The BL 60-pounder gun was born out of a tough lesson and became one of the British Army’s most reliable heavy guns during the Great War.
Rob Langham profiles a stalwart of the Royal Garrison Artillery’s heavy batteries.
During the Second Boer War, among the harsh lessons forced upon the British was that the typically lighter field guns, howitzers and ‘pom-pom’ autocannon deployed were often outranged by the French-sourced 155mm ‘Long Tom’, 75mm rapidfire Creusot and German Krupp 7.5cm guns used by the Boers. It was an unhealthy experience that was partially answered by repurposing naval guns, but the conflict showed the need for a long-range gun to attack the enemy at distance and for counterbattery work.
Numerous heavy artillery pieces were used extemporarily by the British during the war, particularly under the guidance of gunnery pioneer Captain Percy Scott RN. One of the most successful was the fitting of the QF 4.7in gun – introduced in the 1880s and primarily used on warships – onto a carriage. Two were taken from Cape Town’s defences and mounted to a wooden ‘Percy Scott’ carriage. The 4.7’s ability to match the ‘Long Tom’ saw it enter public consciousness, and subsequently when the Volunteer Fo…
