Ordnance BL 15 pounder

Ordnance BL 15 pounder
15 pounder in South Africa during the Second Boer War
Type	Field gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1892–1918
Used by	British Empire
Wars	Second Boer War World War I
Specifications
Barrel length	84 inch^[1]

Shell	Separate loading BL, 14 lb (6.4 kg) shrapnel
Calibre	3 inch (76.2 mm)
Elevation	-5° - 16°^[1]
Rate of fire	7-8 rds/min^[2]
Muzzle velocity	1590 ft/s^[3]
Maximum firing range	6000 yds^[4]

The Ordnance BL 15 pounder, otherwise known as the 15 pounder 7 cwt, was the British Army's field gun in the Second Boer War and some remained in limited use in minor theatres of World War I. It fired a shell of 3-inch diameter with a maximum weight of 15 pounds (6.8 kg), hence its name which differentiated it from its predecessor "12 pounder" 3-inch gun which fired shells weighing only 12.5 pounds (5.7 kg).^{[note 1]}

History

The gun was a modified version of the previous BL 12 pounder 7 cwt gun of 1883. When the modern smokeless propellant cordite replaced gunpowder in 1892 it was decided that the 12 pounder was capable of firing a heavier shell up to 15 lb (6.8 kg). A 14 pound shell was adopted and the gun was renamed a 15 pounder.^[5]

Mk I carriage : recoil was controlled by drag-shoes. These were placed under the wheels, and were connected by chains and cables to the wheel hubs and the trail.^[6]

Mk II carriage : this had the same drag-shoe system and also a hydraulic buffer. This only allowed a short recoil, and was not successful.^[6]

Mk III carriage : In 1899 a rudimentary recoil system was added, consisting of a "spade" beneath the axle which dug in when the gun recoiled, connected by a steel wire to a spring in a cylinder on the trail. Mk I and II carriages fitted with these were known as Mk 1* and Mk II*. The latter retained the hydraulic buffer.^[6]

Although the whole gun jumped and moved backwards on firing, the spring returned it to firing position and hence still increased the rate of fire compared to the old model without any recoil mechanism.^[7] Hogg and Thurston comment ironically : "It is said that it checked it [recoil] so well that the gun usually recoiled 1 foot and jumped forward 2 feet".^[8]

Other Mks of carriage followed, all with axle-spades, but without buffers.

From 1904 the BL 15 pounder was superseded by the modern QF 18 pounder. Remaining BL 15 pounders were upgraded as the BLC 15 pounder to equip the Territorial Force with an "ersatz QF gun".^[7]

Combat use

The gun was normally towed by 6 horses, in 3 pairs.

Second Boer War

Australians with gun, Second Boer War, 1901

349 guns were in service in the Second Boer War 1899–1902 and fired 166,548 shells out of the British total of 233,714.^[9]

While the gun could fire a shell up to approximately 5800-5900 yards, the No. 56 time and percussion fuze in use in 1899 could only be set for a maximum timed range of 4100 yards because it only burned for 13 seconds. The shrapnel shells in use were usually time-set to burst in the air above and in front of the enemy. Hence the gunners had to get within approximately 4200 yards of the enemy to fire on them. The fuze could be set to explode on contact (percussion) up to the maximum range, but shrapnel exploding on contact was of little use. This was rectified later in the war by the No. 57 "blue fuze" which could be time set up to 5800-5900 yards.^[10]^[11]

World War I

Gun of 7th Field Battery towed by oxen, German East Africa, World War I

7th Field Battery (4 guns, originally No. 2 and No. 6 Light Batteries) towed by oxen and known as the Oxo Battery and manned by Mauritian and South African gunners fought in the German East Africa campaign in World War I.^[12]

Ammunition


15³⁄₄ oz Cordite cartridge, early 1900s	No. 56 Fuze as used in Second Boer War	Mk VI Shrapnel shell	Mk V Case shot	Mk IV T friction tube

Surviving examples

HM Royal Armouries Fort Nelson, Fareham, Hampshire, England
At the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London

Notes

↑ The British at that time traditionally identified smaller guns by the maximum weight of shell they could fire, arbitrarily rounded up or down.

