BRITISH WWI ARTILLERY WITH 18PDR GUN

The 18-pounder (Ordonance QF 18-pounder) was a British field cannon from both world wars and the interwar period. Its first prototypes were built in 1901, and serial production started in 1903 and lasted until 1940. The initial velocity of the shell fired from this gun was up to 492 m / s, with a maximum range of 8,500 meters in the Mark IV and V versions. The 18-pounder gun was developed and put into production in order to provide the British army with a modern high-rate cannon, intended to provide direct support to its own troops. After a series of trials, the new gun was put into production relatively quickly. Its characteristic feature was the use of a retaining device over the barrel and a single-tail bed. The advantages of this gun include a relatively large shell weight (approx. 8.5 kg) and a good rate of fire, while the disadvantages are the failure rate of the retractor (especially in the Mark I and II models) and not the best range. Several variants of this gun were developed during production. Chronologically, the first models were Mark I and Mark II, which differed only in the barrel production technology. A highly modernized variant was the Mark IV model, which had, among other things, a completely new screw lock, a new handguard and a completely new retractor. All these changes had a very positive effect on the rate of fire and range of the gun. The 18-pounder gun was the basic armament of British artillery during World War I.