The Outstanding 25 Pounder

The story of the Ordnance Quick Firing 25 pounder, a legendary artillery piece of World War II.

[@YorkyOne]

During WW2 my mother was employed at the Forgrove Machinery Company Ltd in Beeston, Leeds manufacturing sights for the 25 pounders. And, like millions of others, she was rightly proud of her small but important contribution to the war effort.

[@iffracem]

Not such a "small" contribution, I'd say a very large and important contribution

[@YorkyOne]

@@iffracem Comment much appreciated. Cheers.

[@anthonywright6237]

My grandmother worked at royal ordernace lenton Nottingham. She told me a story about how a German heavy bomb was dropped in the middle of the street and didn't go off. !!!! And kids where playing around it 😂

[@graemesydney38]

While the 25 pounder was a accurate and reliable gun its reputation was based on the Royal Artillery's doctrine and organisation as much as the Gun itself. There was much development and change in military science and tactics during WW1. But of all the arms, artillery had developed the most. It could be well argued that at the end of WW1 the British Commonwealth were the best army with the best arty of the conflict. The Brits did the usual after-conflict-analysis. The after-conflict-analysis identified the importance, effectiveness and failings of WW1 arty, and the 25pnd AND its ammunition was the result for field arty. The 25 was a development of the 18pnd. While the 'budget restrained' British army lost much of its prowess and excellent officers, the Royal arty managed to maintain its excellence in doctrine and was fortunate that the development and delivery of the 25pnd coincided with the outbreak of WW2. The Royal arty entered the war as probably the best arty in the world and maintained its excellence through out the war. The Royal arty was the most effective arm of the British army through out the war. The 25 was develop[ed and referred to as a gun/how - firing low trajectory direct, and high trajectory howitzer (allowing it to fire onto reverse slopes and to have good destructive ground penetration against fortifications). The other significant difference was that the 25 fired shell packed with RDX explosive that gave the 88mm 12kg shell about the same explosive impact as the American and German 105mm guns. The shell was also designed to fragment in a specific way to maximise the airburst. I can not verify the veracity of the statement but I've read that the Germans saying was; Russian arty impressed you, American arty scared you, but British arty killed you.

[@28pbtkh23]

I appreciate all the knowledge in your comment.

[@rashidahmad7830]

Thanks for the information. I always wondered how the 25 pounder compared to the US 105mm gun. You provided the answer. A superb gun indeed. Read the book "Firepower by Shelford Bidwell and Dominick Graham. It's about the British Army artillery perfirmance in WW1 and WW2. The Royal Artillery was one of the finest arms.

[@johnthorn923]

My father, Sgt CH Thorn NZ Artillery, used these in the Pacific WW11. RIP dad.

[@peterrhodes7623]

Learned how to use an oxy-acetyline cutting torch, cutting new 25 pdr barrels in 3 for scrap in 1970. Covered in grease inside and out. They would catch fire and roar and spit out flames. No health and safety regs for us. There were 2 of us, one for each cut. Lenny Barrett was a bit slow and kept catching fire, at which point he would swear, throw his torch on the ground and run off to extinguish his burning overalls, the torch still alight. 17 years old. No supervision and no fire watch. 27 Command Wksp. REME. Happy times.

[@peterrhodes5663]

@Worzal Gummidge Tried hiding a barrel down my trouser leg. Walked out the gate with such a limp that they called for an ambulance. After 2 hours of surgery they managed to remove it. If you look around the back of Warminster hospital, it might still be there, coated in that brown grease. They weigh at least 3 hernias. I moved to New Zealand 9 years later, so I can't check for you. The RSA's here and in Oz ( returned services ) have 25 pounders parked outside. I can hitch one up to my 4x4 and nick off with it, but the postage to the UK might be a bit much for you. Can you imagine a gang of those old blokes, half pissed, chasing after me down the road?

[@peterrhodes5663]

​@Worzal Gummidge The local RSA has a M102 that goes back to the 70's. Maybe someone else nicked their 25 pdr already. The Aussies produced the Short Mk1. but I've never seen one here. Used in the jungles. If I ever see one, then I'll rip into it with my gas axe, for old times sake. Had your covid shots? This guy is way ahead of you:- kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGi2qGyMgatgbJI Keep safe.

