Morris C8 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Saw lee today hitting his 25 Pdr {in Bits } so i thought i would send him some photos of how it should look and how not to do it. original photos from my Collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 one more photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Hi Keith, good seeing you today, great photos thanks for posting those. Cheers Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 This is what happens when you put too much powder in. Original photo from my collection. [Dunkirk 1940 gun is spiked] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 2nd photo is of my Morris towing a 25 Pdr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david052 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Seems to be a different arrangement in the shields - curved in early, bigger top flap. Is that an early Mark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david052 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 This is what happens when you put too much powder in. Original photo from my collection. [Dunkirk 1940 gun is spiked] How can you put too much powder in? It's set charges so must be set amounts, based upon fire control orders, which therefore must be entered into the calcs for range etc. Is it not more a failure of wartime manufacturing and metalurgical standards. I recall reading Spike Milligans memoirs - AH, my part in his downfall, actually very interesting for the day to day life of a RA Unit, and one of the the most poignant passages is when they had a premature, i.e. fuse failure. Can't see how charges can lead to a barrel breach, unless there is a blockage - logically the projectile and charge would follow the line of least resistance - i.e. out of the muzzle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I think the top one is actually an 18/25 pounder. They were all lost at Dunkirk. I belive the spiking procedure was ranm a shell down the barrel from the front then put a round in the breech and fire by long lanyard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfixer Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 They were all lost at Dunkirk. I belive the spiking procedure was ranm a shell down the barrel from the front then put a round in the breech and fire by long lanyard. This is correct. An 'Obstruction' was inserted into the barrel at the muzzle end.& a shell fired 'Remotely'. It fell under the heading, 'destruction of equipment to prevent falling into Enemy hands'. The Germans however, were very adept at modifying things. If the carriage was undamaged, they simply re-barreled the carriage with whatever ordanace was available. Some good example of this can be seen at the Museum at Overloon. German carriages with French Ordanance fitted. It was not always possible with time constraints, to disable the guns COMPLETELY. IE: emptying the recouperators & buffers of oil when firing the last disabling charge. this would also have damaged the carriage to the point of eneconomic repair. A common practice, & instructions can be found in the back of MOST equipment user handbooks. :coffee: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Hi David052, it was a joke, i know i would catch someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 One more photo from my collection. Think this was taken in Egypt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 I was trained on 25 pounders whilst in the Artillery in 1970, great fun too. I can still remnember the sequence of lay - E.L.X.L.E. - elevation, line, crosslevel, fine for line fine for elevation, done like this to take the backlash from the gears etc. Also recall our old gun had escaped the factory without being proof fired, arrangments were therefore made to get it done. If I recall right, the charge was supercharge "and a bit", a long lanyard and a hole to hide in. Afraid it didnt come up to scratch, and after a bloody great bang the barrel split from one end to the other. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 after a bloody great bang the barrel split from one end to the other. Steve. Reminds me of a line from that well known Rugby club ditty 'The Engineer':rofl::rofl::rofl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Ahem yes Degsy, I know said ditty, although in my case it was applied otherwise, although the result was just the same. However, a short piece from my previous posting, is that I was posted after a bit, to the Light Air Defence, and operated the Bofors 40 / 70. Just before I left however Rapier came in, and attempted to supercede our tried and tested gun, trouble was, and some may recall, that when used for the first time "in anger" (the Falklands), it would,nt bloody work eh ! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 That's why BAS developed the 'Pointing Stick'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan turner (RIP) Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I think that he dunkirk gun is a straight 18pdr not the 18/25 photo attd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Op-Ack Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 The "official" way of disabling a gun was to inset an HE round fuze down into the muzzle, load a second one in the breech and use a "VERY" long lanyard to fire it. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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