The L118 light gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer . It was originally designed and produced in the United Kingdom for the British Army in the 1970s. It has since been widely exported. The L119 and the United States Army's M119 are variants that use a different type of ammunition.
115-466: The L118 uses separate-loading cased-charge ammunition – the projectile is loaded into the gun and rammed by hand, then the cartridge with propellant is loaded behind it. The L119 and M119 use "semi-fixed" ammunition – when it is prepared for firing, the projectile is fitted into the top of the cartridge case and the shell loaded into the gun as a complete round. From 1961 to 1975, the British Army used
230-408: A Lieutenant-Colonel . After May 1938, brigades were redesignated as regiments and on 27 August 1938, III Brigade Royal Horse Artillery at Abbassia , Egypt was redesignated as 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery . Also in 1938, artillery brigades were reorganized from three six-gun batteries to two 12-gun batteries. Rather than disband existing batteries, they were instead linked in pairs. As
345-474: A "shell" as opposed to "shot". By the time of the Second World War, AP shells with a bursting charge were sometimes distinguished by appending the suffix "HE". At the beginning of the war, APHE was common in anti-tank shells of 75 mm caliber and larger due to the similarity with the much larger naval armour piercing shells already in common use. As the war progressed, ordnance design evolved so that
460-536: A 1543 English mortar shell was filled with "wildfire." By the 18th century, it was known that if loaded toward the muzzle instead, the fuse could be lit by the flash through the windage between the shell and the barrel. At about this time, shells began to be employed for horizontal fire from howitzers with a small propelling charge and, in 1779, experiments demonstrated that they could be used from guns with heavier charges. The use of exploding shells from field artillery became relatively commonplace from early in
575-459: A bastion of the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt , Germany . Many of the grenades contained their original black-powder loads and igniters. Most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped in the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. An early problem was that there was no means of precisely measuring the time to detonation – reliable fuses did not yet exist, and the burning time of
690-526: A better effect. This guideline was achieved by the 1960s with the 155 mm L15 shell, developed as part of the German-British FH-70 program. The key requirement for increasing the HE content without increasing shell weight was to reduce the thickness of shell walls, which required improvements in high tensile steel. The most common shell type is high explosive , commonly referred to simply as HE. They have
805-401: A cartridge case and it achieves obturation through a screw breech instead of a sliding block. Sometimes when reading about artillery the term separate loading ammunition will be used without clarification of whether a cartridge case is used or not, in which case it refers to the type of breech used. Heavy artillery pieces and naval artillery tend to use bagged charges and projectiles because
920-490: A challenge because there was no way of ensuring that the impact mechanism contacted the target. Therefore, ball shells needed a time fuse that was ignited before or during firing and burned until the shell reached its target. Cast iron shells packed with gunpowder have been used in warfare since at least early 13th century China. Hollow, gunpowder-packed shells made of cast iron used during the Song dynasty (960-1279) are described in
1035-459: A concrete demolition 203 mm (8 in) shell 146 kg (322 lbs), a 280 mm (11 in) battleship shell about 300 kg (661 lbs), and a 460 mm (18 in) battleship shell over 1,500 kg (3,307 lbs). The Schwerer Gustav large-calibre gun fired shells that weighed between 4,800 kg (10,582 lbs) and 7,100 kg (15,653 lbs). During the 19th century, the British adopted
1150-402: A direct-fire telescope and were originally issued with a night telescope using image intensification. The 105 mm Fd Mk 2 ammunition has two propelling cartridges and a blank cartridge (for saluting purposes). The normal cartridge has six propellant increments (charges 1, 2, 3, 4, 4½, and 5). Charge 4½, which is charge 5 with the blue charge three bag removed, is peculiar to the light gun and
1265-412: A fixed round becomes too long or too heavy to load by a gun crew. Another issue is the inability to vary propellant charges to achieve different velocities and ranges. Lastly, there is the issue of resource usage since a fixed round uses a case, which can be an issue in a prolonged war if there are metal shortages. Separate loading cased charge ammunition has three main components: the fuzed projectile,
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#17328444061381380-688: A follow-up formation, following the Normandy Landings In 1945, the regiment led the Allied Victory parade in Berlin, and fired the Victory Salute. After World War II the regiment served in the UK, West Germany , Aden , Egypt , Kenya (September 1961-September 1964 with the regiment's main body at Alanbrooke Barracks, Gilgil ) Hong Kong and Cyprus . In 1958, C Battery joined the regiment, and M Battery
1495-412: A half-inch. The sabot was also intended to reduce jamming during loading. Despite the use of exploding shells, the use of smoothbore cannons firing spherical projectiles of shot remained the dominant artillery method until the 1850s. The mid–19th century saw a revolution in artillery, with the introduction of the first practical rifled breech loading weapons. The new methods resulted in the reshaping of
1610-695: A huge cloud of smoke and concealed shooters were given away by a cloud of smoke over the firing position. Guncotton , a nitrocellulose-based material, was discovered by Swiss chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1846. He promoted its use as a blasting explosive and sold manufacturing rights to the Austrian Empire . Guncotton was more powerful than gunpowder, but at the same time was somewhat more unstable. John Taylor obtained an English patent for guncotton; and John Hall & Sons began manufacture in Faversham . British interest waned after an explosion destroyed
