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Post Info TOPIC: Royal Horse Artillery Captured German 9cm C/73
Ralph Lovett


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Royal Horse Artillery Captured German 9cm C/73
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Over the last few weeks I have disassembled, sand blasted and Osphoed (chemical coating to neutralize rust) my German 9cm C/1873 Kanone.  Sheet metal parts with rust-through were also replaced.  The breech is a replacement made from an original as a pattern.  The wheels are the wartime 7,7cm lFK 96 n/A type.  The piece is now reassembled and largely restored.  It is capable of live fire but since the paint is hardly dry I have not gotten to this stage yet.

 

While sand blasting the tube I noticed an interesting mark.  Written on the barrel is T Battery RHA.  This appears to have been scraped onto the barrel through the original paint.  Presumably, this exposed area then rusted.  The result is a bit of graffiti from the British capturing unit that has stayed intact.  T Battery Royal Horse Artillery was a part of XIV Brigade in the Middle East. It seems unlikely that a third echelon reserve gun of this type would have been sent with German Artillery for their own service so more likley this 9cm C/73 was a Prussian/German gun later sent to the Ottoman Field Artillery.  Many of this type weapon were in Ottoman service but they often have the Sultans crest etched into the barrel.  This one has the King William I of Prussia scroll and the Prussian Eagle so perhaps it was sent during the wartime period and never altered with the new owners crest, as would have been the practice pre-war.

 

I am now looking for references to T Battery Royal Horse Artillery, XIV Brigade and any mention of captured artillery in their WW1 history and the Ottoman (or even German) units that may have lost it to them.

 

I have attached photos of the restoration plus a good one of the T Battery RHA graffiti.   



Ralph Lovett

http://lovettartillery.com/

-- Edited by Ralph Lovett at 18:48, 2009-01-26

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Ralph Lovett
elbavaro


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You did great work Ralph!

An interesting life lived your Kanone.

-- Edited by elbavaro at 18:27, 2009-01-26

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28juni14


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Ralph,  Congratulations for another outstanding restoration !

As we chatted earlier,  I suspected the gun had a middle east connection.  During the Mesopotamian campaign, General Townsend's 6th Indian Division captured a number of these guns first at Basra, and then several more in the race to Bahgdad.  He advanced with cavalry screens forward so it would not be unusal for guns to fall into their hands during the Turkish withdrawals.
   My copy of "Death of an Army" is out on loan so I can not verify what units were attached to Townsend's Corp.
Please keep us updated.

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28juni14


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Still rattling my brain on this.  I seem to recall two C/73's were captured at Shabia in April '15 when Askeri Pasa tried a flank attack to retake Basra.  A cavalry brigade ( 7th?) outflanked him and forced his withdrawal to Shabia where his Arab draftees surrendered, and deserted by the hundreds.  I think that's where he shot himself if I remember correctly. 
Some one here must know the composition of Indian Army Force D in early 1915. 


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Peter Kempf


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Yes, interesting find. I think that this gun probably has had a VERY dramatic history!

I have quite a few books on the Mespotamian campaign and will check this evening when I get home.

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Ralph Lovett


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I am very glad the work was appreciated. 

Thanks for the offers for help with finding information on  T Battery RHA and possibly the capture history.

Ralph Lovett



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Peter Kempf


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A first quick search show that the 14th (Artillery) Brigade was involved in the second battle of Kut in 1917, then the action at the Jabal Hamrin, and later of Istabulat, on april 28th.

In the aftermath of the last action two floating barges were found on the Tigris, one of them on fire. "Both were recovered and were found to contain fourteen old pattern Krupp guns without breech blocks." (Official History of the War. Meopotamia Campaign Vol. III)

How does this match the lack of breech block in your specimen? Was it in this way when you aquired it?

Will see what I can find more.

-- Edited by Peter Kempf at 08:24, 2009-01-28

-- Edited by Peter Kempf at 12:52, 2009-01-28

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Ralph Lovett


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I have found a bit of information that changes my earlier assumptions about T Battery RHA, 14th Brigade service locations in the Middle East.

I have found details of five T Battery Royal Horse Artillery dead. All are on the Western Front with a range of dates from 1916-1918:

Miller, Herbert Brown. Gunner. T Battery RHA.14th Brigade. Died 16 APR 1917. Buried Point-du-Jour Military Cemetery France.

Brown, Alec Charles. Driver. T Battery RHA. 14th Brigade. Died in action 22 AUG 1918. France & Flanders. Buried in Besles New Military Cemetery, Calais.
Stammers, Robert. Driver. T Battery 14th Brigade RHA. Died 27 DEC 1916. Buried at Mont Houn Militiary Cemetey, Le Treport.

Knox, Charles. Gunner. T Battery RHA & RFA. 14th Brigade. Died in the Somme. 16 SEP 1916. Buried in Longueval, France.

Reynard, Ernest. T Battery RHA. 14th Brigade. Died 31 AUG 1916. Buried at Dantzig British Cemetery.

It appears that T Battery RHA, 14th Brigade started the war in August

1914 in Egypt and was later transferred to the Western Front. 

There it saw service with 7th Division.  It was involved in engagements


at  Neuve Chappelle, Loos, Guillemont, Bullecourt and many others.

 

I am still looking for more information.

Ralph Lovett





-- Edited by Ralph Lovett at 00:45, 2009-02-03

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