[@malcolmsymon2139]

06 Feb 1975 I was in Leeds UOTC. We had 2x British Built + 1x Canadian Built 25 Pounders doing Royal Salute in York for the anniversary of the Queens Accession to the throne. Cleaning out after using Gunpowder Blanks was a pain. Shooting live at Otterburn was much more fun, as we were shooting from England at targets in Scotland.

[@Zebred2001]

My father was on a 25 pounder in the 32nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery. He was evacuated from Dunkirk and has to destroy his gun. I still have the breach-pin he kept as a souvenir. He was shipped to India then to the area around Mosul Iraq and on to North Africa where he was a navigator for a unit operating behind German lines before being captured just before the second battle of El Alamein. He was taken as a prisoner to Italy until they quit the war and the Italian guards just walked out of the camp. The Germans showed up and took all the allied prisoners to Germany. My dad and a mate escaped from Werdau and got away and were almost to Switzerland when they were recaptured. He spent the rest of the war in Zwickau until his camp was liberated by the Americans. He was eligible for veterans assistance after the war but refused it as he felt the country couldn't afford it. He married my mother and emigrated to Canada and raised a family of six. He died in 1976.

[@ghostmost2614]

America was glad to free your Dad.🇺🇸🇬🇧👍

[@scottcampbell2836]

Love and respect for your father. A damn good man no doubt

[@johngelly6275]

My late father was with the 155th Field Battery (Sidi Nsir 1943) as GPO of E Troop. E and F Troops laid down so much fire that when the Germans interrogated them they wanted to know where the second battery was.

[@camrenwick]

The glorious 155 Bty. My sincere gratitude to those brave men. We owe them so much.

[@kellybreen5526]

I towed the 25 pounder that is at 11 RCA in Guelph Ontario. Above 35 mph the truck limber gun combo would start to "snake" and could pull you off the road. Upon learning that I never drove it past that speed.

[@51WCDodge]

Try the Mk 1 Quad. The acelerator pedal is in the middle. They can get bloody exciting! I was towing a number 27 trailer and the gun behind a LWB Safari Land Rover, (Yes, I know . But I was -younger- and stupider) on the road in SE London of all places. A woman in a car didn't realise , despite warning curtains, the barrel stuck out. She stopped with it a few inches from her windscreen, look on her face? Priceless

[@paulhebblethwaite7168]

My late father drove a quad gun tractor whilst in Africa during WW2 during the El Alamein campaign. There is a photo of him and his crew in Parnells History of The Second World War.

[@28pbtkh23]

I had that series of magazines in my teenage years in the 1970s, all five volumes. I've probably seen your old man!!

[@bonza167]

@@28pbtkh23 they expanded that set to 8 volumes, which I still have as well as their 8 volume Purnells History of the First World War. excellent publications

[@avicciimmxx8156]

My Dad,Charles William McCulloch from Kimberley regiment up North. Proud of you Dad. Estelle

[@highrevs6110]

I Was a layer on this gun in the fifties. I was lucky it was peacetime and although I went to Korea, the war was finished when I arrived. It was a solid field gun and easy to deploy.

[@72mossy]

We used to fire the 25 pounders in the Glen of Imaal when I was in the Irish Reserves in Ireland. Two guns now in permanent display in front of town hall in Templemore, Tipperary.

[@josephgreig8746]

My dad reckoned they dragged their 25 pounder through mud and bogs for weeks and weeks in Italy till Trieste .He would lose his rag at the Auckland Memorial museum and lecture us terrified kids on the Horror.And he was pleased Nazi got their beans

[@MrOlgrumpy]

The Kiwis with their 105s did sterling work in Vietnam,not forgotten.

[@terrystephens1102]

Thanks for an excellent presentation.😁👌👏👏👏

[@billy.g3597]

My Grandfather was a gunner in the 97th field regiment Royal Artillery. He was captured during the 1st battle of El Alamein. Later he was killed aboard SS Scillin, along with 800 other POW's. My mother was 2 years old when it happened. She has only 2 tiny B&W photographs of him in her possession. RIP George.

[@gunnerhoward3134]

I fired this gun a few times in training (Royal Artillery) back in about 1989. They got their moneys worth out of that one.

