World War II Database

Country of Origin	United Kingdom
Type	Field Gun
Caliber	94.000 mm
Barrel Length	1.100 m
Weight	842.000 kg
Ammunition Weight	9.10 kg
Range	5.485 km
Muzzle Velocity	297 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn 1906, the Indian Army requested a modern mountain gun for service in the mountainous northern areas of India, but financial constraints delayed the production until 1915. The first guns were deployed to the Indian Army in early 1917. The a mountain battery of the Indian (Derajat) 22nd Frontier Force was one of the first units to receive these new guns, and they operated them in action during WW1. These Ordnance QF 3.7 inch mountain guns were designed so that they could be broken into eight parts, each carried by a pack animal, for transportation over difficult terrain; the heavy part weighed 112 kilograms. A well-trained gun crew could reassemble a gun for action in about two minutes. They were the first British-made field gun to be equipped with split trails. During this time, they were equipped with wooden wheels, largely for weight savings reasons, but particularly later on they would more likely be seen with metal wheels with rubber tires. These 3.7-inch guns became standard mountain guns during the inter-war years, not only with the Indian Army but with other British and Commonwealth armies as well. During WW2, they were used by British, Indian, and New Zealand troops in North Africa, Burma, Italy, and the Netherlands. A light weight variant design was also placed into limited production for British airborne units, but they were short-lived as more modern American counterparts became available. They saw no more action after 1945 but were not declared obsolete until 1960.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Nov 2010

Photographs

See all 9 photographs of Ordnance QF 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer Field Gun

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