Artillery - distance from front line?

[nigelfe]

A 12 inch Railway gun would need a full gauge track, albeit a spur or other locally laid line with a nice curve to give a wide arc of fire. The usual lines for heavy artillery ammo supply were narrow gauge, ie the sort of thing used in quaries or large construction sites.

[derekspiers]

A 12 inch Railway gun would need a full gauge track, albeit a spur or other locally laid line with a nice curve to give a wide arc of fire. The usual lines for heavy artillery ammo supply were narrow gauge, ie the sort of thing used in quaries or large construction sites.

Correction- it was a 9.2" Naval gun. It was referred to as such in a diary written by a signaller attached to the 95SB.

See - http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=184766#entry1798736

[nigelfe]

Not sure about the Naval bit. 9.2 inch Guns equipped coast artillery batteries of the RGA. Railway guns were assembled using spare Ordnances. The 9.2 Mk 1 railway gun did use a Vavasseur sliding mount that was in service with both RN and RGA. Later Mks were designed from the track up to mount the standard 9.2 inch Gun Ordnance.

9.2 was originally an 1880s naval design but by 1900ish was the standard coast arty counter-bombardment gun equipping batteries around the world.

For all that a railway gun was a railway gun, they used standard gauge track and a curved rail spur (if the track was purpose built).

[derekspiers]

Thats interesting.

My GF served in various RGA batteries or Companies all around the Empire from 1904 onwards. Do you perhaps have any details of the type of guns with which those batteries were equipped.

Specifically he served with - nos 103, 44, 49, 66, 99, 16, and 50 Companies. He then served with 9.2" guns from Dec 15 to the end of the War.

Thanks

[nigelfe]

Not a lot, Maurice-Jones 'The History of Coast Artillery in the British Army' is the main if not only work, but it covers 400 years or so in 300 pages.

He does say that "The situation at the turn of the century as regards coast-defence guns was chaotic."

He doesn't generally deal with units apart from the occasional snap-shot of who was where.

There's also a bit in Vols I and II of Headlam's "History of the Royal Artillery from the Indian Mutiny to the Great War".

[derekspiers]

Not a lot, Maurice-Jones 'The History of Coast Artillery in the British Army' is the main if not only work, but it covers 400 years or so in 300 pages.

He does say that "The situation at the turn of the century as regards coast-defence guns was chaotic."

He doesn't generally deal with units apart from the occasional snap-shot of who was where.

There's also a bit in Vols I and II of Headlam's "History of the Royal Artillery from the Indian Mutiny to the Great War".

Thanks for these references.