[@marklloyd4087]

Never got the chance to fire the 25 pounder, fired the 105 mm light gun, abbot 105,and the 155 mm M109, would have liked to fire the 25 pounder, we had one outside E Bty 1RHA Tidworth.

[@markoneill9346]

I was an instructor on them up until 2008, the best field gun ever made.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Why? I am genuinely interested why you say that.

[@alganhar1]

For its time, other than that caveat I would fully agree. As to why, lots of reasons. First stability and ease of traverse, yes I meant traverse. The 25 pounder had a circular firing platform that looks sort of like an old cartwheel instead of the more usual spade. Once the gun was in position not only did this afford the gun exceptional stability (so excellent accuracy for followup shoots), but meant the gun could be easily traversed. Shell and Cartridge were seperate, which allowed for fine(er) control or ranges through the use of different charges depending on the range you were engaging the enemy. Each cartridge was closed by a leather cap and contained three charge bags, seperate bags were also provided for supercharging rounds (most often for anti tank direct fire). Means the gun was very versatile. For its calibre it was also very light and mobile, another plus point, and it's high explosive shell while being of a lower calibre than the US and German 105's had about the same burst charge and kill radius. It was easy to set up for firing, and just as easy to return to road configuration meaning a good gun crew could arrive, deploy within a few minutes, fire off a shoot, then make the gun ready for transport and be gone within half an hour of arrival. The fact the gun remained unchanged except for the addition of a muzzle brake for its entire service career kind of strongly indicates that when they first designed the thing they got just about everything about the gun right first time.

[@anthonyburke5656]

Believe it or not, it could be man packed or mule packed up mountains. My Father served on one that was hauled by hand up and over the Owen Stanley Range in PNG.

[@Rusty_Gold85]

wow .I Knew some got up there due to Brave DC10 Pilots landing on a risky airfield

[@Reymundo____]

i had the honour in being the maintenance techie for this wonderful piece of artillery. It is still used for ceremonial purposes in my country.. my only regret was not firing a blank round for this gun.. almost had the chance.. good days :')

[@51WCDodge]

The Irish only stopped using it in 2000 . We were invited to last firing,, much sobbing and heart breack, which had the edge taken of it with Potten.

[@anthonyquinn5058]

I had command of one in the glen of imall firing range with the irish reserve defence force..14th battery 7th field artillery regiment was an excellent weapon

[@darensanders423]

My dad was in the US Army in Battery C 692nd Field Artillery during WWII. They trained on 105mm howitzers at Fort Sill. Once in theater in The Netherlands in January 1945 they switched to 25 pounder guns do to the availability of ammunition.

[@markharrison2827]

It was mainly due to a shortage of American 105's, the Birts had excess 25 pounders close at hand, hence 692 being equipped with Birtish artillery.

[@godzillasdad]

Did my training on the 25 pounder. I could (and did) take it apart and reassemble it blindfolded. Now I wouldn't even be able to remove the breach.

[@bigblue6917]

My late father did his National Service with the 25 Pounder. Loved the life so much he became a regular when his time was up, again with the RA. I think the only people who didn't like the 25 Pounder was the Germans, the Italians and the Japanese. But they may have been biased for some reason. Or just jealous.

[@51WCDodge]

The Quad equipped with a winch meant you could get the gun damm near at the top of a tree. Apparently those who had fire directed at them considered this most unsporting.

[@hadrianbuiltawall9531]

Given that there are more than a 1000 in active service all over the world, I'm sure many countries have adopted the love/hate feeling depending on where they were standing at the time.

[@lauriepocock3066]

Dad was subscripted first into the Royal Sussex until one day the squaddies were all lined up and those who could drive were asked to step forward. Two days later he was a member of the Honourable Artillery Co in Hungerford polishing his 25lb pounder for the Kings inspection. As soon as the King passed, out came the glue and sand was thrown all over it. He was later captured at the battle on Knightsbridge, and I would like to know more about that battle. Indecently, shortly after capture the Germans lined all their prisoners up and asked all the drivers to step forward. That's how Dad came to be a German Ambulance Driver, but that another story.

[@camrenwick]

As a gunner veteran, you're right. This gun did it's job very well

[@morriganravenchild6613]

Superb weapon.

