British 95mm Mk 1 RCL Gun

Discussions on all aspects of the The United Kingdom & its Empire and Commonwealth during the Inter-War era and Second World War. Hosted by Andy H
Post Reply
User avatar
Robert Hurst
Member
Posts: 1192
Joined: 04 Oct 2002, 16:11
Location: Worksop, Notts, UK

British 95mm Mk 1 RCL Gun

#1

Post by Robert Hurst » 24 Dec 2002, 12:32

Hi

Probably the most highly regarded of the Burney designs was the 95mm field gun. Development of this was brought to official notice in April 1943 with the information that it was to use separate-loading ammunition and variable charges, an innovation which promised to give the weapon much greater flexibility than previous RCL designs had done. In September 1944, two pilot models were ready, and after examination by various committees, two more, incorporating various improvements, were begun. The two pilot models were used for trials and were then sent to the School of Artillery for further tests and demonstrations, and during one of these, a premature detonation of the shell completely destroyed the gun. This set the programme back back while investigations took place, but the cause of the accident was eventually found to be a faulty shell fuze, the gun design was absolved of all blame, and development picked up again.

In April 1945, a War Office meeting was held to discuss the potential of the 95mm and it was agreed to order 12 equipments, 6,000 HE shell and 1,200 Wallbuster shell. The guns were eventually built, and in August 1946 it was stated the 95mm was 'intended for Airborne Field Artillery', but subsequent travelling and handling trials showed weaknesses in the carriage, while the guns showed a tendency to expand their barrels when proof-fired. Most of the defects were overcome, but the equipments were never issued to service units and spent their entire lives inside experimental ranges.

The 95mm was the RCL which most closely resembled a conventional gun at first glance, if you ignored the trail which ran the wrong way. It was a large equipment (12ft 9in long, 39in high to the trunnions) with a shield and a vertical sliding breech working between the jets. On the first two pilots there were two jets, but the production models used four. The trail was a single box girder unit which ran from the axial-tree forward, beneath the barrel and, at its front end, had a towing attachment and barrel clamp. This layout reflected the lack of recoil (which is the prime reason for having a conventional gun's trail in the conventional place) and it did nothing more strenuous than support the weight of the weapon and prevent it over-balancing.

Data: Ordnance, RCL, 95mm Mk 1

Weight of gun and breech mechanism: 672lb
Total length: 120.0in
Length of bore: 95.5in (25.5 cal)
Rifling: 28 grooves, uniform RH 1/15
Breech mechanism: Vertical sliding block, percussion fired, four venturis
Elevation: - 5 degrees to + 35 degrees
Weight in action: 2,350lb

Performance: firing standard 25lb HE shell

Muzzle velocity: 1,600ft/sec
Maximum range: 10,800 yards

Ammunition: separate loading, cased charg

Propelling charge. The cartridge case was built up using the base of a 4.5in AA gun case into which, a steel sleeve was screwed to form the body of the case. This sleeve was pierced with 104 one-inch holes and lined with a plasticized paper sleeve. Three different propelling charges were provided; one variable, for use with the 25lb HE shell; one fixed weight for use with the 36lb 'Heavy HE Shell' and one fixed weight for use with the 38 1/2lb Wallbuster shell.

Shell, HE 25lb. This was the standard HE shell, as originally designed for use with the 95mm Tank Howitzer, filled with Amatol and with the Percussion Fuze No. 119.

Shell, Heavy, HE 36lb. This was constructed by using two 25lb shell forgings; one had the nose cut off at the shoulder and was threaded. The other had the base cut off in front of the driving band and was also threaded. The two units were then screwed together to produce a shell 19.75in long. The filling was 5lb 3oz of Amatol, and a Fuze Percussion No. 119 was fitted.

Shell, Wallbuster, 38 1/2lb. This carried a filling of 6.25lb of Plastic Explosive and a Base Percussion Fuze No. 295.

The above text and attached photo were taken from 'British & American Artillery of World War two', by Ian V. Hogg

Regards

Bob
Attachments
95mm mk 1 rcl gun.jpg
95mm mk 1 rcl gun.jpg (27.95 KiB) Viewed 1416 times
performance figures.jpg
performance figures.jpg (28.78 KiB) Viewed 1417 times

Post Reply

Return to “The United Kingdom & its Empire and Commonwealth 1919-45”