GreyC Posted 18 July , 2019 Share Posted 18 July , 2019 Hi all, this photo was taken in Bonn in 1919. As it shows a British soldier I presume it is a British gun, too? If so which one, please? Thank you! GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14276265 Posted 18 July , 2019 Share Posted 18 July , 2019 (edited) Looks like a 60-pounder MkI, with the carriage fitted with rubber-tyred wheels for travel on roads. 265 Edited 19 July , 2019 by 14276265 Wheel detail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 18 July , 2019 Author Share Posted 18 July , 2019 Thank´s a lot! So it´s a standard gun in the British Army? GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 18 July , 2019 Share Posted 18 July , 2019 Yes, I think 60 pr. too - 5 inch or 12,7cm cal. The two long cylinders of the recoil system above the barrel aren't much seen elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 18 July , 2019 Share Posted 18 July , 2019 I agree 265 it is indeed a 60 pounder and yes a ‘standard’ British Army gun J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14276265 Posted 18 July , 2019 Share Posted 18 July , 2019 8 minutes ago, MikB said: The two long cylinders of the recoil system above the barrel aren't much seen elsewhere. True, apart from on the 8" Howitzer, Mks I - V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 18 July , 2019 Share Posted 18 July , 2019 45 minutes ago, 14276265 said: True, apart from on the 8" Howitzer, Mks I - V. Hmmm... Of course you're right, but proportionally those aren't quite so long and conspicuous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 18 July , 2019 Author Share Posted 18 July , 2019 (edited) Thank´s all for your contribution. I have a coupe of more (rather bad quality) photos of the British forces in Bonn that I´ll post in a while. GreyC Edited 18 July , 2019 by GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 19 July , 2019 Author Share Posted 19 July , 2019 Hi, as promised another photo of a different gun. Bonn, too in May of 1919. Anybody an idea about the type of this one? Thanks! GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14276265 Posted 19 July , 2019 Share Posted 19 July , 2019 (edited) A British 6" 26cwt howitzer. It has the same type of wheels as the 60-pounder above, rubber-tyred for use on roads - unusual to see as the standard wheels were metal rimmed. 265 Edited 19 July , 2019 by 14276265 Wheel detail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 19 July , 2019 Author Share Posted 19 July , 2019 Thank you very much, 265! GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14276265 Posted 19 July , 2019 Share Posted 19 July , 2019 (edited) GreyC, The 6" howitzer is far more often seen on old film with its steel tyred wheels clad in girdles for use on soft-ish ground, as per attached. 265 Edited 19 July , 2019 by 14276265 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 19 July , 2019 Author Share Posted 19 July , 2019 Hi, the British seemed to plan to stay longer, that´s why they probably fitted their guns with wheels that run well on tarmac. Another photo shows a probably high ranking civilian and higher officers in front of British troops in Bonn on a field that has already been turned into a cricket ground as the sign in the background indicates. Couldn´t do without cricket, it seems. GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasemuseum Posted 20 July , 2019 Share Posted 20 July , 2019 Britain had a lot of "standard" guns at the outbreak of the war, then adopted a large number of other guns during the war. Basically British artillery was in a period of transition after a very poor show in the Boer War. Field artillery within the infantry division was divided into light and heavy field artillery. Light - to be drawn as a complete gun and ammunition limber by 6 horses 18-pounder direct fire field gun 4.5-inch indirect fire howitzer Heavy - to be drawn as a complete gun and limber (limber not carrying any significant quantity of ammunition) by 12 horses 60-pounder (5-inch) direct fire field gun 6-inch 26cwt (weight of barrel, cwt = hundredweight or 128 pounds)) indirect fire howitzer The cavalry division needing to be able to travel at a much greater speed, relied on the 13-pounder direct fire field gun. A smaller bore, lighter version of the 18-pounder which in an emergency could be galloped by its team of 6 horses. Siege artillery such as the 9.2-inch howitzer was an Army Corps weapon, which needed to be dismantled into multiple loads, so that the individual loads could be drawn by teams of horses or bullocks. During the war steam traction and latter caterpillar tractors became the preferred method of moving such guns, although in general they still needed to be dismantled into multiple loads to be moved. The weight of a unit load not being moved by rail, always needed to be limited to about 6 tons (imperial/metric). Cheers Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 21 July , 2019 Author Share Posted 21 July , 2019 Hi Ross, thank