[@roybennett9284]

And used in Vietnam by our rugby playing mates the kiwis who saved our ass at the battle of long tan, along with some yanks...god bless the kiwis atrty

[@51WCDodge]

I was taking to the crowd at a re eanctment about the 25lb , as we have three that we display, I said you could get up to 12 rounds per minute for short periods. An old guy started laughing and said 'Son, if there are German Tanks coming at you, you get a bloodyy sight more then 12 a minute off'.

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

They were fired sometimes till the barrels became red hot.

[@bigblue6917]

Just shows you what you can achieve with the right incentive.

[@51WCDodge]

@@bigblue6917 The guy in question was rapidly transeffered to our mess area and delicatly interogated with the help of tea and rum plus biscuits. :-) Another joy of the rig, the Mk1 Quad has the acelerator pedal in the middle. That can lead to some intresting moments!

[@51WCDodge]

@@oldgitsknowstuff The only modifiacation ever made to them was the Mk 2 had a mauzzle brake fitted to reduce barrel wear.

[@quadg5296]

@@51WCDodge The muzzle brake allowed them to use the maximum charge size for anti tank rounds. without the brake they had to use a reduced charge with lower velocity for AP.

[@nickspong9811]

Capt JHA Spong. RA Welsh 53rd _ fought through Belgium and Holland S'hertogenbosch battle .

[@colinm2056]

Rhodesian army used them till the 70's.

[@neilcalpin3709]

I was trained on the 25 pounder in 1976 in the JLRRA. I was also lucky enough to be a No1 for a day at Larkhill. The 25 pounder is only surpassed by the Light Gun

[@brendanroberts4898]

My grandfather was a Aussie gunner at Toburk and spoke often of how highly it preformed. Almost as much as my dad spoke of how good NZ arty was in Vietnam, seen you guys operating first had in the field and loved it👍👍

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

Was he South Notts Hussars ?

[@apropercuppa8612]

Nice. My Great-Grandad was somewhere around there in the Royal Artillery at that time.

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

Absolutely Hurrah for the 25 Pdr Field gun. My dear old, late departed Dad was in Tobruk, supporting our dear allies and friends, the Australians under the command of General Moorshead. My Dad's regiment ? The South Notts Hussars. Who ? I hear you all ask. Well the South Notts Hussars had the brand new, state of the art, artillery piece....the 25 Pdr, Field gun. History has recorded that the '25 was the artillery support for the Ozzy garrison at Tobruk., Both the Ozzy garrison and the South Notts Hussars have the honour of being named, officially, by Dr, Goebbels himself....as 'The Desert Rats' ! Thank you Dr Goebbels. My Dads regiment was wiped out. 426 Battery, SNH Royal Horse Artillery, June 6th, 1942.

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

@nuff said . Hey, respects to your Dad. I was told that 'We were surrounded for 10 months(or 9 for your Dad) then we got wiped out at the Knightsbridge box at the battle of Gazala. Libya in June is a very hot country to be forced marched across, especially without sufficient food or water.

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

@nuff said . Thanks for sharing that with me. You're absolutely correct....War is not as it is portrayed on the screen. I think it was 'Saving Private Ryan' that actually brought a limited amount of understanding of the human suffering when being deposited in a battle. Fortunately, thanks to our fathers and grandfathers, we have never had to take up a rifle to defend our county, this should, but is often not respected. POW camps were just Schoolboys having a jolly good time making the lives of Jerry, a misery. But the truth is very different.... My Dad passed away in 1986. I looked upon him as a decent man who would rather walk away from a fight, than square up to an aggressor. Then I found his diaries...... My Dad was 'Captain bloody Hurricane' along with all the other Cpt.Hurricanes. He survived, the real hero's are still there....sounds a bit Deep I know. Yeah, your right, nobody talked about the war unless they were not in it...the veterans kept quiet. Strange how this generation is interested......

