nevertheless, they participated in repelling the attack on November 6, 1899, being noted by the garrison commander.
"Hotchkiss" Natal Marine Volunteers
3-
pr4 cwt"nordenfelt"
QF, note the lack of a shoulder rest
Ammunition - the same unitary shells as those of the "Gotchkiss". It is not known exactly how many 3-pound "Nordenfelts" were removed from the coastal defenses and installed on armored trains, but judging by the photographs, we can talk about at least two. 57mm 6pr 8cwt HOTCHKISS QF The 6-pounder Hotchkiss came into service shortly before its 3-pounder counterpart and, like it, was used by both the Army and the Navy. In fact, it was an enlarged version, having the same high-speed shutter and unitary projectile. The barrel length was 40 calibers. Ammunition: grenade, shrapnel, buckshot
57-mm "hotchkiss" sailors, easily distinguished by headgear
During the Anglo-Boer War, the fleet provided the army with one gun of this type. It was installed on an armored train and initially served by sailors, and then was transferred to the Army. By April 10, 1901, it fired 1,100 shells. 9 pr 8 cwt RML Caliber: 3" Barrel Weight: 896 lbs Gun Weight on Carriage: 1008 lbs Gun Weight on Harness: 35 cwt Projectile Velocity: 1330 fps Projectile Type: Grenade (9 lb 1 oz), Shrapnel (9 lb 13 oz), Buckshot (9 pounds 10 ounces). Firing range: grenade 3500 yards, shrapnel 2910 yards, buckshot effective up to 350 yards.
9 pr 8 cwt RML
This gun remained the main firearm of the British field artillery until 1874, when it was replaced by the lighter 6 cwt. The barrel was made according to the traditional technology for Armstrong, but had a steel forming tube, differing in appearance from both early RBL and experimental RML guns. The cutting was carried out according to the standard "Woolwich" system (three grooves of constant steepness - one revolution for 30 calibers). In this case, the shells had two rows of guides that were included in the rifling when loading. The guns were mounted on a new wrought iron and steel carriage. Like the experimental 12-pounder, the trunk of the carriage converged to the towing earring. The wheels were still wooden, but already had bronze hubs of the "Madras" type. The gun had a front sight and was supplied with two sights, graduated at 2400 and 3500 yards. Later, some guns intended for naval service received side sights. The shot was fired using a friction tube that ignited a charge weighing 1 lb 12 oz. In South Africa, on the side of Britain, these guns participated in the battles of the Zulu (1879) and the First Anglo-Boer (1880-1881) wars. Some colonial units were armed with them at the beginning of the second Anglo-Boer War in 1889. In total, there were six modifications of 9 pr RML guns in the service of Her Majesty, two of which had a barrel weighing 8 cwt: - 9 pr RML 8 cwt Mark I (LS). Ground service. Intended to replace Armstrong's RBL in Heavy Field Batteries. It had a barrel length of 68.5 inches, with a slight influx at the muzzle. The front sight projection was cast along with the barrel. Later, these guns were mostly withdrawn and modified for naval service (including the removal of the front sight and the installation of a naval sight). - 9 pr RML 8 cwt Mark I (SS). Maritime service. Adopted in 1873. The barrel did not have an influx at the muzzle. The exported guns had some differences. Among them there were both official and unofficial modifications. 12 pr 8 cwt RML(experimental) An experimental weapon closely resembling its predecessor, the 12-pounder RBL. The barrel most likely had a standard "Woolwich" three-start thread. The carriage has been improved. The barrel was lifted by means of a gear sector and a gear rotated by a flywheel. At the end of 1867, the gun arrived in South Africa and participated in the final battles of the Basut War. In 1879, the government of the Cape Colony approached the Orange Republic with a request to borrow or sell a 12-pounder gun, since the British 7-pounder guns were not effective enough in bombarding the native fortifications. The Orange Republic responded to the request by selling a gun and ammunition to the Cape Colony. The gun took part in the native war of 1879 and the Cape-Basut war of 1880-1881, after which it remained the property of the Cape Colony. BRITISH GARRISON ARTILLERY (RGA) The siege park of the Royal Garrison Artillery escorted the Army Corps on its way to South Africa. In the first phase, it was provided by two companies (not batteries) of 4.7-inch guns and 6-inch howitzers. Eleven more companies soon arrived. The siege park