Ordnance QF 13 pounder

Ordnance QF 13 pounder
Battery and detachments of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) near Belah, Palestine, March 1918
Type	Light field gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1904–1940 (UK)
Used by	British Empire
Wars	World War I, Easter Rising, World War II
Production history
No. built	416
Variants	Mk I, Mk II
Specifications
Weight	Barrel & breech 685 lb (311 kg); Total 2,236 lb (1,014 kg)
Barrel length	Bore 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m); Total 6 ft (1.8 m)
Crew	9
Shell	QF fixed round 12.5 lb (5.7 kg) Shrapnel, later HE
Calibre	3-inch (76.2 mm) L/23
Recoil	Hydro-spring, constant, 41 in (1.0 m)
Carriage	Wheeled, pole trail
Elevation	-5°to +16°
Traverse	4° L & R
Muzzle velocity	1,675 ft/s (511 m/s)
Maximum firing range	5,900 yd (5,400 m)

The Ordnance QF 13-pounder (quick-firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I.

It was developed as a response to combat experience gained in the Boer War and entered service in 1904, replacing the Ehrhard QF 15 pounder and BL 12 pounder 6 cwt. It was intended as a rapid-firing and highly-mobile yet reasonably powerful field gun for Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) batteries supporting Cavalry brigades, which were expected to be engaged in mobile open warfare. It was developed in parallel with the QF 18-pounder used by field artillery.

The original Mk I barrel was wire wound. Later Mk II barrels had a tapered inner A tube which was pressed into the outer tube.

The first British artillery round on the Western Front in World War I was fired by No. 4 gun of E Battery Royal Horse Artillery on 22 August 1914, northeast of Harmignies in Belgium.

It saw action most famously at the Battle of Le Cateau in August 1914 as the British Expeditionary Force retreated from Mons.

It was used to great effect by "L" Bty, Royal Horse Artillery in its famous defensive action on September 1, 1914 at Néry, France, for which 3 Victoria Crosses were awarded. The medals, and No. 6 gun and limber involved in this action, are held in the collection of the Imperial War Museum.