Over the past few days I saw no less than six 18 pounder field guns (seven including the Martin Perry mid-war conversion), the most numerous gun in the Royal Artillery's arsenal in the Great War. Apart from the seven seen during the week, and the one at the Muckleburgh Collection, Norfolk, are there any more in the country?
The first three are at the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, which has a great collection of WW1 era artillery
18 pounder at the IWM
The 18 pounder and ammunition limber at Fort Nelson
Thank you, Rob. These pics are excellent...., giving a clear view of the splinter shield hinge arrangement; detail missing from the Trawin's book. The photos also help to illustrate why building a model of this piece is so very difficult. Note the wheel spoke off-sets at the hubs of these pieces. Very tough to replicate even in my scale of 1/32. Thanks again for the photographs !
I thought Rob's excellent photos of the 18 Pdr deserved a little more attention, so I hope no one is irritated for my bringing the tread back to current status. Of particular note , are the 2nd and 3rd variations of the piece as used in the Great War. The initial Mk1 model ( not shown ) had the simplified recuperator as illustrated in most manuals from the period. Continual spring failure in combat prompted the second variation with the armoured oil resevoir at the recouperator's end. The final version had the springs replaced altogether by hydro-pneumatic recoil design. This significantly "uglied" the gun by adding about 10 inches to the recouperator's end. This last version appears with it's limber in middle eastern colours, but I doubt any of them served in either Mesopotania or Palestine. Anyone else have any thoughts ?
As an afterthought, should you have wondered why the Brits insisted on the tightly wound rope on the recouperators of their field pieces, it was to provide splinter protection without the increased weight of an armoured jacket.