was supposed to be used against the long-term fortifications of Pretoria and Johannesburg, but, having brought their heavy guns into the field, the Boers confused all plans. The British responded with guns from the Royal Navy. Therefore, having arrived in Africa, the "siegemen" faced the unexpected task of changing sailors in positions and took part in the hostilities long before the Boer forts loomed on the horizon. To a limited extent, overcoming the enormous difficulties associated with transportation, heavy siege artillery still helped the British army in the field. By the time they arrived, the effectiveness of heavy guns had already been demonstrated by both the Boers and the British sailors, so the appearance of siege parks was warmly welcomed by the Army. The main use of heavy guns was in Natal, where the Boers held relatively permanent positions on the Tugel. Where mobility was required, such as in the "Lord Roberts March", they played a much smaller role. Much to the annoyance of the gunners, Roberts's army, in an effort to maintain mobility from Bloemfontein to Pretoria, did not even take 5-inch howitzers with them. The Boers did not defend Pretoria, and the siege artillery never had to fulfill its main task. Nevertheless, heavy guns were still used in the war, but not out of necessity, but "only because they were." 4.7 in QF on a 6-inch howitzer carriage Caliber: 4.7" (120 mm) Weight of gun in combat position: approx. 4369 kg Weight of gun in stowed position: approx. 4978 kg Range with impact fuse: 10,000 yards
4.7 inch gun,
mounted on a howitzer carriage
It was a gun with the same barrel as the Royal Navy guns, but mounted on a 6-inch howitzer carriage. They armed the companies of the Royal Fortress Artillery (except for those who replaced the sailors at the guns on the carriages of Captain Scott). This modification of the gun had undeniable advantages over the guns of sailors and took an active part in the hostilities, although, of course, there is nothing original in factory mounting a 16-foot-long rapid-fire gun on a howitzer carriage. The gun weighed almost a ton less and had less recoil. It had a piston valve with a friction ignition tube, which in field conditions proved to be much more reliable than the electrically ignited bolt used in naval guns.
4,7
inwith "improved carriage"
Two "improved carriage" guns had limbers. They were adapted for tractor traction, but this innovation was not in favor, usually the gun was dragged by 24 oxen, barrel forward. Oxen could always be relied upon, while the tractor depended on fuel supplies and often failed at the most inopportune moment. The weight of the high-explosive projectile and shrapnel was slightly different, which slowed down the firing at the same target with two types of projectiles. 24 such guns were sent to South Africa. 5 in BL on carriage 40 pr RLM Caliber: 5 inches (127 mm) Barrel weight: 40 cwt (2032 kg) Gun weight in combat position: 74 cwt (about 3760 kg) Gun weight in the stowed position: 89 cwt (about 4520 kg) Projectile type: common , lyddite HE, shrapnel Projectile weight: 50 lbs Range with remote tube: 5,400 yards Range with impact fuse: 10,500 yards
5 in BL on the march
This 5-inch gun entered service with the British Army after it was decided in 1881 that they needed a 50-pound breech-loading gun, including for coastal defense. The tool was entirely made of steel. It had a twenty-way threaded barrel and a piston valve with an obturator. The sight was graduated to 8700 yards when fired with a full charge. In subsequent years, some improvements were made to the design, but the gun retained its main features. The barrel was mounted on carriages of various types, both fixed and wheeled. The guns sent to South Africa were mounted on the same 40-pounder RML wheeled carriages as the 6.3-inch RML howitzers. On a field carriage, the 5-inch gun was thought to fire accurately to 7,000 yards, fairly accurate to 8,500 yards, and was capable of firing out to 11,000 yards. During the war, calculations noted that the recoil control provided by the carriage design of the 40-pounder RMLs was not adequate to the power of the shot. Initially, the carriage did not have brakes and the gun sometimes overturned when fired. Later, "Cape brakes" and brake shoes were adapted to the carriages, which made it possible to improve the situation to some extent. Of course, this gun could not be compared with the 4.7 in QF, since the latter had a higher muzzle velocity and, accordingly, greater accuracy. On the other hand, the weight of the 5-inch gun was slightly less, the carriage was easier to maintain, and the shrapnel charge was more powerful, which gave some advantages in combat conditions. Various means of transportation were tested on these tools - oxen, mules, horses and tractors. Seems like the most high speed the horse-drawn carriage (sometimes referred to as the "galloper") had a move. For her, twelve artillery horses were used (four in a row). 