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Written by David Boyd
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Thursday, 01 January 2009 14:38 |
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The 7.2" Howitzer 
After Dunkirk there was a great shortage of heavy artillery so requests for a weapon of around 8" in calibre with greater range than the current 8" Howitzer were made. Firing trails were conducted to see how much stress the 8" Howitzer carriage could take and so it was decided to develop a 7.2" weapon that fired a 200lb shell at 1,700fps. Barrel liners of existing 8" weapons were replaced by a 7.2" liner 7.2" Howitzer Data
| Mk I - IV | Mk VI | | Weight of gun and breech | 8,176lb | 11,104lb | | Total length | 171" | 248" | | Length of bore | 161.1" | 238.1lb | | Rifling | 40 groves 1/20 | 40 groves 1/20 | | Elevation | 0 - 45 degrees | -1 - 63 degrees | | Traverse | 4 degrees left/right | 30 degrees left/right | | Weight in Action | 22,760lb | 32,547lb | 7.2" Ammunition data | | Mk I - IV | Mk VI | | Weight | 200lb | 200lb | | Muzzle Velocity | 1,700fps | 1,925fps | | Maximum range | 16,900 yards | 19,600 yards | Production of 7.2" Howitzers and ammunition by year (UK only) | | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | | 7.2" Equipments (I-IV) | - | 101 | 150 | 45 | - | | 7.2" Equipments (VI) | - | - | - | 47 | 31 | | HE | - | 285,000 | 747,000 | - |
| Sources - British & American Artillery of WWII, AVIA 22 456 - 514
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