1725-452: A modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive , incendiary , or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell , contrasting with solid shells used for early rifled artillery, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell can hold a tracer . All explosive- and incendiary-filled projectiles, particularly for mortars , were originally called grenades , derived from
1840-465: A number of dedicated saluting guns for ceremonial purposes. Based on the standard L118, these saluting guns are modified to exclusively fire blank cartridges, are not fitted with the APS system and are easily distinguished from the field gun variant by their distinctive bronze green paintwork, chromed muzzle brake, and chromed breech. Shell (projectile)#Separate loading cased charge A shell , in
1955-508: A number of its features to the 25-pounder gun , unsurprisingly since RARDE was the successor to the design department, Woolwich Arsenal . Among these features are its vertically sliding block breech, and a box trail instead of a split trail ; a traversing platform is normally used with it. Its comparatively light weight is also attributed to the nature of the steel used in the carriage and ordnance, and other weight-reducing features, including its narrow wheelbase. The narrow wheelbase prevents
2070-409: A particular form of designating artillery. Field guns were designated by nominal standard projectile weight, while howitzers were designated by barrel caliber. British guns and their ammunition were designated in pounds , e.g., as "two-pounder" shortened to "2-pr" or "2-pdr". Usually, this referred to the actual weight of the standard projectile (shot, shrapnel, or high explosive), but, confusingly, this
2185-572: A result, D and J Batteries formed D/J Battery on 11 May 1938 and M and P Batteries were linked as M/P Battery on the same date. This was the regiment's structure on formation but in the event the batteries were unlinked within months (in September 1939) and the regiment operated with four batteries. By the outbreak of the Second World War , the regiment was still in Egypt and on 16 October 1939
2300-458: A slightly larger touchscreen was ordered. It may enable data transfer from FC-BISA and include the NATO armament ballistic kernel (NABK) for direct fire shooting. The L119 variant has a different barrel (a slightly shorter L30 ordnance with a percussion firing mechanism) for firing the ubiquitous US M1 type ammunition (UK 105 mm How), giving the gun a max range of 11,400 metres (12,500 yd). When
2415-419: A small rocket motor built into its base to provide additional thrust. The second has a pyrotechnic device in its base that bleeds gas to fill the partial vacuum created behind the shell and hence reduce base-drag. These shell designs usually have reduced high-explosive filling to remain within the permitted mass for the projectile, and hence less lethality. The caliber of a shell is its diameter . Depending on
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#17328444061382530-482: A strong steel case, a bursting charge, and a fuse . The fuse detonates the bursting charge which shatters the case and scatters hot, sharp case pieces ( fragments , splinters ) at high velocity. Most of the damage to soft targets, such as unprotected personnel, is caused by shell pieces rather than by the blast. The term "shrapnel" is sometimes used to describe the shell pieces, but shrapnel shells functioned very differently and are long obsolete. The speed of fragments
2645-469: A thickness about 1/15th of the total diameter and filled with powder, saltpeter, pitch, coal and tallow. They were used to 'suffocate or expel the enemy in casemates, mines or between decks; for concealing operations; and as signals. During the First World War , shrapnel shells and explosive shells inflicted terrible casualties on infantry, accounting for nearly 70% of all war casualties and leading to
2760-640: A week. New Zealand also donated approximately 40 dial sights to Ukraine. The L119 was further modified and produced under licence for the United States Army. The most recent version is the M119A3 introduced in 2013 with a digital fire-control system and GPS-aided inertial navigation unit using software derived from the M777A2 . During the 1970s, a third variant with the L21 ordnance, was developed and prototypes produced. This
2875-455: Is semi-fixed ammunition. With semi-fixed ammunition the round comes as a complete package but the projectile and its case can be separated. The case holds a set number of bagged charges and the gun crew can add or subtract propellant to change range and velocity. The round is then reassembled, loaded, and fired. Advantages include easier handling for larger caliber rounds, while range and velocity can easily be varied by increasing or decreasing
2990-464: Is a regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery in the British Army . They are currently based at Albemarle Barracks , Northumberland , England. The regiment is equipped with MLRS and provides Deep Fires to the 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team , 3rd (UK) Division. The regiment was constituted in 1939 out of existing batteries. Two of the batteries have served continuously since
3105-707: Is also fired by 14 (Training) Regiment Royal Artillery on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day each year. As of July 2017, there were 126 L118 light guns in service with the British Army. The L118 uses the L19 ordnance on the L17 carriage. The L19 ordnance is slightly shorter than the L13 used by the Abbot and hence has a slightly shorter maximum range. Also, unlike the Abbot, the barrel is autofrettaged and hence lighter. The light gun appears to owe
3220-404: Is generally most suitable but cupronickel or gilding metal were also used. Although an early percussion fuze appeared in 1650 that used a flint to create sparks to ignite the powder, the shell had to fall in a particular way for this to work and this did not work with spherical projectiles. An additional problem was finding a suitably stable "percussion powder". Progress was not possible until
3335-563: Is limited by Gurney equations . Depending on the type of fuse used the HE shell can be set to burst on the ground (percussion), in the air above the ground, which is called air burst (time or proximity ), or after penetrating a short distance into the ground (percussion with delay, either to transmit more ground shock to covered positions, or to reduce the spread of fragments). Projectiles with enhanced fragmentation are called high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG). 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