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

@nuff said . Aha ! Yes , I agree with you, we share something in common. I was told that when 'It was time for someone to commit an act of bravery', the 'Old hands' kept their heads down and the new 'young Bucks' threw themselves into the fray. Not that they weren't brave beyond imagination, the 'Older Hands' were the 'Young Bucks' and learned that being brave and stupidity are not good bedfellows. 'You want to drive through the minefield to get a medal, don't expect me to go with you'. War does lots of nasty things to people, it filters out those with moral fibre. Those men and officers to whom you previously looked up to, were capable of the most selfish acts against their comrades, others who were looked upon as thugs, brutes, thieves and scum of the Earth, sometimes surprised those around them. You know what they say... 'The Scum always rises to the surface'. The hero's are where they fell, looked after and cared for by the Commonwealth war graves commission. Respects to them all. I almost forgot.. Merry Christmas.

[@ghostmost2614]

Not proud of him are ya? 😂😂😂😂👍👍👍👍

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

@@ghostmost2614 Hello, I don't know if your comment is in response to any particular contributor in this conversation but I will take the liberty of responding to your contribution.... Yes, I am proud of all our servicemen, they our Dad's and deserve our respect, not as I ordered, but as their right. Yes, we all admired our Dads and I for one am not ashamed to shout from the rooftops about the efforts of all our brave servicemen. Bless them all ....... Respects to you aswell.

[@Lee-70ish]

The 25pounder was the best field gun to appear after the incredible WW1 French 75mm

[@72mossy]

Fired the 25 pounder in the Glen of Imaal a few times when I was in the Irish reserve army in the early 90s

[@cgdeery]

Would have fired the same piece.. Train on them while serving in the 2FAR.

[@enyha]

Loved them!

[@crafter170]

7.6 mile range .WOW !

[@SRPornography]

Great video mate. Have you read 'Gunner Inglorious'? Fell in love with this gun after reading that.

[@mrinmoymukherjee3523]

British pride they mighty 25 pounder,!

[@richardgarner2350]

The story I read, when German field artillery units were captured at the end of the Normandy campaign they asked if they could see the multi-barreled 25 pounder that the British forces had been using.

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

5 shots per minute? George G. Blackburn wrote in his book The Guns of Normandy, that the Canadian 25 pounders reached the phenomenal rate of 30 rounds per minute, (If memory serves. I can't find the book right now.) I HIGHLY recommend this book as one of the best military history non fiction I ever read.

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

@Big Bill O'Reilly I'm not an expert, but I'm inclined to believe a man who was there. The Germans were absolutely convinced the Canadians used autoloaders. He wrote how they brought a prisoner around to show the guns in action to prove they don't.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

The recoil alone would not allow a round every 2 seconds.

[@51WCDodge]

I doubt that for reasons stated. To start with it is a two pice ammunition, though with enough crew that isn't a worry. A battery of Four guns at 30 per minute, very feasible. One trick with 25lb was to fire a round at full evation, lower the gun and fire a second , with both rounds impacting at the same time in the same place. The Old Guys claimed 'You could hit a Sixpence (PRE decimal British Silver Coin, about 6 mm wide) at 6 miles.

[@nicholaspatton1742]

The number was 13 rounds a minute as a challenge but a long experienced and physically fit crew could achieve 9 - 10 rounds per minute regularly. The foo would let them know when it really mattered. This book was written by the veteran himself, not a ghost writer so there is much greater detail. It is very well reviewed and a great read. I believe you are referring to 30 rounds down range for the troop of four guns easily sustained.

[@patshiels5429]

Gun. Bunny on this 1967 which is why my ears are still ringing

[@wufongtanwufong5579]

@1:00 Now ya know where the humvee design came from.

[@zaynevanbommel5983]

My Uncle has a Quad Gun Tractor on his farm in Taranaki near the Matemateonga Ranges just rusting away to death

[@rogeralsop3479]

Most interesting.

[@markrowland1366]

Australia made the 25 pounder, including a shortened striped down jungle job and fitted on in their asst steel tank.

[@hadrianbuiltawall9531]

Pakistan still has (as of 2013 anyway) 1000 of them in service and produces their own ammo. They also supply ammo to the rather numerous groups that still use them at the moment.

[@vetsenstew3271]

the gun carrier looks like a humvee

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

Mack Tosh the Morris Quad.

[@51WCDodge]

Oh there a joy. Originally Hydrovac fuel sytem, Acellerator in the middle, which for a modern driver can get verrrry exciting, and the battery sits by your right ear. Fitted with a central winch which can run fore or rear. Constructed of some sheet meatl, wood and canvas. With two large fuel tanks one either side. But by God! They are fun to drive.