18 such guns were sent to South Africa, 2 more were removed from the coastal defenses of Capa. During the fighting, they fired 5480 shells. 6 in BL howitzer Caliber: 6 in. (152 mm) Barrel weight: 1524 kg Gun weight in combat position: approx. 3541 kg Gun weight in stowed position: approx. 4318 kg on siege carriage: 7000 yards
6
inBL in firing position
6-inch howitzers entered service with the "siege parks" in 1898. At the beginning of the war, these guns were in service with the second company of the siege park. Compared to the 5-inch predecessors, the guns had a more advanced design, with spring-hydraulic recoil devices. The howitzers fired from the platform, which was connected with an elastic hydraulic buffer, while the elevation angle of the barrel reached 35 degrees. If a greater elevation angle was required, the wheels were removed and the carriage was placed on the platform. Thus, an elevation angle of 70 degrees was achieved. True, the platform, designed specifically for siege operations, was not used in South Africa. In this theater of war, she turned out to be a hindrance, and she was filmed. In South Africa, there were no 6-inch howitzers suitable job. During mobile warfare in the open veld, the power of fire could not compensate big weight and limited range of guns. In an attempt to increase range, in 1901 the howitzers received a 100-pound projectile, which allowed them to fire at 7,000 yards. 12 such howitzers were sent to South Africa, firing 55 shots during the war. 6.3 in RLM howitzer Caliber: 6.3 inches (160 mm) Barrel weight: 18 cwt Type of projectile: bomb - 72 pounds, buckshot - about 50 pounds, flare - 11 pounds Bomb range: 4000 yards.
6,3
inRLM
The gun was a typical large caliber howitzer. Originally mounted on a wheeled carriage designed for the 40 pr RML, the design of which resembled that of a field gun. The angle of elevation of the barrel was about 30 degrees. By the time the howitzer was developed, the "Woolwich" muzzle-loading system with free-passing projectiles fully showed its main drawback - excessive windage and barrel wear. In 1878, instead of guides, the projectiles received a leading belt, and the engineers returned to a multi-threaded rifled system with fine rifling: 20 rifling 0.1 inch deep and 0.5 inch wide. The steepness of the rifling varied from one revolution per 100 calibers at the charging chamber to one revolution per 35 calibers at the muzzle. In Britain, the first weapon to use new inventions was this 6.3-inch howitzer. When the war began, two such guns were in Port Elizabeth and were immediately sent to Ladysmith just before the blockade, becoming a welcome addition to the artillery of the beleaguered garrison. The garrison nicknamed this couple "Castor" and "Pollux". Howitzers became notorious for damaging the Boer Long Tom on Middle Hill, forcing the burghers to move their gun away (on Telegraph Hill). True, a few weeks later, Long Tom repaid the debt by hitting the Castor and damaging its gun carriage. In general, both howitzers played an important role in the defense of the city, firing 765 shells during the siege. 9.2 in BL Mk IV Caliber: 9.2 in. (234 mm) Gun weight in firing position: 23,000 kg Projectile type: bomb, shrapnel Projectile weight: 380 pounds Range: 14,000 yards
9
,
2
-inch"Kandahar" on the railway platform
The 9.2-inch BL was developed from 1879, and in 1881 its Mark I variant entered the Army as a coastal defense gun. It was followed by several more guns of this type, which received both the Army and the Navy. The barrel of the gun had a typical multilayer pre-stressed design with a piston breech. Coastal defense guns were mounted on barbette, mortar or "hiding" carriages. The gun fired shells (common shell) weighing approximately 380 pounds, equipped with percussion fuses at a range of about 14,000 yards. The propellant charge was stored in caps, and the breakthrough of gases through the shutter was controlled by a gasket pressed by the shutter. The British Army used the 23-ton 9.2-inch Mark IV at Table Bay and the 22-ton Mark VI at Simon's Town. During the war, one gun of this caliber was taken from the Cape Town Fort and mounted