The Ordnance RML 2.5-inch mountain gun was a British rifled muzzle-loadingmountain gun of the late 19th century designed to be broken down into four loads for carrying by man or mule. It was primarily used by the Indian Army.
It was intended as a more powerful successor to the RML 7-pounder Mountain Gun.[1] Some writers refer to the 2.5-inch gun as a "7-pounder" because it also fired a shell of approximately 7 pounds, but its official nomenclature was 2.5-inch RML.
In 1877 Colonel Frederick Le Mesurier of the Royal Artillery proposed a gun in 2 parts which would be screwed together. The Elswick Ordnance Company made 12 Mk I guns based on his design and they were trialled in Afghanistan in 1879. Trials were successful and Mk II with some internal differences made by the Royal Gun Factory entered service.[2]
The gun was a rifled muzzle-loader. Gun and carriage were designed to be broken down into 4 parts (barrel, breech, 2 wheels) so they could be transported by pack animals (2 mules each: each mule with a left load and a right load, which must balance) or men. The barrel and breech were screwed together for action, hence the name "screw gun".
The gun was used in the Second Boer War (1899–1902) on its standard mountain gun carriage, and also with the Natal Field Battery at Elandslaagte and Diamond Fields Artillery at Kimberley on field carriages which had larger wheels and gave greater mobility.[1]
A major defect in the war was that the gun's cartridges still used gunpowder as a propellant, although smokeless cordite had been introduced in 1892. The gunpowder generated a white cloud on firing, and as the gun could only be aimed using direct line of sight, this made the gunners easy targets for Boer marksmen as the gun lacked a shield.
It proved to be ineffectual and outclassed by Boer ordnance and was replaced by the BL 10-pounder Mountain Gun from 1901.
World War I
Either 4 or 6 guns (sources appear imprecise) were returned to service from Southern African garrisons in 1916 and were employed by the Nyasaland-Rhodesian Field Force in the campaign in German East Africa.[3] Writers who refer to "7-pounders" in World War I are in fact referring to this 2.5-inch (64 mm) gun.
Romania bought 36 of these guns in 1883–1884, being designated in the local military nomenclature as "63 mm Armstrong mountain guns model 1883". They were the first guns designed for mountain warfare in Romanian use. Despite being obsolete, they were still used during World War I, with updated shells, due to the lack of sufficient numbers of more modern mountain guns in Romanian Army service as well as the fact that during the 1916-1917 campaigns a large section of the front was in mountainous terrain.[4] By the beginning of 1918, only 16 remained in service[5]
^Stroea, Adrian; Băjenaru, Gheorghe (2010). Artileria româna în date si imagini [Romanian artillery in data and images] (in Romanian). Editura Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei. pp. 43–44. ISBN978-606-524-080-3.
^Stroea, Adrian (2008). 165 ani de existenta a artileriei romane moderne [165 years of existence of the modern Romanian artillery] (in Romanian). pp. 406–407.
Bibliography
General Sir Martin Farndale, "History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base, 1914-18". London : The Royal Artillery Institution, 1988 ISBN1-870114-05-1
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
W. L. Ruffell, The Screw Gun
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RML 2.5 inch Mountain Gun.