[@COLINJELY]

Why was the Quad Gun Tractor shaped like it was. I thought a simple box would be more efficient?

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

I'm guessing it was a much lower velocity gun than the German 88mm. But better for indirect fire.

[@elliotdavie4072]

yeah it was a howitzer rather than an anti aircraft/ anti tank gun so better HE worse AP shells

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

Elliot Davie the 25-pounder was a gun/howitzer and as such had direct fire sights. It was supplied anti-tank rounds with a weight of shot of about 20lb. It was used in this role in the Sahara Desert along side the 2-pounder anti-tank guns. One notable occasions Dead Sunday.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

WAHHHHH! The German 88 was NOT field artillery. Even in heer (army) units it was crewed by luftwaffe (air-corps) personnel. Of course the 25-pdr is lower velocity. It serves a different purpose.

[@51WCDodge]

It was officialy a Gun/Howitzer, The original idea was to try and combine the old 13/18 pounder Gun which was mobile line of sight Feild Artillery with the indirect Howitzers of the Garrison Artilley, into a single transportable unit. Original Design Beaura was the Woolwich Arsenal London.

[@brown_cat]

25 pounder in the begining of war were surprisingly good Anti-tank gun while 2 pounder weren't quite effective against frontal hardened armor because the projectile was too light, the AP shell and APBC of 25 pounder have armor penetration performance second to the US 75mm M2/M3 cannon, but even if the shell failed to penetrate through the armor, it would transfer energy to soft plate behind a hardened armor and cause spalling to injured tank crew, HE shell was also capable of destroying tank like in Greece that Panzer III got a turret blew off by direct hit HE shell from 25 Pounder, so it's saw extensive use as Anti-tank in north africa until the arrival of 6 Pounder gun and US 75mm that 25 Pounder finally can move back from 1st defense line to work as howitzer. And about german 88mm Flak, you might have heard about it can do everything, even as howitzer, it funny joke but it's a real, the german in the mid to late war did use a several type of gun that available like PaK40, PaK43 Anti-tank gun including Anti-aircraft like 88mm Flak was forcing to indirect preparing fire on enemy position before attack or predicted fire, but sadly there's a very few report so it's really hard to tell about the effective ness of this method.

[@HomeMadeBow]

Barrel's internal diametre, 88mm.

[@seeker1432]

My farther was in the 1st airbourne . He was in the Artillery within the regiment. He had told me sod all about anything. I remember seeing pictures of this Gun and that particular vehicle in his pictures. I am interested to know just what vehicle that is.

[@nicktombs1876]

It's a Morris

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

@@nicktombs1876 . Actually, I thought they looked more like the Ford Quad ? Very similar. Available in 2 exciting colours....Green & Sand !

[@nicktombs1876]

@@oldgitsknowstuff I am pretty sure they were made by Morris, it May be that like many things at the time they were made by more than one company.

[@seeker1432]

@MichaelKingsfordGray Your so intellegent are you not. Being so critical and stressed over such triviality. I am glad i am a bigger person than that and really dont care what you think or say. But thank you anyway..

[@oldgitsknowstuff]

@@seeker1432 . Don't get all upset over MichaelKingsfordfuckinghyphonGray, he's a twat.

[@tedarcher9120]

Zis-3 would beg to differ

[@PatGilliland]

The other 88.

[@Paciat]

Heres a 25 pounder creeping barrage from a movie "A Bridge too far": kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZqxpmRvmJVlrLs

[@stevengrotte2987]

25 pounder= 87.6mm, about 3 and a half inches? I was in the US Navy, which used inches, example 5 inch 54 caliber gun so it is easier to picture the shell as a 3 inch or 5 inch. Thank you. were British WW2 guns larger than 25 pounders? what mms?

[@peterson7082]

Other than the 105mm Howitzer M1/M1A1/M1A2, not that I can recall off the top of my had.

[@MrBandholm]

Every major nation had guns that were bigger than a 25 pounder... Of the British the BL 5.5 inch Gun, and the BL 4.5 inch Medium Gun were the more common. But guns as big as 7.2-inch howitzer was also used by the British. The 25 pounder, were the most common gun in the British and Canadian/ANZAC armies, due to ease of transport, manufacture, and roll... As far as I have understood it, the 25 pounder was often available at brigade and battalion for firesupport, where the bigger guns, more often than not, were at division level, or used in counter battery fire missions.