3450-443: Is obsolete. Typically, the thickness of the metal body was about a sixth of their diameter, and they were about two-thirds the weight of solid shot of the same caliber. To ensure that shells were loaded with their fuses toward the muzzle, they were attached to wooden bottoms called sabots . In 1819, a committee of British artillery officers recognized that they were essential stores and in 1830 Britain standardized sabot thickness as
3565-751: Is similar to a Ordnance QF 25-pounder field gun. The 105 mm light field gun is much more like L118, although somewhat heavier. In 1984, the L119 entered service with the Australian Army named the "Hamel gun" to replace the M2A2 . The gun was manufactured under licence in Australia for the Australian and New Zealand armies using mostly Australian produced components. Plans to produce 105 mm field ammunition were postponed. The 105 mm saluting gun: The British Army has
L118 light gun - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-458: Is used only for high-angle fire . A separate "charge super" cartridge is used for firing to maximum range. Both charge five and charge super project beyond the end of the metal cartridge case. The 105 mm Fd is "separate, cased"; the shell is loaded and rammed by hand, then the cartridge with propellant is loaded. By the time the L118 entered service, propellant sub-zones A and B originally used with
3795-555: Is usually a cylinder topped by an ogive -tipped nose cone for good aerodynamic performance , and possibly with a tapered boat tail ; but some specialized types differ widely. Gunpowder is a low explosive , meaning it will not create a concussive, brisant explosion unless it is contained, as in a modern-day pipe bomb or pressure cooker bomb . Early grenades were hollow cast-iron balls filled with gunpowder, and "shells" were similar devices designed to be shot from artillery in place of solid cannonballs ("shot"). Metonymically ,
3910-714: The Army Reserve , The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), 103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment Royal Artillery , 104th Regiment Royal Artillery and 105th Regiment Royal Artillery ) are also equipped with the light gun. Those University Officer Training Corps with "gun troops" train with the L118. On 30 November 2001, an L118 light gun replaced a 25-pounder gun as the One O'Clock Gun in Edinburgh Castle . By tradition, this fires at one o'clock every afternoon, except on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day. The light gun
4025-592: The Battle of Sidi Rezegh where Second Lieutenant George Ward Gunn (J Battery) earned the Victoria Cross for his bravery during an attack by 60 German Tanks. On 26 April 1954, J Battery was awarded the Honour Title "Sidi Rezegh" in recognition of this action. The regiment was rearmed with 25 pounders after Sidi Rezegh, and the batteries were redesignated as field artillery on 8 September 1942. The regiment left
4140-583: The Desert Rats . They remained in Hohne until it closed in 2015. In December 2000 D Battery deployed as part of NATO 's KFOR to Kosovo on Op Agricola. Under Army 2020 , the regiment will provide force support to the Adaptable Force. In 2013 it re-roled from AS-90s to L118 Light Guns . From 1 March 2015 to 1 July 2022, the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery was paired with this regiment. From 2020 to 2022,
4255-516: The French word for pomegranate , so called because of the similarity of shape and that the multi-seeded fruit resembles the powder-filled, fragmentizing bomb. Words cognate with grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages. Shells are usually large-caliber projectiles fired by artillery, armoured fighting vehicles (e.g. tanks , assault guns , and mortar carriers ), warships , and autocannons . The shape
4370-751: The Industrial Revolution that Armstrong was able to construct a viable solution. Another innovative feature was what Armstrong called its "grip", which was essentially a squeeze bore ; the 6 inches of the bore at the muzzle end was of slightly smaller diameter, which centered the shell before it left the barrel and at the same time slightly swaged down its lead coating, reducing its diameter and slightly improving its ballistic qualities. Rifled guns were also developed elsewhere – by Major Giovanni Cavalli and Baron Martin von Wahrendorff in Sweden, Krupp in Germany and
4485-551: The Puma and Westland Sea King , were entering service at the same time. A new vehicle, the Land Rover 101 Forward Control ("Land Rover, one-ton"), was designed as its prime mover in the field (and also for the Rapier air-defence missile launcher). Since the end of the 1990s, the British Army has used Pinzgauer ATVs as their gun tractors. In Arctic service, and elsewhere, the gun is towed by
4600-577: The Republic of Venice at Jadra in 1376. Shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica . These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop. At least since the 16th century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe. A hoard of several hundred ceramic grenades dated to the 17th century was discovered during building works in front of
4715-455: The Royal Arsenal at Woolwich . The piece was rifled , which allowed for a much more accurate and powerful action. Although rifling had been tried on small arms since the 15th century, the necessary machinery to accurately rifle artillery only became available in the mid-19th century. Martin von Wahrendorff and Joseph Whitworth independently produced rifled cannons in the 1840s, but it
L118 light gun - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-678: The Royal School of Artillery while stocks of 105 mm How lasted, and the last British L119s were retired in 2005. However, the L119 is popular with many export customers who still rely on M1 ammunition. In 2022, the New Zealand Army sent 30 soldiers to the United Kingdom to train Ukrainian soldiers on the L119 light gun, as military assistance to Ukraine. They were to be stationed in the United Kingdom from May to July, with each course to take
4945-569: The Wiard gun in the United States. However, rifled barrels required some means of engaging the shell with the rifling. Lead coated shells were used with the Armstrong gun , but were not satisfactory so studded projectiles were adopted. However, these did not seal the gap between shell and barrel. Wads at the shell base were also tried without success. In 1878, the British adopted a copper " gas-check " at