Handbook for 2.5-inch R.M.L. steel, jointed, gun mule and camel equipment, 1888 at State Library of Victoria
December 28, 2022
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The Ordnance RML 2 5 inch mountain gun was a British rifled muzzle loading mountain gun of the late 19th century designed to be broken down into four loads for carrying by man or mule It was primarily used by the Indian Army Ordnance RML 2 5 inch mountain gunSikh gunners assembling the gun circa 1895TypeMountain gunPlace of originUnited KingdomService historyIn service1879 1918Used byBritish EmpireBritish RajRomaniaWarsSecond Boer WarWorld War IProduction historyDesignerColonel le Mesurier RADesigned1877ManufacturerRoyal Gun FactorySpecificationsMass800 pounds 363 kg totalLength69 inches 1 750 mm Barrel length66 inches 1 680 mm Shell7 pounds 6 ounces 3 35 kg Shrapnel 8 pounds 2 ounces 3 69 kg Ring 1 Calibre2 5 inches 63 5 mm ActionRMLMuzzle velocity1 436 feet per second 438 m s Maximum firing range3 300 yards 3 018 m shrapnel 4 000 yards 3 658 m ring 1 Contents 1 History 1 1 Second Boer War 1 2 World War I 2 Surviving examples 3 In literature 4 See also 5 Notes and references 6 Bibliography 7 External linksHistory Edit On display at Royal Artillery Museum London It was intended as a more powerful successor to the RML 7 pounder Mountain Gun 1 Some writers refer to the 2 5 inch gun as a 7 pounder because it also fired a shell of approximately 7 pounds but its official nomenclature was 2 5 inch RML In 1877 Colonel Frederick Le Mesurier of the Royal Artillery proposed a gun in 2 parts which would be screwed together The Elswick Ordnance Company made 12 Mk I guns based on his design and they were trialled in Afghanistan in 1879 Trials were successful and Mk II with some internal differences made by the Royal Gun Factory entered service 2 The gun was a rifled muzzle loader Gun and carriage were designed to be broken down into 4 parts barrel breech 2 wheels so they could be transported by pack animals 2 mules each each mule with a left load and a right load which must balance or men The barrel and breech were screwed together for action hence the name screw gun Second Boer War Edit Siege of Kimberley 1899 1900 Sikh gunners with a screw gun The gun was used in the Second Boer War 1899 1902 on its standard mountain gun carriage and also with the Natal Field Battery at Elandslaagte and Diamond Fields Artillery at Kimberley on field carriages which had larger wheels and gave greater mobility 1 A major defect in the war was that the gun s cartridges still used gunpowder as a propellant although smokeless cordite had been introduced in 1892 The gunpowder generated a white cloud on firing and as the gun could only be aimed using direct line of sight this made the gunners easy targets for Boer marksmen as the gun lacked a shield It proved to be ineffectual and outclassed by Boer ordnance and was replaced by the BL 10 pounder Mountain Gun from 1901 World War I Edit Either 4 or 6 guns sources appear imprecise were returned to service from Southern African garrisons in 1916 and were employed by the Nyasaland Rhodesian Field Force in the campaign in German East Africa 3 Writers who refer to 7 pounders in World War I are in fact referring to this 2 5 inch 64 mm gun Romania bought 36 of these guns in 1883 1884 being designated in the local military nomenclature as 63 mm Armstrong mountain guns model 1883 They were the first guns designed for mountain warfare in Romanian use Despite being obsolete they were still used during World War I with updated shells due to the lack of sufficient numbers of more modern mountain guns in Romanian Army service as well as the fact that during the 1916 1917 campaigns a large section of the front was in mountainous terrain 4 By the beginning of 1918 only 16 remained in service 5 Surviving examples Edit At Fort Klapperkop Pretoria Restored gun is displayed at Firepower the Royal Artillery Museum Woolwich London Two guns are displayed at Fort Charles Port Royal Jamaica Two 2 5 inch 64 mm RMLs on Field carriages and one on a Mountain carriage at Fort Klapperkop Military Museum Pretoria South Africa One gun at the National Military Museum Romania Bucharest Two guns guarding Avram Iancu s tomb in Țebea Romania Two guns displayed outside Peleș Castle RomaniaIn literature EditIt was actively described in Rudyard Kipling s poem Screw Guns See also EditList of mountain artilleryNotes and references Edit a b c d Hall June 1971 Ruffell Farndale 1988 page 331 332 Stroea Adrian Băjenaru Gheorghe 2010 Artileria romana in date si imagini Romanian artillery in data and images in Romanian Editura Centrului Tehnic Editorial al Armatei pp 43 44 ISBN 978 606 524 080 3 Stroea Adrian 2008 165 ani de existenta a artileriei romane moderne 165 years of existence of the modern Romanian artillery in Romanian pp 406 407 Bibliography EditGeneral Sir Martin Farndale History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914 18 London The Royal Artillery Institution 1988 ISBN 1 870114 05 1 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 W L Ruffell The Screw GunExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to RML 2 5 inch Mountain Gun Handbook for 2 5 inch R M L steel jointed gun mule and camel equipment 1888 at State Library of Victoria Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title RML 2 5 inch mountain gun amp oldid 1118862587, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
