British 9 Howitzer

The British 9.2 inches Mark 1 heavy siege Howitzer was one of the largest artillery guns used by the British Army in World War One, forming the principal counter-battery equipment of the forces.

First produced in July 1914, the gun was rushed into production for the war and eventually reached the Western Front in France in October 1914. It was created as a result of the advancements in howitzer technology used in Germany, which needed to be met with force by the British forces.

The howitzer equipped a high number of siege batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery. However, the first wave of guns suffered from significant recoil and so required modification in 1916. It was later modified once more to include a recoil indicator and cut-off gear, which made it an even more effective weapon.

The gun remained in service until around the middle of World War Two when it was eventually decommissioned. However, examples do remain in museums in Britain, Australia and the United States.

Facts:

• A total of 450 British 9 Howitzer guns were built during the war
• The gun weighed 15 tons
• It fired a 131kg shell of high explosives
• It could fire shells 9,198 metres
• It took a total of 36 hours to dismantle the fun
• It took three specially built carriages to transport it