5060-604: The fuzed projectile, the casing to hold the propellants and primer , and the single propellant charge. Everything is included in a ready-to-use package and in British ordnance terms is called fixed quick firing . Often guns which use fixed ammunition use sliding-block or sliding-wedge breeches and the case provides obturation which seals the breech of the gun and prevents propellant gasses from escaping. Sliding block breeches can be horizontal or vertical. Advantages of fixed ammunition are simplicity, safety, moisture resistance and speed of loading. Disadvantages are eventually
5175-417: The " semi-fixed " M1 ammunition is prepared for firing, any propellant charge bags that are not going to be used are removed from the cartridge case, then the projectile is fitted into the top of the case. The shell is then loaded into the gun as a complete round, unlike the L118 ammunition, where the projectile and cartridge case are loaded separately. In British service, the L119 was used only for training at
5290-794: The 105 mm pack howitzer L5 with L10 ordnance ( OTO Melara Mod 56 ) as its light artillery weapon, replacing the 75 mm howitzer , 4.2 inch mortar , and 25-pounder gun in eight regular artillery regiments. It fires the US M1 type ammunition (called "105 mm How" in the UK). The Mod 56 was originally designed in Italy for its mountain artillery units. It was light enough to be lifted by Westland Wessex helicopters or towed by Land Rovers . It could also be dismantled, with no piece heavier than 128 kg (282 lb) to be transported by mules or horses. It lacked range (making it potentially vulnerable to counter-battery fire),
5405-540: The 1790s. Two others have served continuously since their formation in the period 1805-1811 during the Napoleonic wars. M Battery, by contrast, has served continuously since 1993. The basic organic unit of the Royal Artillery was, and is, the battery . Prior to May 1938, when grouped together they formed brigades, in the same way that infantry battalions or cavalry regiments were grouped together in brigades. At
5520-490: The 17th century onwards. The British adopted parachute lightballs in 1866 for 10-, 8- and 5 1 ⁄ 2 -inch calibers. The 10-inch was not officially declared obsolete until 1920. Smoke balls also date back to the 17th century, British ones contained a mix of saltpetre, coal, pitch, tar, resin, sawdust, crude antimony and sulphur. They produced a "noisome smoke in abundance that is impossible to bear". In 19th-century British service, they were made of concentric paper with
5635-436: The 19th century. Until the mid 19th century, shells remained as simple exploding spheres that used gunpowder, set off by a slow burning fuse. They were usually made of cast iron , but bronze , lead , brass and even glass shell casings were experimented with. The word bomb encompassed them at the time, as heard in the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner ("the bombs bursting in air"), although today that sense of bomb
5750-512: The 7th Support Group on 8 February 1942 (the day before it was reformed as the 7th Motor Brigade ) and was assigned directly to the 7th Armoured Division; it remained with the division for the rest of the war. The regiment supported the 7th Armoured Division during the rest of the Western Desert campaign taking part in the Battle of Gazala (26 June – 21 June 1942), the Defence of
5865-479: The A-frame is fitted to the front transom in order to support the elevating mass. A recent modification makes it possible to keep the gun in this position indefinitely at speeds up to 40 mph (64 km/h). For long-distance transport or traversing rough terrain, the barrel is reversed and clamped to the end of the trail. For storage, the gun is in the unfolded position with the barrel elevated to an angle that balances
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#17328444061385980-418: The Abbot had been replaced by an aerodynamic spoiler (a ring slipped over the nose of shell to lodge on the ogive) to reduce the minimum range at high-angle fire when this was required. The 105 mm Fd Mk 2 rounds were the same as used with Abbot when the L118 was first introduced. The ammunition types originally or subsequently in UK service include: A white phosphorus smoke shell has never been adopted by
6095-538: The Austrian factories blew up in 1862, Thomas Prentice & Company began manufacturing guncotton in Stowmarket in 1863; and British War Office chemist Sir Frederick Abel began thorough research at Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills leading to a manufacturing process that eliminated the impurities in nitrocellulose making it safer to produce and a stable product safer to handle. Abel patented this process in 1865, when
6210-498: The British victory. At present, the British Army has four light gun regiments: 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery , 4th Regiment Royal Artillery , 7th (Parachute) Regiment Royal Horse Artillery , and 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery . Other regiments are temporarily equipped with it for service in Afghanistan. The 14 (Training) Regiment Royal Artillery uses it for training at the Royal School of Artillery . Four regiments of
6325-622: The El Alamein Line (1 – 27 July), the Battle of Alam el Halfa (30 August – 7 September), and the Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 4 November). It then took part in the Tunisian campaign including the Battles of Medenine (6 March 1943), Mareth (16 – 23 March), Akarit (6 and 7 April), Enfidaville (19 – 29 April), and Tunis (5 – 12 May). The regiment
6440-419: The Faversham factory in 1847. Austrian Baron Wilhelm Lenk von Wolfsberg built two guncotton plants producing artillery propellant, but it was dangerous under field conditions, and guns that could fire thousands of rounds using gunpowder would reach their service life after only a few hundred shots with the more powerful guncotton. Small arms could not withstand the pressures generated by guncotton. After one of
6555-564: The First World War (such as the BL 60-pounder gun , RML 2.5 inch Mountain Gun , 4 inch gun, 4.5 inch howitzer) through to the end of World War II (5.5 inch medium gun, 25-pounder gun-howitzer , 17-pounder tank gun), but the majority of naval guns were by caliber. After the end of World War II, field guns were designated by caliber. There are many different types of shells. The principal ones include: With
