BL 14 inch Railway Gun

Infobox Weapon
name= Ordnance BL 14 inch gun Mk III on truck, railway


caption=King George V inspects Boche Buster, Marœuil 8 August 1918
origin= UK
type=Heavy gun
is_artillery=yes
is_ranged=yes
is_bladed=
is_explosive=yes
is_UK=yes
service=1918 - 1926
used_by=UK
wars=World War I
designer=
design_date=
manufacturer=Elswick Ordnance Company
unit_cost=
production_date=
number=2
variants=
spec_label=
weight=83 1/4 ton (barrel & Breech);
248 ton total.
length=
part_length=Bore convert|630|in|m|sigfig=5 (45 cal)
width=
height=
diameter=
crew=30 [Dorman, December 1975]
cartridge=HE convert|1586|lb|kg|sigfig=5 4 c.r.h. (later convert|1400|lb|kg|sigfig=5 8 c.r.h.)
caliber=convert|14|in|sigfig=4|sing=on
action=
rate=
velocity=convert|2450|ft/s|m/s|sigfig=3 (1586 lb shell);
convert|2600|ft/s|m/s|sigfig=3 (1400 lb shell)
range=
max_range=convert|34600|yd|m|sigfig=4 (1586 lb shell);
convert|38000|yd|m|sigfig=4 (1400 lb shell)
feed=
sights=
breech=
recoil=hydro - pneumatic, convert|34|in|mm|sigfig=3
carriage=railway truck, 15 axles
elevation=0° - 40°
traverse=2° L & R
filling=
filling_weight=
detonation=
yield=

Ordnance BL 14 inch gun on truck, railway were 2 British 14 inch Mk III naval guns mounted on railway carriages, used on the Western Front in 1918.

Design and development

The guns were built by Armstrongs (Elswick Ordnance Company) and were originally intended to be mounted as a pair in a twin turret on the Japanese battleship Yamashiro but the order was not completed. Hence the breech of the left gun, which became known as "Scene Shifter", opened to the left which was unusual for a British army gun, while that of the right gun, "Boche Buster", opened to the right. [Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 196.] Work on mounting them on railway carriages began in 1916 but was not completed until 1918.

14 inch was not a standard British service calibre and hence the guns were difficult to keep in service. The guns were declared obsolete in 1926 and scrapped. In 1940 the carriages were re-used : "Scene Shifter's" for mounting a 13.5 inch gun and "Boche Buster's" for an convert|18|in|mm|sing=on howitzer, for home defence in Britain. [Clarke 2005, Page 41]

Combat service

The guns arrived with their carriages in France on 26 May 1918, but incomplete, and were not in action until 8th August. The 2 guns were operated by 471 Siege Battery from May 1918, and were known as "HM Gun Boche Buster", operating near Arras with First Army, and "HM Gun Scene Shifter", operating near Bethune with Fifth Army. They were used for long-range interdiction fire on key German targets such as railway junctions. King George V personally oversaw the firing of the first shell by Boche Buster from near Marœuil, 6 km NW of Arras, on 8th August in a fireplan to hit German reinforcements being sent south to oppose the British . This shell heavily damaged a railway junction at Douai and became known as "The King's Shot". [Farndale 1986, Page 288]

Notes

References

*Dale Clarke, "British Artillery 1914-1919. Heavy Artillery". Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2005.
*Jeff Dorman, [http://www.chakoten.dk/cgi-bin/fm.cgi?n=770 "The King's Shot" in "Battle", December 1975]
*General Sir Martin Farndale, "History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Western Front 1914-18". London: Royal Artillery Institution, 1986.
*I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972.

See also

*List of artillery#Railway artillery

External links

*Tony DiGiulian, [http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_14-45_mk1.htm British 14"/45 (35.6 cm) Marks I and III]