brits 8 inch

[Vegemite/jordan]

Hey all!
Do any of you have pics of the british using 8inch howitzers THE 2 WHEELD VERSION! not the 8 wheeld one?

Thanks in advance

Jordan

[BIGpanzer]

Which model do you mean?
Here are the photos of two-wheel 8' British howitzer -
http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/ ... s/8How.jpg
http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/ ... %20how.jpg

[Michael Emrys]

Vegemite/jordan,

The pics BIGpanzer linked to are both of WW I vintage I believe. If you are looking for images of the WW II two-wheeled version with pneumatic tires, I would point you to Peter Chamberlain & Terry Gander whose Heavy Artillery volume in the WW2 Fact Files series has three small pics on the lower half of p47. I tried to find something on the web, but with no luck. You might try it yourself though. Chamberlain & Gander give its full name as "B.L. 8 inch Howitzer Mark VIII on Mark VIIA and VIIAP Carriages". Otherwise, you can tell pretty much what it looked like by examining photos of the 7.2" howitzer. In fact, the early versions of this piece were made by by relining the tubes of 8" howitzers.

Best of luck,
Michael

[Michael Emrys]

I found an image of the 7.2".

http://members.tripod.com/~nigelef/72-i ... Studio.jpg

This pretty much matches the pics of the 8" I have in my book.

Michael

[BIGpanzer]

Michael! The link doesn`t work

[JTV]

While not directly related. IMHO this page about US-made BL 8-inch howitzers Mark 7 (same model as British Vickers Mk 6) in Finnish use during World War 2 might make interesting reading for some:

http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/ARTILLERY7.htm

JTV

[Michael Emrys]

Michael! The link doesn`t work

You're right. It worked yesterday though. I tested it after I put it up. Let me try something...

Okay, use this link: http://members.tripod.com/~nigelef/ and scan down the page until you get to the section that says "The Guns" and click on that link. That will take you to the list of artillery pieces. You want the link for the 7.2 inch. Go to that page and scan down the page and near the bottom there will be two links to two pictures. The first is the one I linked to yesterday.

Tripod doesn't like direct links to its pages within a website, but that sequence should get you there. I hope.

Michael

[BIGpanzer]

Thanks a lot for the interesting link and photos. I am reading now the site about British artillery
I believe that British WWI-era 8' howitzers were used during WWII also.

[Michael Emrys]

I believe that British WWI-era 8' howitzers were used during WWII also.

Yes and no. According to Chamberlain & Gander, the ones in British service had been upgraded by mounting the tubes on the the later carriages with pneumatic tyres. The BEF took 13 of those to France where all or most of them fell into German hands. Apparently the Germans didn't have much use for them and had scrapped them all by 1944. The ones remaining in Britain were used for training and home defense. Gradually they were all converted to the 7.2" caliber until by 1944 no 8" howitzers remained.

C. & G. go on further to say that during WW I some 8" howitzers had been produced in the USA to meet British needs and the US Army procurred additional 8" for itself. Like the British, the Americans lined their howtizers down to 7.2" and put them on more modern carriages. I am unclear as to what happened to them then. They don't appear to have ever been used in combat by the US. They might have been used in training or they might have been provided to the British as Lend-Lease.

Michael

[Vegemite/jordan]

ohhh thanks very much all! Im just posting for a friend, who is trying to make one of these models!

Thanks!

Jordan