6670-481: The Former Republic of Yugoslavia. and in 1993, N Battery (The Eagle Troop) joined the regiment, and M Battery was amalgamated with Headquarters Battery to form M Headquarters Battery. Furthermore, in 1999, the regiment deployed with UNPROFOR to Bosnia In 1998, the regiment moved to Caen Barracks, Hohne Station , in Germany to succeed 40th Regiment Royal Artillery and become part of the 7th Armoured Brigade ,
6785-750: The German super- railway guns , Gustav and Dora , which were 800 mm (31.5 in) in caliber. Very large shells have been replaced by rockets , missiles , and bombs . Today the largest shells in common use are 155 mm (6.1 in). Gun calibers have standardized around a few common sizes, especially in the larger range, mainly due to the uniformity required for efficient military logistics. Shells of 105 and 155 mm for artillery with 105 and 120 mm for tank guns are common in NATO allied countries. Shells of 122, 130, and 152 mm for artillery with 100, 115, and 125 mm for tank guns, remain in common usage among
6900-572: The Hägglunds Bv 206 and is fitted with skis when over snow. In 1982, five batteries (30 guns) were deployed to the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War . In the final phases of the battles around Port Stanley , these guns were firing up to 400 rounds per gun a day, mostly at "charge super", the most powerful propellant charge for which they were designed. They were a significant factor in
7015-472: The M1 shell, in training. However, in 1968, this was changed to allow a different version of the weapon, which subsequently became the L119, to fire US 1935 pattern (i.e. M1) ammunition. The new gun, soon designated "light gun", was designed by the government Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE), Fort Halstead , Kent. Prototypes were tested in 1968. It soon emerged that some increase in weight
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#17328444061387130-495: The M270, while J (Sidi Rezegh) Battery became the headquarters battery and M Battery was placed in suspended animation. N Battery (Eagle Troop) joined 7 Parachute Regiment, RHA as N Parachute Battery (Eagle Troop). On deployment, the regiment would be supported by a battery of the reserve 101st (Northumbrian) Regiment, RA . In June 2023 one of the regiment's gunners was found dead from a suspected suicide. The next month her boyfriend,
7245-743: The Regiment deployed as part of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence on Operation Cabrit (Poland and Estonia). Under the Future Soldier Programme , the regiment merged with the 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team (a merger of 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade and 1st Artillery Brigade ) in 1 July 2022. In March 2023, the regiment re-roled to the Deep Fires role losing its L118 Light guns and replaced them with new M270 MLR Systems . Two batteries (C & D) re-equipped with
7360-544: The Royal Artillery was adopted by the army. It was a wooden fuze about 6 inches long and used shear wire to hold blocks between the fuze magazine and a burning match. The match was ignited by propellant flash and the shear wire broke on impact. A British naval percussion fuze made of metal did not appear until 1861. Gunpowder was used as the only form of explosive up until the end of the 19th century. Guns using black powder ammunition would have their view obscured by
7475-453: The UK for L118. A base bleed insensitive HE shell, with a maximum range of 20.6 kilometres (12.8 mi) has been developed. During the early 1990s all UK L118 were fitted with a muzzle velocity measuring device (MVMD), a radar, and its power supply. In 2002, the British Army's L118 guns completed replacement of their optical sights with the LINAPS artillery pointing system (APS) mounted above
7590-454: The adoption of steel combat helmets on both sides. Frequent problems with shells led to many military disasters with dud shells, most notably during the 1916 Battle of the Somme . Shells filled with poison gas were used from 1917 onwards. Artillery shells are differentiated by how the shell is loaded and propelled, and the type of breech mechanism. Fixed ammunition has three main components:
7705-420: The barrel. This is a self-contained system that uses three ring laser gyros to determine azimuth, elevation angle and trunnion tilt angle. It also includes facilities for navigation and self-survey using a global positioning system, inertial direction measurement and distance measurement. All this can be used anywhere in the world to lay the gun without external references. The outputs and inputs for APS are through
7820-494: The base of their studded projectiles and in 1879 tried a rotating gas check to replace the studs, leading to the 1881 automatic gas-check. This was soon followed by the Vavaseur copper driving band as part of the projectile. The driving band rotated the projectile, centered it in the bore and prevented gas escaping forwards. A driving band has to be soft but tough enough to prevent stripping by rotational and engraving stresses. Copper
7935-538: The bursting charges in APHE became ever smaller to non-existent, especially in smaller caliber shells, e.g. Panzergranate 39 with only 0.2% HE filling. Although smokeless powders were used as a propellant, they could not be used as the substance for the explosive warhead, because shock sensitivity sometimes caused detonation in the artillery barrel at the time of firing. Picric acid was the first high-explosive nitrated organic compound widely considered suitable to withstand
8050-559: The casing to hold the propellants and primer, and the bagged propellant charges. The components are usually separated into two or more parts. In British ordnance terms, this type of ammunition is called separate quick firing . Often guns which use separate loading cased charge ammunition use sliding-block or sliding-wedge breeches and during World War I and World War II Germany predominantly used fixed or separate loading cased charges and sliding block breeches even for their largest guns. A variant of separate loading cased charge ammunition
8165-532: The combustion temperature and hence erosion and barrel wear. Cordite could be made to burn more slowly which reduced maximum pressure in the chamber (hence lighter breeches, etc.), but longer high pressure – significant improvements over gunpowder. Cordite could be made in any desired shape or size. The creation of cordite led to a lengthy court battle between Nobel, Maxim, and another inventor over alleged British patent infringement. A variety of fillings have been used in shells throughout history. An incendiary shell
