Historical Notes

The 15 pounder Quick Firing Ehrhardt gun

It had been realised for some time that the Royal Artillery were relying on old technological artillery pieces.

In October 1899, Sir Henry Brackenbury was appointed Director-General of Ordinance. He sent experts to the continent seeking the best in Field Guns and found the Ehrhardt Gun made by a German firm in Dusseldorf.

It fired a 14 lb shell in which the whole of the barrel recoil was taken by a recoil carriage that left the carrying carriage absolutely steady when the gun was fired.

The barrel was attached to the cradle by a track which it slid along on firing. This cradle contained a hydraulic buffer filled with glycerine, and a spring recuperator.

When the gun was fired, it recoiled along the track forcing the glycerine through grooves thus absorbing the energy of the recoil. As the barrel recoiled so it compressed the bank of recuperator springs within the cradle, these then returned the barrel to its original position.

This meant that the layer could remain seated when the gun was fired. The sights were on the stationary carriage so relaying could be done while the gun was still recoiling. The breech block was a slightly tapered interlocking cone hinged to swing to the right hand side.

The Ehrhardt could fire 20 rounds per minute against the standard 15 pounder’s rate of 5 or 6 rounds per minute.

The British Government secretly placed an order with the Ehrhardt Factory for 108 complete guns, plus wagons, stores and spare parts. Only half a dozen men knew of the transaction. Customs examinations were dispensed with; all this equipment was packed in cases marked ‘Machinery and Explosives’ and sent direct to Woolwich Arsenal.

The gun had a calibre of 3 ins and fired the standard ‘15 pounder’ shell, to a maximum range of 7,000 yards, with a time fuse of up to 6,600 yards. It had a gun crew of ten men. This revolutionary Quick Firing Gun was introduced to the Royal Artillery in June 1901.

This gun was not actually used in the Boer War but a number of artillery experts were withdrawn from the conflict to be able to assess the new weapon. The government adopted the system and then adapted it to be used in a slightly heavier gun. This was the basic design of the 18 pounder used by the Field Artillery which fired over 100 million rounds in the First World War.

There is no known example of an Ehrhardt Gun left in existence today.

The Long Lee-Enfield Rifle No 1 Mk1 1897

This picture is shown with the kind permission of the REME Museum at Arborfield in Berkshire.
See their website www.rememuseum.org.uk

Barrel Length : 30¼ inches, Calibre : .303 inches.

Adopted in November 1895, it is a 'Lee' designed action with an 'Enfield Rifled' barrel.

The Lee bolt action was first used in December 1888 but was fitted with a Metford rifling barrel which only had a short life span of circa 4200 rounds. The answer to this was a new form of rifling developed at the RSAF Enfield. It was introduced in the British Service as the 'Lee-Enfield' Magazine Rifle Mk 1. The sights were also modified. It saw service in the Boer War.

The Museum's example was modified in 1908 for clip loading. Other modifications were made to the sight protector and backsight to allow target shooting. Marked - Issue mark '12 L.D.' (probably for the 12th Light Dragoons). Rack Number 787.