on the platform of a Type U7 car of the Cape Government Railways in the workshops on the Salt River. At that time, it was the heaviest gun ever mounted on a railway platform. Before opening fire, in order to give the base the necessary stability, the calculation should have lowered the heavy screw jacks installed on the sides. Right there, on the platform, there was a lift for feeding 380 pound shells. Despite all the difficulties of installation, the gun was successfully tested on the shore of False Bay. Given that the railroad gauge was only 3 feet 6 inches, this was an extraordinary achievement. Initially, the gun was named "Sir Redvers" in honor of General Buller, but later changed to "Kandahar" in honor of Lord Kitchener. The gun was supposed to be used against the forts of Pretoria, but when the Boers left their capital without a fight, 9.2-in was taken to Belfast in the Eastern Transvaal. It arrived there too late and could not take part in the battles at Bergendahl on August 27-28, 1900. Throughout the war, this gun never managed to fire at the enemy. The gun was serviced by the crew of the Cape Garrison Artillery 9.45 in BL howitzer (Model 98 L/9) Caliber: 9.45-in (240 mm) Barrel weight: 1990 kg Weight on platform: 7010 kg Angle of elevation: up to 65 degrees Projectiles: bomb (common shell) Projectile weight: 128 kg (282 lb) Range: 7000 m Projectile velocity : 283 m/s
9,45
inchhowitzer on siege platform
In November 1899, the Austrian Skoda factory in Pilsen produced four 240-mm mortars on a mobile platform. With the forts of Pretoria and Johannesburg in mind, the British decided to acquire these guns. Their agent, acting on behalf of "Vickers Sons and Maxim Limited" (VSM), quickly closed the deal, and in late February a group of British officers arrived in Pilsen to study mortars, and a company of gunners went to South Africa to meet them. On March 20, 1900, the mortars set sail for Britain. There they were modified by "VSM", and under the designation 9.45-in howitzers, two of them went to South Africa. The howitzers were equipped with a hydraulic and spring-loaded barrel recoil system with a stroke of 320 mm. The guns fired from a platform or mortar. For transportation, the barrel and the machine were disconnected and transported separately. Horses or oxen were used to move short distances, and rail transport was used for long distances. After arriving in South Africa, the two howitzers slowly moved north towards Pretoria, awaiting orders to attack its forts. Since the Boers had destroyed most of the bridges during their retreat across the Orange Republic, complicating the conditions of rail transport, the British left some of the howitzer ammunition in temporary depots on railway stations. On June 7, 1900, one of them, Roodeval, located north of Kroonstad, was captured by the commandos of Christian De Wet. As they left, the Boers set fire to the station wagons, and the exploding ammunition set off a "great fireworks display."
Roodeval after the "fireworks",
arranged by De Wet
After all the difficulties with the delivery and movement of these monsters, it turned out that there was no need for them. Arriving in Johannesburg on June 2, 1900, the guns were in full readiness to open fire on the fortifications defending Pretoria, but they had to fire only one shell when the burghers tried to attack a British picket positioned on a hill near Pretoria. The officer in command of the guns waited weeks for an opportunity to open fire, and, suspecting that he could leave Africa without firing a single live shot, ordered to fire at the enemy. As soon as a powerful charge exploded in full view of the approaching burghers, they prudently decided to retreat. AUTOMATIC GUNS AND MACHINE GUNS Sir HIRAM The Maxim machine gun is the brainchild of the famous American inventor Hiram Maxim. As one of the inventor's friends said, if Maxim really wanted to make money, then he should pay attention to the development of weapons and "... invent something that will allow Europeans to cut each other's throats more easily." Before Maxim appeared on the scene, a Swedish engineer, Torsten Nordenfelt, received a patent for multi-barreled machine gun, invented by his compatriot Helge Palmkrantz. Under the name of Nordenfelt, this machine gun was manufactured at the Karlsvik factory near Stockholm and sold with great success. Maxim studied the designs of Nordenfelt, Hotchkiss, Gatling and Gardner machine guns and came to the conclusion that the most effective solution would be a single-barrel design that uses recoil energy.