8280-434: The curve was a segment of a circle having a radius of twice the shell caliber. After that war, ogive shapes became more complex and elongated. From the 1960s, higher quality steels were introduced by some countries for their HE shells, this enabled thinner shell walls with less weight of metal and hence a greater weight of explosive. Ogives were further elongated to improve their ballistic performance. Advances in metallurgy in
8395-477: The discovery of mercury fulminate in 1800, leading to priming mixtures for small arms patented by the Rev Alexander Forsyth , and the copper percussion cap in 1818. The percussion fuze was adopted by Britain in 1842. Many designs were jointly examined by the army and navy, but were unsatisfactory, probably because of the safety and arming features. However, in 1846 the design by Quartermaster Freeburn of
8510-524: The early Ming Dynasty Chinese military manual Huolongjing , written in the mid 14th century. The History of Jin 《金史》 (compiled by 1345) states that in 1232, as the Mongol general Subutai (1176–1248) descended on the Jin stronghold of Kaifeng , the defenders had a " thunder crash bomb " which "consisted of gunpowder put into an iron container ... then when the fuse was lit (and the projectile shot off) there
8625-516: The elevated mass on the yoke and therefore relieves pressure on the elevating gears. When first introduced in the British Royal Artillery, the L7 or L7A1 dial sight and its carrier, incorporating an integral elevation scale and internal lighting powered by Trilux nuclear light sources, was used to aim the gun for indirect fire. The L7 sight is a modified version of a German Leitz instrument. Since
8740-538: The first being Germany and Austria which introduced new weapons in 1888. Subsequently, Poudre B was modified several times with various compounds being added and removed. Krupp began adding diphenylamine as a stabilizer in 1888. Britain conducted trials on all the various types of propellant brought to their attention, but were dissatisfied with them all and sought something superior to all existing types. In 1889, Sir Frederick Abel , James Dewar and W. Kellner patented (No. 5614 and No. 11,664 in
8855-428: The gun to achieve greater range and accuracy than existing smooth-bore muzzle-loaders with a smaller powder charge. The gun was also a breech-loader. Although attempts at breech-loading mechanisms had been made since medieval times, the essential engineering problem was that the mechanism could not withstand the explosive charge. It was only with the advances in metallurgy and precision engineering capabilities during
8970-436: The historical period and national preferences, this may be specified in millimeters , centimeters , or inches . The length of gun barrels for large cartridges and shells (naval) is frequently quoted in terms of the ratio of the barrel length to the bore size, also called caliber . For example, the 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun is 50 calibers long, that is, 16"×50=800"=66.7 feet long. Some guns, mainly British, were specified by
9085-604: The industrial era allowed for the construction of rifled breech-loading guns that could fire at a much greater muzzle velocity . After the British artillery was shown up in the Crimean War as having barely changed since the Napoleonic Wars , the industrialist William Armstrong was awarded a contract by the government to design a new piece of artillery. Production started in 1855 at the Elswick Ordnance Company and
9200-410: The introduction of the first ironclads in the 1850s and 1860s, it became clear that shells had to be designed to effectively pierce the ship armour. A series of British tests in 1863 demonstrated that the way forward lay with high-velocity lighter shells. The first pointed armour-piercing shell was introduced by Major Palliser in 1863. Approved in 1867, Palliser shot and shell was an improvement over
9315-437: The light gun entered service after the introduction of field artillery computer equipment (FACE), it never, unlike the Abbot, had gun rules (large slide rule like instruments used at each gun to convert range in metres to tangent elevation in mils, taking account of muzzle velocity). Therefore, it has a single quadrant elevation scale. These optical indirect fire sights are now only used in recruit training. The guns also have
9430-478: The name Lyddite . Japan followed with an "improved" formula known as shimose powder . In 1889, a similar material, a mixture of ammonium cresylate with trinitrocresol, or an ammonium salt of trinitrocresol, started to be manufactured under the name ecrasite in Austria-Hungary . By 1894, Russia was manufacturing artillery shells filled with picric acid. Ammonium picrate (known as Dunnite or explosive D )
9545-476: The names of Abel and Dewar) a new formulation that was manufactured at the Royal Gunpowder Factory at Waltham Abbey. It entered British service in 1891 as Cordite Mark 1. Its main composition was 58% nitro-glycerine, 37% guncotton and 3% mineral jelly. A modified version, Cordite MD, entered service in 1901, this increased guncotton to 65% and reduced nitro-glycerine to 30%, this change reduced
9660-421: The need for a pressure-holding casing, so the casing of later shells only needs to contain the munition, and, if desired, to produce shrapnel. The term "shell," however, was sufficiently established that it remained as the term for such munitions. Hollow shells filled with gunpowder needed a fuse that was either impact triggered ( percussion ) or time delayed. Percussion fuses with a spherical projectile presented
9775-470: The number of propellant charges. Disadvantages include more complexity, slower loading, less safety, less moisture resistance, and the metal cases can still be a material resource issue. In separate loading bagged charge ammunition there are three main components: the fuzed projectile, the bagged charges and the primer. Like separate loading cased charge ammunition, the number of propellant charges can be varied. However, this style of ammunition does not use
9890-460: The ordinary elongated shot of the time. Palliser shot was made of cast iron , the head being chilled in casting to harden it, using composite molds with a metal, water cooled portion for the head. Britain also deployed Palliser shells in the 1870s–1880s. In the shell, the cavity was slightly larger than in the shot and was filled with 1.5% gunpowder instead of being empty, to provide a small explosive effect after penetrating armour plating. The shell
