The BL 6 inch 26 cwt howitzer was a 152.4-mm artillery piece used by the British Army during World War I. It was produced to replace the 6 inch 30 cwt and it was delivered to the front line troops in May 1915. It was fielded in major battles of the Western Front, such as the Battle of the Somme (1916), the Battle of Cambrai (1917), as it contributed to stop the German Spring Offensive of March/May of 1918. It would remain in British Army service until 1945.
The BL 6 inch 26 cwt howitzer fired 45.4-kg high explosive shells to a maximum distance of 11 km (12,000 yards). It was a true field howitzer, which employed a box trail and a variable hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism, leaving behind the old top carriage and platform siege artillery system. It was enough mobile to serve alongside the 60 pdr field gun. By the end of 1916, 695 6-inch 26cwt howitzers had been delivered to artillery units deployed on the front. And by the end of the war, in November 1918, total production reached 1,246 artillery pieces.
Specifications
Type: Field howitzer
Caliber: 6 inch (152.4-mm)
Barrel Length: 2.21 m (7 ft, 3 inch)
Weight: 3,693 kg
Breech: Welin screw
Carriage: Box trail
Elevation: +0 to +45 degrees
Traverse: 4 degrees
Muzzle Velocity: 430 m/s
Crew: 10 men
Below, the BL 6 inch 26cwt howitzer in France in 1916.
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