KStudio Photography
BL (Breech Loading) 6in. Mark VII Naval Gun
An official British press photograph entitled “A British Gun Higher than the Housetops on the Western Front”. No date or location is, not surprisingly, given in the photograph’s caption text. However, much can still be described now. The artillery piece is the BL (Breech Loading) 6in. Mark VII naval gun fitted to a carriage for use on land rather than on ships or static coast gun mounts. The usage of naval guns as field pieces was not at all uncommon and all major sides in World War One did so as a means to rapidly deploy large caliber guns into combat. The gun itself was first used by British naval ships beginning in 1901. It had a 46 inch long barrel and fired a 100lb. shell to a maximum range of 7.8 miles (when used as a field gun). It was one of the first British naval guns to use bagged propellant instead of brass shells. There was no recoil mechanism which meant the recoil forces were spent by the backwards motion of the entire gun. This meant that gunners typically were not anywhere close to the gun when it fired and it also meant that the gun had to be moved back into position after each shot which meant a low rate of fire. The tremendous recoil forces were so strong that the gun’s aiming mechanism had to be removed before firing else it become damaged and rendered useless. To limit the backwards motion, scotches were emplaced behind the wheels which allowed the gun and carriage to ride up the scotches and bleed off the recoil forces and then roll back into, more or less, the same position. This gun crew also has smaller scotches to put in front of the wheels to stop any unwanted forward motion after firing. The British first deployed the Mk. VII in 1915 though this particular gun uses one of the later carriages which featured cleated wheels (the original Scott’s Carriage had smooth wheels) to improve traction. The Mk. VII was so heavy at 25 tons that it was impossible for horses to move the gun and so this gun was usually towed by a Holt 75 or Holt 120 tractor. Because of its excellent range, the Mk. VII was typically tasked with conducting counter-battery fire missions against enemy artillery positions. It was also used for reducing enemy defensive emplacements and for barbed wire clearing prior to attacks. The Mk. VII would continue to see service into the 1950s as part of Britain’s coastal defense network. Only one Mk. VII field gun survives today and can be seen at The Front Museum in Lappohja, Finland.
BL (Breech Loading) 6in. Mark VII Naval Gun
An official British press photograph entitled “A British Gun Higher than the Housetops on the Western Front”. No date or location is, not surprisingly, given in the photograph’s caption text. However, much can still be described now. The artillery piece is the BL (Breech Loading) 6in. Mark VII naval gun fitted to a carriage for use on land rather than on ships or static coast gun mounts. The usage of naval guns as field pieces was not at all uncommon and all major sides in World War One did so as a means to rapidly deploy large caliber guns into combat. The gun itself was first used by British naval ships beginning in 1901. It had a 46 inch long barrel and fired a 100lb. shell to a maximum range of 7.8 miles (when used as a field gun). It was one of the first British naval guns to use bagged propellant instead of brass shells. There was no recoil mechanism which meant the recoil forces were spent by the backwards motion of the entire gun. This meant that gunners typically were not anywhere close to the gun when it fired and it also meant that the gun had to be moved back into position after each shot which meant a low rate of fire. The tremendous recoil forces were so strong that the gun’s aiming mechanism had to be removed before firing else it become damaged and rendered useless. To limit the backwards motion, scotches were emplaced behind the wheels which allowed the gun and carriage to ride up the scotches and bleed off the recoil forces and then roll back into, more or less, the same position. This gun crew also has smaller scotches to put in front of the wheels to stop any unwanted forward motion after firing. The British first deployed the Mk. VII in 1915 though this particular gun uses one of the later carriages which featured cleated wheels (the original Scott’s Carriage had smooth wheels) to improve traction. The Mk. VII was so heavy at 25 tons that it was impossible for horses to move the gun and so this gun was usually towed by a Holt 75 or Holt 120 tractor. Because of its excellent range, the Mk. VII was typically tasked with conducting counter-battery fire missions against enemy artillery positions. It was also used for reducing enemy defensive emplacements and for barbed wire clearing prior to attacks. The Mk. VII would continue to see service into the 1950s as part of Britain’s coastal defense network. Only one Mk. VII field gun survives today and can be seen at The Front Museum in Lappohja, Finland.