you for pointing this out in this structured manner. So both guns in Bonn belonged to the heavy field artillery. Does anybody know what heavy field artillery unit(s) were stationed in Bonn? Have a nice Sunday! GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie2 Posted 21 July , 2019 Share Posted 21 July , 2019 Hi GreyC, according to wiki, Bonn was in the French zone of occupation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Rhineland There is an Orbat of the first BAOR, maybe an artillery expert can narrow things down. Some War Diaries are available on Ancestry http://www.orbat.info/history/volume5/518/Original BAOR.pdf Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 21 July , 2019 Author Share Posted 21 July , 2019 Ah, thanks Charlie, that makes sense. This might be them on their way in in the photo attached. Interesting, though, that the British troops felt so much at home, they even had a cricket pitch there. GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutting Posted 21 July , 2019 Share Posted 21 July , 2019 Ref. Post #14 above, 1cwt=112lbs. Sorry to be pedantic! Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaureenE Posted 21 July , 2019 Share Posted 21 July , 2019 There might be some information in the official published history The Occupation of the Rhineland, 1918-1929 by Brigadier-General Sir James E. Edmonds ([Confidential edition] London: HMSO, 1944; Public edition, with an Introduction by Dr G. Bayliss, London: HMSO, in association with the Imperial War Museum, 1987) and reprinted by Naval & Military Press https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/the-occupation-of-the-rhineland-1918-1929official-history-of-the-great-war/ Cheers Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 21 July , 2019 Share Posted 21 July , 2019 On 19/07/2019 at 22:42, GreyC said: Hi, Couldn´t do without cricket, it seems. GreyC Vain attempt to civilise the natives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasemuseum Posted 21 July , 2019 Share Posted 21 July , 2019 4 hours ago, Nutting said: Ref. Post #14 above, 1cwt=112lbs. Sorry to be pedantic! Nigel My apologies Nigel, you are not being pedantic, I was just wrong stone = 14 lbs quarter = 28 lbs = 2 stone cwt = 112 lbs = 8 stone = 4 quarters ton = 20 cwt = 2240 lbs Its a very long time since I have been using these units. If it qualifies as an excuse - we went metric in 1970 when I was still in primary school and I did my engineering degree 100% metric which has made working with Americans over the last 35 years "interesting" as they have a very unusual application of imperial units. Cheers Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutting Posted 21 July , 2019 Share Posted 21 July , 2019 2 hours ago, Chasemuseum said: My apologies Nigel, you are not being pedantic, I was just wrong Ross, No problem. I made a mistake once (I’m sure it was only once, but my wife says it was more often than that!). I was also raised in pounds, stones, hundredweights, feet, yards and inches, so I had to make the conversion as well and now I confuse people by saying ‘it’s 50cm wide and 6” deep’. Born at the end of horsepower and now I’ve got fibre internet; it’s been an interesting ride! N. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyC Posted 21 July , 2019 Author Share Posted 21 July , 2019 Hi all, thank you all for your contributions. @ Steven: Cricket has stayed in Germany and there is now even a national league that has profited a lot by the refugees of late from Pakistan and Afghanistan who strengthen the native´s squads. @ Maureen: Looks interesting. If I can´t find it in a library near me I might well consider buying it as it is a subject I hardly know anything about though I feel I should. Have a good week! GreyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Posted 21 July , 2019 Share Posted 21 July , 2019 8 hours ago, Chasemuseum said: cwt = 112 lbs = 8 stone = 4 quarters Totally irrelevant, but one of my older Pears Cyclopedia quotes a "horseload" (the weight a horse can carry) as 140 lb, which is equivalent to 1 cwt and a quarter, which means paradoxically there are 5 quarters in one! Just thought you might want to know this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie2 Posted 22 July , 2019 Share Posted 22 July , 2019 (edited) On 18/07/2019 at 17:58, GreyC said: The General Staff War Diary of the Lancashire Division records that 128 Howitzer Battery, 29 Brigade, which was equipped with 60 Pounders, was present in Bonn at the Bonner Verband-Stein Fabrik on the 29th June 1919. A possibility? On 19/07/2019 at 23:42, GreyC said: The Lancashire Division was visited on 9th May 1919 by HRH Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. Judging by how the senior officers are following on behind, I think this could well be a photo of the occasion. Edit- the guard of honour was found by 1/5th Border Regt. Charlie Edited 22 July , 2019 by charlie2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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