| RML 40 pounder gun | |
|---|---|
| Type | Fortification gun |
| Place of origin |
 United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | British Empire |
| Production history | |
| Designed |
Mk I : 1871 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass |
Mk I (34cwt) : 3,808 pounds (1,727 kg) |
| Barrel length |
Mk I : 85.5 inches (2,170 mm) bore (18 calibres) |
|
| |
| Shell | 40 pounds 2 ounces (18.20 kg)[1] |
| Calibre | 4.75 inches (121 mm) |
| Action | RML |
| Muzzle velocity | Mk II : 1,425 feet per second (434 m/s)[2] |
The RML 40-pounder gun was a British rifled muzzle-loading siege and fortification gun designed in 1871. It was intended to supersede the RBL 40 pounder Armstrong gun[3] after the British military reverted to rifled muzzle-loading artillery until a more satisfactory breech-loading system than that of the Armstrong guns was developed.
Description[]
The original Mk I short barrel of 18 calibres suffered from irregular velocity and hence accuracy, due to incomplete burning of the powder charge, hence only 20 were built.
Mk II of 1874 with barrel lengthened to 22 calibres solved this problem and became the definitive model.[4]
The gun consisted of a central toughened steel "A" tube surrounded by wrought-iron coils, with a trunnion ring and cascabel. Rifling was the "Woolwich" pattern of three broad grooves, with a uniform twist of 1 turn in 35 calibres (i.e. in 166.25 inches).[5]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Text Book of Gunnery 1887, Table XVI, Page 313.
- ↑ 1,425 feet per second (434 m/s) firing a 40-pound-2-ounce (18.20 kg) projectile with 7 pounds (3.18 kg) of R.L.G.² powder. Text Book of Gunnery 1887, Table XVI, Page 313.
- ↑ Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service, 1877, Page 260.
- ↑ Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service, 1877, Page 260.
- ↑ Text Book of Gunnery 1887, Table XVI, Page 312.
Bibliography[]
- Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service. War Office, UK, 1877
- Text Book of Gunnery, 1887. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to RML 40 pounder gun. |
- Diagram of 40pr. RML on Siege Travelling Carriage Mark II at Victorian Forts and Artillery website
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The original article can be found at RML 40 pounder gun and the edit history here.