10005-414: The ordnance rotating the 3200 mil (180°) required to 'unfold' the gun. Because of this, the gun features a knock-off hub on one side, allowing the ordnance to be rotated by removing one wheel. With a well-trained gun crew, this contributes approximately 30 seconds to the time required to deploy the gun. In British service, rotating the barrel for towing is optional. When being towed in the unfolded position,
10120-418: The outbreak of the First World War , a field artillery brigade of headquarters (four officers, 37 other ranks ), three batteries (five and 193 each), and a brigade ammunition column (four and 154) had a total strength just under 800 so was broadly comparable to an infantry battalion (just over 1,000) or a cavalry regiment (about 550). Like an infantry battalion, an artillery brigade was usually commanded by
10235-402: The powder fuse was subject to considerable trial and error. Early powder-burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire or slow match put down the barrel to light the fuse. Other shells were wrapped in bitumen cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse. Nevertheless, shells came into regular use in the 16th century, for example,
10350-432: The regions of Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Northern Africa, and Eastern Asia. Most common calibers have been in use for many decades, since it is logistically complex to change the caliber of all guns and ammunition stores. The weight of shells increases by and large with caliber. A typical 155 mm (6.1 in) shell weighs about 50 kg (110 lbs), a common 203 mm (8 in) shell about 100 kg (220 lbs),
10465-450: The replacement of some steel components by titanium , however, only some elements entered UK service. The MVMD is also more tightly coupled with the LCDU, reducing electrical power requirements. Around 2010, new direct fire sights for longer range use were introduced for service in Afghanistan. These comprise a sniper's telescopic sight and a new night sight. At the end of 2011, a new LCDU with
10580-501: The second Austrian guncotton factory exploded. After the Stowmarket factory exploded in 1871, Waltham Abbey began production of guncotton for torpedo and mine warheads. In 1884, Paul Vieille invented a smokeless powder called Poudre B (short for poudre blanche —white powder, as distinguished from black powder ) made from 68.2% insoluble nitrocellulose , 29.8% soluble nitrocellusose gelatinized with ether and 2% paraffin. This
10695-507: The shock of firing in conventional artillery . In 1885, based on research of Hermann Sprengel, French chemist Eugène Turpin patented the use of pressed and cast picric acid in blasting charges and artillery shells . In 1887, the French government adopted a mixture of picric acid and guncotton under the name Melinite . In 1888, Britain started manufacturing a very similar mixture in Lydd , Kent, under
10810-476: The spherical shell into its modern recognizable cylindro-conoidal form. This shape greatly improved the in-flight stability of the projectile and meant that the primitive time fuzes could be replaced with the percussion fuze situated in the nose of the shell. The new shape also meant that further, armour-piercing designs could be used. During the 20th century, shells became increasingly streamlined. In World War I, ogives were typically two circular radius head (crh) –
10925-418: The term "shell", from the casing, came to mean the entire munition . In a gunpowder-based shell, the casing was intrinsic to generating the explosion, and thus had to be strong and thick. Its fragments could do considerable damage, but each shell broke into only a few large pieces. Further developments led to shells which would fragment into smaller pieces. The advent of high explosives such as TNT removed
11040-496: The touchscreen layer's display and control unit (LCDU) that replaced the conventional dial sight and its mount. The LCDU enables the layer to lay the gun by moving the barrel until the LCDU displays no difference between the ordered firing data and where the barrel is pointing as determined by the LINAPS sensors. A capability enhancement program that started delivering improvements to UK guns in 2007 aimed at reducing weight and improving some components. Weight reduction measures include
11155-528: The weight and size of the projectiles and propelling charges can be more than a gun crew can manage. Advantages include easier handling for large rounds, decreased metal usage, while range and velocity can be varied by using more or fewer propellant charges. Disadvantages include more complexity, slower loading, less safety and less moisture resistance. Extended-range shells are sometimes used. These special shell designs may be rocket-assisted projectiles (RAP) or base bleed (BB) to increase range. The first has
11270-462: The weight of their shells (see below). Explosive rounds as small as 12.7 x 82 mm and 13 x 64 mm have been used on aircraft and armoured vehicles, but their small explosive yields have led some nations to limit their explosive rounds to 20mm (.78 in) or larger. International Law precludes the use of explosive ammunition for use against individual persons, but not against vehicles and aircraft. The largest shells ever fired during war were those from
11385-523: Was Armstrong's gun that was first to see widespread use during the Crimean War. The cast iron shell of the Armstrong gun was similar in shape to a Minié ball and had a thin lead coating which made it fractionally larger than the gun's bore and which engaged with the gun's rifling grooves to impart spin to the shell. This spin, together with the elimination of windage as a result of the tight fit, enabled
11500-407: Was a great explosion the noise whereof was like thunder, audible for more than thirty miles, and the vegetation was scorched and blasted by the heat over an area of more than half a mou . When hit, even iron armour was quite pierced through." Archeological examples of these shells from the 13th century Mongol invasions of Japan have been recovered from a shipwreck. Shells were used in combat by
11615-460: Was adopted for the Lebel rifle. Vieille's powder revolutionized the effectiveness of small guns, because it gave off almost no smoke and was three times more powerful than black powder. Higher muzzle velocity meant a flatter trajectory and less wind drift and bullet drop, making 1000 meter shots practicable. Other European countries swiftly followed and started using their own versions of Poudre B,