Sir Hiram Maxim with his brainchild
The main idea of Maxim, which has changed a little over time, in essence is very reminiscent of the trigger mechanism of the American Gardner. His real innovation was that the mechanism was powered by the machine gun's own recoil. The recoil created by the previous shot was used to actuate a mechanism that loaded, fired, and ejected the cartridge case as long as the trigger remained depressed. After several years of experimentation, Maxim decided to transfer his activities to Britain and in 1884 opened a small factory in London. During this time, he patented almost all types of mechanisms for automatic firing. Among them are those using the energy of rollback, gas removal, short rollback and many others. After studying various schemes for feeding cartridges, Maxim preferred his own design with a flexible belt, equipped with 333 rounds. In the spring of 1886, a year before Maxim released his "first perfect gun", Nordenfelt also moved to Britain and with a group of investors created the "Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition Company Limited". Using Nordenfelt's patents, the company prospered, having bought 10 acres of land from Erith (southeast London) by the summer of that year. But better days the companies were coming to an end, and the triumph of Maxim's automatic guns was a matter of time. In 1887, Maxim entered the market under the "Maxim Gun Company Limited". Produced at the Albert Vickers factory in Cryford, his guns had a patented automatic reload mechanism and a water-cooled barrel. The gun weighed about 40 pounds and could theoretically fire 450 rounds per minute. Equipped with a selector, it could fire single shots or bursts of 12, 20 or 100 shots. The guns produced were demonstrated to representatives of the governments of a number of countries and were soon sold to Britain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, America and Russia. Britain purchased three "perfect guns" for testing, and although they passed all the tests with a bang, the Crown officially adopted the "Maxim" into service only in 1891. During this period of time, Nordenfelt's sales agent Basil Zakharov (a Greek who changed his surname to the Russian style, managed to go from a petty swindler to a baronet and became the largest supplier of weapons for the armies of the whole world - one of the legendary names of the early 20th century) saw the work of "Maxim "during trials and realized the undeniable advantages of its design. He immediately set to work organizing the merger of the two companies, which in itself was not an easy task, because. Nordenfelt refused to admit that the best days of manual feeders were over. The merger was announced in 1887, but negotiations continued for another year, and it was not until July 17, 1888 that "Maxim Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition Company Limited" (MNG&ACL) was formed. After the merger, Maxim released his first "World Standard" gun chambered in 0.45-inch cartridges, easily convertible to European 10 and 11-mm ammunition (including the 577/450 Martini-Henry cartridge). Since the Maxim's guns used recoil energy, they worked especially well when firing heavy projectiles and black powder. But Europe by that time had already begun to switch to a smaller caliber and smokeless powder. Maxim realized that he could not simply adapt his "World Standard" guns to fire new powders and lighter bullets. These ammunition did not generate the recoil force needed to operate the breech mechanism, so between 1887 and 1889 he redesigned the breech block. The new tool turned out to be very successful, and the company received a lot of orders from all over the world. The merger of the two former rivals did little to alleviate their mutual dislike, and Nordenfelt resigned as Managing Director of MNG&ACL in 1890, leaving control of the enterprise in the hands of Maxim, Vickers and Zakharov. Having sold his share to partners, Nordenfelt tried to make automatic guns using recoil energy of a slightly different design, but he ran into patent claims from MNG & ACL, lost them, and gradually his name disappeared from the arms industry. A new version The Maxim machine gun appeared in 1895 as a response to the automatic guns of the Browning brothers (United States). The costs of the "patent war" did not stop the brothers from selling their light machine gun (weighing forty pounds) with an air-cooled barrel, which became known as the 1895 Colt ("Potato Digger"). In response, Maxim produced his own air-cooled version of the machine gun, called the "Extra Light", weighing only 27 pounds. As usual, Maxim also patented related solutions, as a result, four of his patents protected 21 provisions. Although significant funds were spent on advertising the new machine gun, the company was able to sell only 135 copies. In 1896, Albert Vickers & Sons bought MNG&ACL for £1,353,000 and officially changed their name to Vickers, Sons & Maxim Limited (VSM) effective 1st October 1897. Maxim remained the director of the company, in 1900 he received British citizenship, and in 1901 - a knighthood. 37 mm MAXIM automatic cannon (Pom-pom) Caliber: 37 mm Weight in stowed position: 1370 kg Type of projectile: explosive Projectile weight: 1 lb Range: about 3000 yards.