[@thomaszinser8714]

The 25-pdr was the main medium artillery of the British Army, equivalent to the 105mm howitzer used by the US. Britain did, of course, have heavier artillery than this.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

114mm-4.5Inch-FieldGun, 114mm-4.5Inch-Howitzer, 127mm-5Inch-BL60pdr-FieldGun, 140mm-5.5Inch-MediumFieldGun, 152mm-BL6Inch-26CWT-Howitzer, 180mm-7.2Inch-Howitzer, 203mm-8Inch-Howitzer, 84mm-QF18pdr-FieldGun, 87.6mm-QF25pdr-FieldGun, 94mm-3.7Inch-MountainGun, Take your pick.

[@kernalkraig]

@@thomaszinser8714 Not medium. It was Field artillery.

[@zaynevanbommel5983]

No illume Rounds ?

[@kebab6597]

I fired these in the early 70s as a 13 to 16 year old army cadet before joining the army at 16 in 1975 I decided to join an armoured regiment despite my time having fun firing the 25 pounder

[@13bravoredleg18]

England wouldn't even know how to manufacture a 4 wheel drive gun tractor today.

[@vaudevillian7]

Although US forces use the British-built M777 howitzer today at least...

[@howardchambers9679]

Based on what?

[@BGone-mb7wz]

Ubique.

[@thomaszinser8714]

Frankly, one of the most impressive elements of the 25-pdr is the fact that due to its high rate of fire, it was capable of time on target fire at the enemy.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Time on target has NOTHING to do with fire rate. (My god, so much misinformation in these comments!) Time on target means that all rounds hit a particular area at the same time. Guns may be at different ranges, with different flight times and characteristics (losing energy more quickly or slowly). Time on target fire tells each battery the time to fire, to the second, for each salvo. That means, before computers, someone with a slide rule spent all night calculating all that and producing handy charts to hand out to everyone in the morning. Why even bother? The theory is that once the first round hits, the enemy will duck for cover, jump into fox holes, etc. making successive rounds less effective. If all rounds hit at the same time, the enemy is more likely to be out in the open. It's obviously less effective with each successive salvo after the first. So no, the 25-pdr was not impressive with its time on target fire, no more than any other field piece.

[@bryanhurd9955]

Unfortunately the German 88 holds that accolade

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Do you mean the Krupp or the Rheinmetall? Do you mean the anti-aircraft version or the tank version? Which barrel length? For what task? The 88 has a mystique, since every American soldier talks about "those German 88's opened up on us," when there were no 88s in the field artillery. Most German artillery was 105mm howitzer. Most tank and anti-tank guns were 75mm. Most anti-aircraft guns were 37mm. So, yeah, the 88. Good gun. Not the one you are talking about though.

[@bryanhurd9955]

@@princeofcupspoc9073 The 88 used on the Tiger ,and as anti aircraft and as artillery by germans in the western desert/russia/and europe yes that one 🙈

[@WgCdrLuddite]

@@bryanhurd9955 Didn't win the war though, did it ?

[@bryanhurd9955]

@@WgCdrLuddite Two things 🙈 lyddite it was not the question and to attempt a stupid girl like reply as your answer is exactly that girl like stick to fiction 🙈 who ...won...the war ? 😉

[@WgCdrLuddite]

@@bryanhurd9955 I'm going to tell my Mum on you.

[@yereverluvinuncleber]

reluctanty?

[@WolfRichter337]

however good it was, germans using them isnt much of a quality guarantee as they used everything, especially heavy guns and vehicles, they captured

[@watcherzero5256]

Germany even started manufacturing copies of the Sten gun by the end of the war, itself a copy of the German MP38 with ammo feed relocated from the bottom to the side to make it better for use in cover.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Ah, no, not really. At least not in front line units. Captured weapons went mostly to either police units, garrison units (such as the Atlantic Wall), or sold to allies such as Bulgaria, Romania, etc. There were a few exceptions, such as French 75mm M1897 field guns put on 50mm carriages and given new muzzle brakes, or the repurposed French armor in Normandy. They may also have crewed the odd T-34 captured in the East. Now trucks? Trucks they used whenever and where-ever they found them.