11730-463: Was assigned to Headquarters Royal Artillery Group (Middle East Reserve) as an anti-tank regiment armed with 2 pounder guns . M Battery, however, was permanently attached to the Armoured Division (Egypt) (later the 7th Armoured Division, the "Desert Rats"). In March 1941, P Battery left the regiment to join 6th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery in the United Kingdom. In practice just the title
11845-540: Was correspondingly slightly longer than the shot to compensate for the lighter cavity. The powder filling was ignited by the shock of impact and hence did not require a fuze. However, ship armour rapidly improved during the 1880s and 1890s, and it was realised that explosive shells with steel had advantages including better fragmentation and resistance to the stresses of firing. These were cast and forged steel. AP shells containing an explosive filling were initially distinguished from their non-HE counterparts by being called
11960-617: Was filled with molten iron and was intended to break up on impact with an enemy ship, splashing molten iron on the target. It was used by the Royal Navy between 1860 and 1869, replacing heated shot as an anti-ship, incendiary projectile. Two patterns of incendiary shell were used by the British in World War ;I, one designed for use against Zeppelins. Similar to incendiary shells were star shells, designed for illumination rather than arson. Sometimes called lightballs they were in use from
12075-480: Was for Switzerland and used Swiss pattern 105 mm ammunition. It did not enter service. The Indian Field Gun appears to share many features with the UK equipment. In the late 1960s India introduced the Value Engineered Abbot variant with the 105 mm Fd ammunition; this led to the 105 mm field gun (India), which appears to have some light gun features in its elevating mass, although its platform
12190-430: Was invented by Valturio in 1460. The carcass shell was first used by the French under Louis XIV in 1672. Initially in the shape of an oblong in an iron frame (with poor ballistic properties) it evolved into a spherical shell. Their use continued well into the 19th century. A modern version of the incendiary shell was developed in 1857 by the British and was known as Martin's shell after its inventor. The shell
12305-449: Was needed for the requisite robustness, and several assemblies were substantially redesigned. Original production, which was authorised in late 1975, was by Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Nottingham , which has since been incorporated into BAE Systems Land and Armaments . Deliveries started in 1976. The light gun entered service with the British Army in 1976. It was heavier than its predecessor, but helicopters that could carry it, such as
12420-459: Was not always the case. Some were named after the weights of obsolete projectile types of the same caliber, or even obsolete types that were considered to have been functionally equivalent. Also, projectiles fired from the same gun, but of non-standard weight, took their name from the gun. Thus, conversion from "pounds" to an actual barrel diameter requires consulting a historical reference. A mixture of designations were in use for land artillery from
12535-656: Was not notably robust, had poor sights and was not universally liked. Nor were its rate of fire and time to prepare for opening fire satisfactory. In 1965, a general staff requirement was approved for a new 105 mm weapon system because the L5 pack howitzer "lacked range and lethality". Key characteristics included 6400 mil (360°) traverse by one soldier, maximum weight of 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg), small enough size to be carried inside new Chinook helicopters and Andover transport aircraft , and ability to fire immediately after being under water for 30 minutes. The ammunition to be used
12650-482: Was placed in suspended animation. By 1975, M Battery was revived. In 1976, the regiment completed another tour of Northern Ireland, as part of Operation Banner and later in 1978, the regiment was placed in suspended animation with batteries became independent anti-tank batteries. By 1984, the regiment was reformed in Paderborn , Germany . M Battery was once again placed in suspended animation. The regiment also served in
12765-500: Was still in wide use in World War II . The percentage of shell weight taken up by its explosive fill increased steadily throughout the 20th Century. Less than 10% was usual in the first few decades; by World War II , leading designs were around 15%. However, British researchers in that war identified 25% as being the optimal design for anti-personnel purposes, based on the recognition that far smaller fragments than hitherto would give
12880-443: Was the 105 mm Fd Mk 2 ammunition used in the L13 ordnance of the gun equipment 105 mm L109 (better known as the " Abbot self-propelled gun "). This ammunition uses electrical instead of percussion primers and is an entirely different design from the US M1 type ammunition as used in the L5 pack howitzer. The two types are not interchangeable. An early requirement was for the new weapon to use 105 mm Fd Mk 1 ammunition, which uses
12995-467: Was transferred; the personnel and equipment were distributed amongst D, J and M batteries making them up to eight-gun units. On 1 March 1941, the regiment joined M Battery in 7th Support Group and all three batteries were redesignated as anti-tank. The regiment took part in the final attempt to lift the Siege of Tobruk , Operation Crusader (18 November – 10 December) – notably
13110-644: Was used by the United States beginning in 1906. Germany began filling artillery shells with TNT in 1902. Toluene was less readily available than phenol, and TNT is less powerful than picric acid, but the improved safety of munitions manufacturing and storage caused the replacement of picric acid by TNT for most military purposes between the World Wars. However, pure TNT was expensive to produce and most nations made some use of mixtures using cruder TNT and ammonium nitrate, some with other compounds included. These fills included Ammonal, Schneiderite and Amatol . The latter
13225-704: Was withdrawn to Libya to rest and refit thereby missing the Sicilian campaign . It next took part in the Italian campaign : the Salerno Landings (9 – 18 September 1943), the Capture of Naples (22 September – 1 October), and the Volturno Crossing (12 – 15 October). It then returned to the United Kingdom, arriving on 4 January 1944. It continued to support 7th Armoured Division, as
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