On a field carriage
In 1885, when the Royal Navy once again demanded a rapid-fire gun to protect ships from fast-moving torpedo boats, Maxim, on the basis of his machine gun, made a gun for an existing 1-pound projectile. In the future, all improvements in the design of the machine gun were transferred to this gun. Ironically, the British Army, contrary to the advice of the MNG&ACL, initially ignored the Pom-pom as a land-based weapon. But when the Boers demonstrated the fighting qualities of these guns, the British changed their minds. After the "great maxims" of the burghers contributed to the disaster at Colenso, General Buller wrote: "I would like a few 1-pound Maxim-Nordenfelts, if you can get them, to accompany the cavalry, these are magnificent guns ..." . The army ordered 50 (according to some sources 57) Maxims, of which 49 went to South Africa. The first three British guns were delivered in January 1900 and arrived at Paardeberg the day before Cronje's surrender. Some (I don’t know for sure yet) number of “pom-poms” on pedestal carriages transferred from the Navy were installed on the armored platforms of trains.
On an armored platform
One of the Canadian "maxims" on the carriage of Dundonald
Opinions on the effectiveness of "Maxims" in South Africa vary to the extreme, depending on the personal preferences of the combatants and the tasks facing the units. Undoubtedly, here the machine guns did not have such convenient targets as the dense battle formations of the Zulus or the Dervishes. Sometimes the problem was the lack of water to cool the barrel, which could boil with intensive shooting after 600-1000 shots. Nevertheless, examples can be given as illustrations when, on the first day of the battle near Paardeberg, one of the "Maxims" of the 2nd Canadian Infantry effectively suppressed enemy fire on one of the flanks, or when in the battle at Doornkop one "Maxim" for an hour kept an open flank. Of course, the cavalry units, unlike the infantry, paid great attention to the mobility of the guns and, accordingly, considered the Maxims too heavy and cumbersome. Undoubtedly, the reputation of machine guns and problems with jamming the tape had a negative effect.
"Maxim" on the platformarmored trainsA
"Colt" on a light carriage
Created by American designer John Browning, this machine gun was produced by the Connecticut Colt Company. Like the "Maxim", the machine gun used the energy of the shot, but the shutter was driven by gas that pressed on the piston. A similar design was previously patented by Maxim, which led to patent disputes and forced Browning to artificially complicate the mechanism for bypassing Maxim's patent claims. The machine gun turned out to be successful, it had air cooling, and consequently, less weight, and its lower rate of fire was compensated by the reliability of the tape feed mechanism. This .303 inch machine gun quickly became the darling of the British Army's volunteer units in South Africa. The light gun (for which one horse was enough to transport) perfectly suited the mobile nature of the second stage of the Boer War. A particular advantage of the "Colt" was that it was easily removed from the carriage, and it could be transported in the saddle or easily moved to the front lines, where machine-gun fire is especially effective. One of the most famous episodes of that war in which the Colt is mentioned is the incident with Sergeant Edward Holland. The sergeant with his "Colt" defended two 12-pound guns on November 7, 1900 at Lelifontein .. When the enemy came very close, and it was not possible to take away the machine gun, since the draft horse was killed, he simply removed the machine gun from the carriage and ran away, holding it under your arm. During the war, there was a tendency in the cavalry units to replace Maxim machine guns with Colts, especially in units that specialized in "counter-guerrilla" warfare. For example, a detachment of Canadian Scouts formed on the basis of the Royal Canadian Dragoons abandoned the "maxims", while bringing the number of "colts" to six. 1-in NORDENFELT In 1877, the Swedish engineer Thorsten Nordenfelt acquired the rights to a multi-barreled, hand-operated machine gun designed by his compatriot Helg