QF 4.5 inch Howitzer

Ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer
Camouflaged British 4.5 inch field howitzers at Arras April 1917
Type	Field howitzer
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1908–1944
Used by	British Empire Russian Empire Finland Estonia Ireland Portugal
Wars	First World War, Second World War
Production history
Designer	Coventry Ordnance Works
Manufacturer	Coventry Ordnance Works, Royal Arsenal, Vickers, Bethlehem Steel
Number built	3,359
Specifications (Mk1 & Mk2)
Weight	Barrel & breech: 972 lb (441 kg) Total: 3,010 lb (1,370 kg)
Length	9 feet (2.7 m)
Barrel length	Bore: 5 ft (1.5 m) Total: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Width	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Crew	6
Shell	separate QF. HE shell 35 lb (16 kg)
Calibre	4.5-inch (114 mm)
Breech	Horizontal sliding block
Recoil	Hydro-spring 40 inches (0° elevation); 20 inches (45° elevation)
Carriage	Wheeled, box trail
Elevation	-5° to +45°
Traverse	3° right and left
Rate of fire	4 rpm
Muzzle velocity	Maximum: 1,010 ft/s (310 m/s)
Maximum firing range	Mk II: 7,300 yd (6,700 m)
Sights	Reciprocating & non-calibrating

The Ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer was the standard British Empire field (or ‘light’) howitzer of the First World War era. It replaced the BL 5-inch howitzer and equipped some 25% of the field artillery. It entered service in 1910 and remained in service through the interwar period and was last used in the field by British forces in early 1942. It was generally horse drawn until mechanisation in the 1930s.

The QF 4.5-inch howitzer was used by British and Commonwealth forces in most theatres, by Russia and by British troops in Russia in 1919. Its calibre (114 mm) and hence shell weight were greater than those of the equivalent German field howitzer (105 mm); France did not have an equivalent. In the Second World War it equipped some units of the BEF and British, Australian, New Zealand and South African batteries in East Africa and the Middle and Far East.

During the Second Boer War (1899–1902) the British government realised its field artillery was being overtaken by the more modern "quick firing" guns and howitzers of other major powers. The Krupp field howitzers used by the Boers had particularly impressed the British. The usefulness of field howitzers and the need for them to form part of an infantry division’s artillery were reinforced by reports from the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. In 1900, the British Cabinet ordered Field Marshal Lord Roberts, the commander-in-chief in South Africa, to send home artillery brigade and battery commanders “selected for their eminence and experience” to form an equipment committee. The committee was chaired by General Sir George Marshall, who had been artillery commander in South Africa. It formed in January 1901 with wide ranging terms of reference concerning artillery equipment from guns and howitzers to harness design and instruments.

The committee swiftly established requirements and invited proposals from British gun makers. None were satisfactory, and all compared poorly with a captured Krupp 12 cm howitzer. A purchase of Krupp howitzers was discussed, including visits to Essen. However, by 1905, the committee was sufficiently satisfied to recommend the production of trial equipments from ordnance factories, Armstrong, Vickers and the Coventry Ordnance Works (a joint venture by several Coventry engineering companies). Testing in 1906 showed the Coventry design was by far the most satisfactory and a battery’s worth were ordered for trials. In 1908, after trials, the 4.5-inch howitzer was recommended for service, albeit with a shortened barrel.