[@51WCDodge]

@@princeofcupspoc9073 I grew up in Jersy in the Channel Islands. Some of the fortifications still had the guns emplaced in the early 1960's. There were all sorts from French guns pre 1900 to Russian pices. A major one was the Checz 4.7 cm AT gun and Renault FT tank turrets mounted on bunkers with either the Hotckiss machine gun or the 377mm. Biggest guns were the 305 cm, roughly 16 inch Mirus Battery in Gurnersey. These were ex Russian battle ships guns. The St Petersburg if I remember off the top of my head. A lot were dumped over the cliffs at the north of the Island post war. The Mirus guns were cut up for scarp. Legend has it BOC (British Oxygen Company) had to devise anew cutting mix for the job.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Just stop with the superlatives. Not everything has to be "the BEST." Here in the US, the law says that "best" means nothing, so every product advertisement can say "we are the best X," or "the most," etc. without getting sued for libel. A little history. Guns and howitzers were segregated into a few different functional classes. Infantry guns, small artillery pieces that can be easily man-handled, useful at short range, mostly using HE (high explosive) against soft targets. Field howitzers, general bombardment (indirect fire) weapons designed to put the most explosive on target at medium ranges. Field guns, designed for longer range than howitzers, with a correspondingly lighter round, useful for counter battery fire, that is, attacking the enemy's howitzers. Now all field artillery could be used for any of those tasks, and even armor piercing or high explosive armor piercing, against hard targets like tanks. No one piece was the master of all. The 25 pounder was a relatively light (87.6mm) gun, with a range somewhere between traditional howitzers and field guns. That is, a lighter round than a howitzer (at similar size), with a longer range. Or you could say a heavier round than a field gun, with a shorter range. It's a tweener. You could say better than X, or worse than X, depending on the usage, because NOTHING is ever BEST for all roles. It was a well made reliable gun with some advantageous features, such as the ability to quickly spin 180 degrees. So does that make it BEST? Again, just stop. Good gun. Move on.

[@quadg5296]

the US armies current 105mm gun, the M119, owes its existence to the 25lber. and most of its best features. like the circular firing platform. the m119 is a license built copy of the British L118. which is the gun that replaced the 25lber. but kept its best features. the m777 155mm also has a version of the circular firing platform. so all US artillery copies features from the 25lber. why they call it the best.

[@annoyingbstard9407]

Wehraboos everywhere explode in outrage…..

[@williamjc7195]

sorry,best field gun of ww2 was german 88. perhaps best allied field gun.....

[@digglyda]

The 88 wasn't a field gun.

[@BHuang92]

Was not a field gun. But overall best all round anti-air/anti-tank gun and the most feared artillery piece of the war.

[@binaway]

Being an AA gun the 88 took time time to set up before use and when an enemy advanced a lot of work before it could be moved. Excellent in a fixed position. The Germans feared allied guns just as much as the allied feared the 88. After WW2 the Yanks produced a huge report after testing every weapon they could lay their hands on from every Nation involved. If unable to obtain an example the used reports form armies that had faced the weapon. As on AA gun they rated the the 88 together with the equivalent Soviet and US AA guns as all being just as effective. The British 3.7inch fired a heavier shell causing the riffling to wear smooth and it's greater recoil required a much heavier gun carriage making it harder to move. The US report rated the Italian 90mm as the best overall field gun but with very few produced it had little effect on the wars outcome.

[@chazt8604]

BHuang92 The Soviet 85mm and Italian 90mm AA guns were comparable and used in the same way, the Italian 90mm was marginally better than the 88mm in range, penetration and MV. Even the British 3" and 3.7" AA guns were used in the ground role, as was the US 90mm Doing and absolute is pretty difficult. The 88mm was the best known for the dual ground/air role, it does not mean it was the best (especially when the 88 is just the calibre and there were many different guns used by the Germans in that calibre with different capabilities).

[@eraldorh]

Wrong, its not a field gun and the 88 flak 36 or the kwk 36 tank version was not the best anti tank gun either, the 17pdr was better. Only the longer barreled 88mm aka the kwk43 was better and very few were ever made into at guns but put on vehicles instead and was only better if the 17pdr wasnt using apcr