downshill Posted 4 December , 2018 Share Posted 4 December , 2018 Any info on this artillery piece with Anzac gunners in France thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Hall Posted 4 December , 2018 Share Posted 4 December , 2018 I'm going to suggest that its a BL 9.2 inch Howitzer. There is one preserved at the IWM https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30025230 R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Hall Posted 4 December , 2018 Share Posted 4 December , 2018 And the subject of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Memorial, Hyde Park Corner.. “In proud remembrance of the forty nine thousand and seventy six of all ranks of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great War 1914-1919.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downshill Posted 4 December , 2018 Author Share Posted 4 December , 2018 That memorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Hall Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 Thanks downshill, I tried to find an image in the same orientation of your original - showing the suspended trail that is vieryually unique to this mounting. BTW, I have since discovered your original image at https://wikivisually.com/wiki/2nd_Siege_Artillery_Battery_(Australia) This identifies the unit involved as the 2nd, (later 55th) Siege Artillery Battery in action on the Somme, in July 1916. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downshill Posted 5 December , 2018 Author Share Posted 5 December , 2018 great thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew pugh Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 Hi Downshill Log onto the internet and google German Blockhouse being destroyed, and watch, original film footage of a German blockhouse being destroyed by one of these 9.2s. I think they were known as Mother. Let me know what you think. Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 24 minutes ago, andrew pugh said: Hi Downshill Log onto the internet and google German Blockhouse being destroyed, and watch, original film footage of a German blockhouse being destroyed by one of these 9.2s. I think they were known as Mother. Let me know what you think. Regards Andy Thanks for posting the link Andy, really interesting footage. Do you know how the gun was fired, or what the man with the "dip stick" (at 7:03) is doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulianR Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 (edited) https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060008218 It looks like they are swabbing out the gun after firing to remove residue cordite etc. Gun was firing using a lanyard, so no-one is near it when fired. Julian Edited 5 December , 2018 by JulianR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 40 minutes ago, andrew pugh said: Hi Downshill Log onto the internet and google German Blockhouse being destroyed, and watch, original film footage of a German blockhouse being destroyed by one of these 9.2s. I think they were known as Mother. Let me know what you think. Regards Andy I found this clip on the IWM website, its quite an incredible piece of footage and is fascinating to watch to see how a gun was operated. Thanks for suggesting https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060008218 would a 6inch howitzer be operated in a broadly similar way? thanks ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 14 minutes ago, GWF1967 said: Thanks for posting the link Andy, really interesting footage. Do you know how the gun was fired, or what the man with the "dip stick" (at 7:03) is doing? it is possible to just see the lanyard at various points in the video, 1m49 is where i first see it, coming from the gun over towards the dugout at about shoulder height. Fascinating Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, GWF1967 said: Do you know how the gun was fired, or what the man with the "dip stick" (at 7:03) is doing? With a friction 'T' tube which was inserted into the radial vent and later the axial vent on the breech and a lanyard proportionately sized to the gun (early in the footage you see the gunner jump down and grab his little box of tubes... always a nice treat to find these on the old battlefields), and like Julian has mentioned above, the gunner then cleans out the residue from the vent with his 'dip stick' Edited 5 December , 2018 by jay dubaya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 1 hour ago, MrEd said: it is possible to just see the lanyard at various points in the video, 1m49 is where i first see it, coming from the gun over towards the dugout at about shoulder height. Fascinating Ed Many thanks, I missed a lot of detail watching on a phone screen. 34 minutes ago, jay dubaya said: With a friction 'T' tube which was inserted into the radial vent and later the axial vent on the breech and a lanyard proportionately sized to the gun (early in the footage you see the gunner jump down and grab his little box of tubes... always a nice treat to find these on the old battlefields), and like Julian has mentioned above, the gunner then cleans out the residue from the vent with his 'dip stick' Great stuff, many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 5 December , 2018 Share Posted 5 December , 2018 42 minutes ago, GWF1967 said: Many thanks, I missed a lot of detail watching on a phone screen. Great stuff, many thanks. what are the little tins? I havent ever found more than small bit of stuff on the battlefields, although i dont dig, or particularly stray off the path though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew pugh Posted 6 December , 2018 Share Posted 6 December , 2018 Good Morning What are the small round brass artillery detonators. what guns were they used on. They are round brass with a recess with a small bar which slots into the recess. Anybody know about these.I have seen these in the fields. Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldrake Posted 6 December , 2018 Share Posted 6 December , 2018 (edited) This is probably an image of the 55th (Australian) Siege battery RGA, later renamed the 2nd Australian Siege Battery. It is quite a well klnown image awhich was turned not a post card. The wikipedia entry for the image has the following caption. "Gunners of the Australian Siege Artillery Brigade ramming home a shell in a 9.2 inch breeech loading howitzer on a hot summer's day. The batteries of this brigade were among those that supported the I Anzac Corps at Pozieres." This entry is incorrect as they did not join the Australian Corps as heavy artillery until 1918. This battery and its sister the 54th were formed from the coastal artillery that defended Australia's ports. Their story is largely written out of the story of the AIF France. Both batteries arrived in France in February 1916. They were probably the first Australian units to serve on the Western Front. Both took part in the opening bombardment on the Somme, a month before Pozieres. There isn't much, if any mention in Matt MacLauchlan and Peter Pedersan's guide books to Australians on the Western Front. Until they joined the Australian corps they weren't part of the Digger myth. The 54th Battery were equipped with 8" howitzers. Edited 6 December , 2018 by sheldrake correcting grammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 6 December , 2018 Share Posted 6 December , 2018 (edited) 17 hours ago, MrEd said: I found this clip on the IWM website, its quite an incredible piece of footage and is fascinating to watch to see how a gun was operated. Thanks for suggesting https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060008218 would a 6inch howitzer be operated in a broadly similar way? thanks ed Yes, thanks from me too for the link. I notice the handwheel on the right seems to be for rapid return to a set elevation - it comes to a positive stop when winding the gun back up after reloading, so presumably the action of gunners on the left setting the range at the start also sets this stop. You can see the handwheel 'ringing' back and forth with the shock of firing. I'd think the 6" would be broadly similar, but the 6" shell weighed less than a third as much as a 9.2", so would generally by rammed by one man. Edited 6 December , 2018 by MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Hall Posted 6 December , 2018 Share Posted 6 December , 2018 Sheldrake, with that moniker you have to be a gunner. Thats a great shot of the MkV1. I've heard of a "Vickers Platform" but never seen one. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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