Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

Ordnance BL 4.5-inch

1938 WORLD WAR 2

Rule BL 4.5 Inch Story

By WW2 (1939-1945), the 1905 WW1-era BL 60-pounder (details elsewhere on this page) had reached the end of its useful life in the British Army. When looking for such a successor, work began on a completely new design.

This move gave birth to the Ordnance BL 4.5" medium field gun, which served until the end of World War II.

The Intermediate BL 4.5" fires a lighter 114mm caliber projectile compared to the previous heavy BL 60 pounder. It has a Welin (stepped, interrupted thread) breech design attached to an Asbury bolt - The opening and closing mechanism (a kind of bolt similar to that on naval guns of the time.) The complete weapon system weighs 12,880 pounds and has a barrel length of 15.4 feet.

The barrel rests on mounting hardware that is attached to a split rail system spanned by a pair of rubber tire wheels. For convenience, this compartment is the same as in the BL 60-pound unit. The hind legs are closed for transport and open when the gun is loaded. Wheels along the mounting section are used to achieve the desired lateral and height of the barrel.

An integrated recoil mechanism allows the weapon to remain relatively stationary while the firing action takes place. The shells are highly explosive and weigh up to 55 pounds. It fires at 2,250 feet per second from the muzzle and maintains a maximum range of 20,500 yards.

Sightings were carried out through an integrated unit.

In service, the new gun was used by the regiment and was adopted by the British and Canadian artillery field groups during the war. The original production form became the Mk 1, and these were released before the war in 1938. At the hands of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting in France and elsewhere, they were baptized by fire in the early stages of the conflict.

A shipment of supplies was also sent to the British during the North African campaign, and another for the fighting in Greece.

In 1941, the 114mm guns were placed on standardized rails common to 4.5" and 5.5" systems. This created the Mk 2 name, with many serving in the fighting in North Africa, the Italian campaign and the subsequent post-invasion period in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The type performed quite well on various fronts of the war and served until the final days of years-long conflicts. In 1945, the series was decommissioned from the front line, and the rest were used as training equipment.

In 1959, it was finally declared completely obsolete, which meant the official end of the line.