RML 9 pounder 8 and 6 cwt guns

RML 9 pounder 8 cwt gun
RML 9 pounder 8 cwt Field Gun, at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick.
Type	Field gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1871 - 1895
Used by	British Empire
Production history
Designer	Woolwich Arsenal
Manufacturer	Woolwich Arsenal
Variants	9 pdr 8 cwt Mark I (Land Service) 8 cwt Mark II (Naval Service) 6 cwt Mark I (N.S.) 6 cwt Mark II (L.S.) 6 cwt. Mark III (N.S.) 6 cwt Mark IV (N.S.)
Specifications
Weight	8-long-hundredweight (400 kg) or 6-long-hundredweight (300 kg)
Shell	9.1 pounds (4.1 kg) (common shell) 9.8 pounds (4.4 kg) (shrapnel)
Action	RML
Breech	none – muzzle-loading
Muzzle velocity	1,330 feet per second (405 m/s)
Effective firing range	3,500 yards (3,200 m)

The RML 9 pounder 8 cwt gun and the RML 9 pounder 6 cwt gun were British Rifled, Muzzle Loading (RML) field, horse and naval artillery guns manufactured in England in the 19th century, which fired a projectile weighing approximately 9 pounds (4.1 kg). "8 cwt" and "6 cwt" refers to the weight of the gun to differentiate it from other 9 pounder guns.

The 9 pounder 8 cwt Rifled Muzzle Loader was the field gun selected by the Royal Artillery in 1871 to replace the more sophisticated RBL 12 pounder 8 cwt Armstrong gun, which had acquired a reputation for unreliability. The gun was rifled using the system developed by William Palliser, in which studs protruding from the side of the shell engaged with three spiral grooves in the barrel. In 1874, a 6 cwt version was introduced for horse artillery and was later adopted for field artillery use, replacing the 8 cwt version. All variants used the same ammunition, which took the form of shrapnel shell, case shot and common shell.

The 9 pounder remained in front-line service with the Royal Artillery until 1878 when the RML 13 pounder 8 cwt gun was introduced, however it remained in use with colonial forces until 1895 and saw action in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, the First Boer War of 1881 and the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882.