
Originally dating from 1904, the gun and carriage of the 60 pdr Gun were redesigned by Vickers Armstrong in 1918. The Mark 2 Gun on Carriage Mark 4 became the standard medium gun but by 1939 was obsolescent. It was to have been replaced by the 4.5 and 5.5 inch Guns but in their absence it had to continue in service. It was last used in action in the Desert Campaign, notably by the Australians at Tobruk. It was retained in Britain as a training equipment until late 1944.
Gun
Mark 2 | Vickers Armstrong design, 37 calibres long, with Asbury breech mechanism |
Mark 2* | Slight changes in construction to prevent rotation of the inner “A” tube from torque generated by the action of the shell on the rifling |
Carriage
Mark 4 | Box trail with hydropneumatic recoil system, trough cradle & retracting system |
Mark 4P | New axle tree, hub brakes and pneumatic tyres |
Crew
No.1 | Detachment Commander |
No.2 | Breech Operator – fires gun |
No.3 | Layer |
No.4 | Traverse trail |
No.5 | Loader – rams shell |
No.6 | Prepares & loads cartridge |
No.7 | Prepares shell |
No.8 | Prepares shell |
No.9 | Prepares shell |
No.10 | Coverer |
Data – Gun Mark 2 on Carriage Mark 4
Weight of gun & breech mechanism | 4,900 lbs |
Total length | 192.25 inches |
Length of bore | 185 inches (37 calibres) |
Rifling | 32 grooves, uniform right hand 1/30 |
Breech mechanism | Asbury interrupted screw, percussion fired |
Elevation | -4.5° to +35° |
Traverse | 4° right & left |
Recoil system | Hydropneumatic, variable, 21.6 inches to 54 inches |
Weight in action | 12,048 lbs |
Perfomance – firing standard 60 lb HE shell
Muzzle velocity | 2,125 feet/second |
Maximum range | 16,400 yards |
Ammunition – separate loading, bag charge
Shell HE, Mark 9C | Nose fuzed, non-streamlined shell with Percussion Fuzes Nos. 101, 106, 119 or 231. Weight 60 lbs |
Shell, Shrapnel, Mark 5C | Nose ejection shell with Time & Percussion Fuze Nos. 88 or 20. Weight 60 lbs |
Propelling Charge | Single bag of 8 lbs 12 ozs of Cordite. A gunpowder igniter was stiched to the rear |