Palmkrantz. Under the brand name "Nordenfelt", this gun, produced at the Karlsvik plant near Stockholm, was a great success. In 1866, Nordenfelt moved to Britain, where he founded the Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited (NG&ACL), which officially merged with the Maxim Gun Company Limited in 1888 to form the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited (MNG&ACL). The collaboration did not last long. There was constant friction between the companions, and besides, compared to Maxim's automatic shutter, Nordenfelt's manual drive looked outdated, and Nordenfelt did not want to admit that the best days of his machine gun were in the past. In 1890, having sold his share, he left MNG&ACL and began manufacturing his own recoil-powered machine gun, but as a result, he became embroiled in a lawsuit against a former partner. The court rules against him, and gradually Nordenfelt's name disappears from the armaments industry. The main task Nordenfelt's rapid-fire guns were fighting mine boats and destroyers. It was for this purpose that it was used in the Navy and at coastal defense facilities. There were various models of guns with two, four or five barrels, firing 1-inch or 0.45-inch projectiles. The Nordenfelt gun fired and ejected spent cartridges due to the fact that the operator rotated the handle of the mechanism that actuated the shutter. The gun had both a single firing mode and a burst firing mode. To fight the boats, the gun used steel armor-piercing bullets. The brass sleeve was loaded with black powder. Ammunition entered the gun under its own weight from a magazine mounted above the barrels. Usually, the gun was mounted on a fixed conical carriage, which allowed circular firing. Some were placed on a small wheeled carriage and used by landing parties.
Mafeking "Nordenfelt"
The most famous gun of Nordenfelt in the Boer War was in Mafeking, during the siege of the city. The garrison of the city used a 2-barreled 1-inch gun mounted on sea cone, and, most likely, borrowed from one of the armored trains. A similar weapon, or as the Boers called it, the "double-barreled maxim" was captured by the burghers on the second "Mafeking" armored train at Kraaipan on October 12, 1899. It is not known whether they used this weapon against the British. The second source of Nordenfelt's automatic guns was Captain Scott's squadron. In November 1899, her ground detachment had two Nordenfelts at Durban, but no details of their use are yet known. Undoubtedly, this weapon was really outdated by the beginning of the war, but as a measure for plugging holes, it played its role. NEED TO FIND OUT CLICK "LORD NELSON"
"Lord Nelson"
Made back in 1770, this cannon was used in Mafeking during the siege. At one time, it was presented to the local leader, and then for about twenty years she lay in the ground. When the war began, the leader's son ordered it to be dug up and presented to the British. It was a smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon that fired cannonballs. "WOLF" Caliber: 6 inches Projectile weight 18 pounds Range: about 4,000 yards This gun and its shells were made under the direction of Major Panzer at Mafeking during the siege. Received her nickname in honor of Colonel Baden-Powell.
"Wolf"and ammunition for it
"Long Cecil"
At the beginning of the siege, Kimberley's artillery consisted of 7-pounder and 2.5-inch muzzle-loading guns. The American engineer Labram, who worked for De Beers, attempted to create a weapon capable of withstanding the cannons of the Boers. The "Long Cecil" was designed by engineers who had no experience in constructing guns, and made without special equipment in ordinary workshops. Their information was scraps of information from engineering magazines. The gun went into action on the 25th day after the start of designing. At first, breakdowns sometimes occurred, but the defects were soon eliminated, and it served faithfully until the end of the siege. The Long Cecil fired 225 rounds at an average range of 5,000 yards. His activity forced the Boers to bring "Long Tom". Ironically, Labram was killed by one of the first projectiles fired by Long Tom at Kimberley.
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