historydavid Posted 13 May , 2005 Share Posted 13 May , 2005 Early in the war some merchant ships used in the Northern Patrol were fitted with guns described as "12 pounders". I know that "pounders" existed in various sizes and presume the number related to weight of shell. Does anyone have any info on what size these shells were, in inches or millimetrics? Best wishes David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Lowrey Posted 13 May , 2005 Share Posted 13 May , 2005 David, Yes, that would be the weight of the shell. If I'm not mistaken, that would be a 3 inch gun. Best wishes, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Roberts Posted 14 May , 2005 Share Posted 14 May , 2005 David From memory, a 2-pounder had a calibre of 40mm, a 6 pounder of 57mm, an 12 pdr of 3 inches as Michael says, and an 18-pounder of 3.7 inches. Remember the weight increases with the cube of the linear dimension, so as a shell, or anything else, gets larger a given increase in size will produce a progressively larger weight increase. (I'm using the term calibre in its loose sense of shell [or barrel internal] diameter, though strictly it is the ratio of barrel length to diameter) Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ionia Posted 14 May , 2005 Share Posted 14 May , 2005 The 12pdr/12cwt gun with a bore of 3" was introduced in the 1890s and remained in service until WW2 in various Marks. The projectile weighed 12.94lbs with separate ammunition. They should be distinguished from the 3"/20cwt gun which fired a 16/17lb projectile with fixed ammunition and began life in 1914. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 14 May , 2005 Share Posted 14 May , 2005 For comparison, the Royal Horse Artillery entered the war with the 13 pounder as their main gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historydavid Posted 15 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 15 May , 2005 Thank you for the info,Pals. Best wishes David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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