References

1 2 Hogg & Thurston 1973, page 71
↑ Hall June 1971
↑ Hogg & Thurston 1974 quote 1,590 ft/s (480 m/s) in WWI. Hall December 1972 quotes 1,574 ft/s (480 m/s) in the Second Boer War. The difference may be the propellant.
↑ Hogg & Thurston 1972 quote 6000 yards in WWI. Hall June 1971 quotes 5600 yds in the Second Boer War.
↑ Clarke 2004, page 17-18
1 2 3 Hall, June 1973
1 2 Clarke 2004, page 18
↑ Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 70
↑ Appendices 28 and 29 of the Royal Commission on the War in South Africa
↑ Hall, December 1975
↑ Hall, December 1972
↑ Farndale 1988, page 316

Bibliography

Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914–1919. Field Army Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2004 ISBN 978-1-84176-688-1
General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery : Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914-18. London: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988. ISBN 978-1-870114-05-9
Major Darrell D. Hall, "Guns in South Africa 1899–1902" in The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 2 No 1, June 1971
Major Darrell D. Hall, "Field Artillery of the British Army 1860–1960. Part I, 1860–1900" in The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 2 No 4, December 1972 (web page is incorrectly titled 1900–1914)
Major Darrell D. Hall, "Field Artillery of the British Army 1860–1960. Part II, 1900–1914" in The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 2 No 5, June 1973
Major Darrell D. Hall, "AMMUNITION: 15-PR 7 cwt BL". in The South African Military History Society Military History Journal - Vol 3 No 4, December 1975
I.V.Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914–1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972. ISBN 978-0-7110-0381-1

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BL 15 pounder Gun.

COLESKOP and the ARMSTRONG 15-POUNDER BL
Mk III carriage diagram from Victorian Forts and Artillery website Society website
Mk IV carriage diagram from Victorian Forts and Artillery website Society website

British Empire Small Arms & Ordnance of the Victorian era

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Field Artillery	SBML 9 pounder 13 cwt RBL 9 pounder RBL 12 pounder RBL 20 pounder RML 9 pounder 8 cwt RML 13 pounder 8 cwt RML 16 pounder 12 cwt BL 12 pounder 7 cwt BL 12 pounder 6 cwt QF 12 pounder 8 cwt BL 15 pounder QF 1 pounder pom-pom

Mountain artillery	RML 7 pounder Mountain Gun RML 2.5 inch Mountain Gun

Howitzers, medium, and heavy artillery	RML 6.3 inch Howitzer RML 6.6 inch howitzer BL 5 inch Howitzer BL 5.4 inch Howitzer

Siege & garrison artillery	SBBL 32 pounder SBML 24 pounder SBML 8 inch 65 cwt RBL 40 pounder RBL 7 inch RML 25 pounder 18 cwt RML 40 pounder gun RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun RML 64 pounder 58 cwt RML 64 pounder 71 cwt gun RML 80 pounder RML 6.6 inch gun RML 8 inch howitzer BL 5 inch gun Mk I - V BL 6 inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 9.45-inch howitzer

Coastal artillery	QF 4.7 inch BL 6 inch Mk III, IV, VI BL 6 inch Mk V RBL 7 inch RML 7 inch RML 8 inch BL 8 inch Mk VII RML 9 inch BL 9.2 inch Mk IV & VI BL 10 inch Mk I BL 12 inch Mk I, VI, VII RML 12.5 inch RML 16 inch RML 17.72 inch

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British Empire Small Arms & Ordnance of the First World War

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Nos. 8, 9 Jam Tin
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Tank guns	QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss QF 6 pounder 6 cwt

Infantry guns	1.59-inch Breech-Loading Vickers Q.F. Gun, Mk II ("Vickers-Crayford rocket gun")

Field Artillery	BL 12 pounder 6 cwt QF 12 pounder 8 cwt QF 12 pounder 18 cwt QF 13 pounder BL 15 pounder BLC 15 pounder QF 15 pounder QF 18 pounder QF 4 inch gun Mk III BL 4 inch gun Mk VII QF 4.5 inch Howitzer

Mountain artillery	RML 2.5 inch Mountain Gun BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun BL 2.75-inch Mountain Gun QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer

Howitzers, medium, and heavy artillery	QF 4.7 inch Gun BL 5 inch Howitzer BL 5.4 inch Howitzer BL 60 pounder gun BLC 6 inch siege gun BL 6 inch Gun Mk VII BL 6 inch Gun Mk XIX BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk I - V BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk VI - VIII

Siege artillery	BL 7.5 inch Mk III naval gun BL 9.2-inch howitzer BL 9.2 inch Mk X naval gun BL 12 inch Howitzer BL 12 inch Mk X naval gun BL 15 inch Howitzer

Coastal artillery	QF 4 inch naval gun Mk I – III BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun BL 9.2 inch gun Mk IX–X RML 9 inch

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