RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun

RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun
RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun
	; Fortification mounted MK III gun firing at Fort Glanville Conservation Park, South Australia
Type	Naval gun; Fortification gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1865 - 190?
Used by	British Empire
Production history
Designer	Woolwich Arsenal
Designed	1864
Manufacturer	Woolwich Arsenal; Elswick Ordnance Company
Variants	Mk I, II, III
Specifications
Weight	64-long-hundredweight (3,300 kg)
Length	9 ft 10 inches
Barrel length	97.5 inches bore
Shell	64 pounds (29 kg)
Calibre	6.3 inches (160 mm)
Action	RML
Breech	none - muzzle loading
Muzzle velocity	wrought-iron tube : 1,252 feet per second (382 m/s); Mk III steel tube : 1,390 feet per second (420 m/s)
Effective range	5,000 yards (4,600 m)

The RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun was a Rifled, Muzzle Loading (RML) naval, field or fortification artillery gun manufactured in England in the 19th century,^[2] which fired a projectile weighing approximately 64 pounds (29 kg). "64 cwt" refers to the gun's weight rounded up to differentiate it from other "64-pounder" guns : 1 hundredweight (cwt) = 112 pounds.

Description

The calibre of 6.3 inches was chosen to enable it to fire remaining stocks of spherical shells originally made for the obsolete 32 pounder guns if necessary.

Mark I (adopted in 1864) and Mark II (adopted 1866) guns, and Mark III guns made from 1867 - April 1871 had wrought-iron inner "A" tubes surrounded by wrought-iron coils.

Mark III guns made after April 1871 were built with toughened mild steel "A" tubes, and earlier Mark III guns were re-tubed with steel and were classified as a siege gun in land service. Remaining guns with iron tubes were used for sea service.^[4]

Rifling of all guns consisted of 3 grooves, with a uniform twist of 1 turn in 40 calibres (i.e. 1 turn in 252 inches).^[4]

Ammunition

The gun's standard shell was "common shell", for firing on troops in cover, ships and buildings, weighed 57.4 pounds (26.0 kg) when empty with a bursting charge of 7.1 pounds (3.2 kg). Shrapnel shells could also be fired; a 66.6 pounds (30.2 kg) shell with a 9-ounce (260 g) bursting charge propelling 234 metal balls.^[5]

Surviving examples

Mk I, Mk II and Mk III guns at Fort George, near Inverness, Scotland, UK
At Nothe Fort, Weymouth, UK
A Mk III gun at Fort Brockhurst, Gosport, UK
On board HMS Gannet, Chatham Dockyard, UK
At Pendennis Castle, Cornwall, UK
At Fort Glanville, Adelaide, South Australia
Mk III gun no. 739 of 1878 at Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Two guns at Fort Lytton, Brisbane, Australia
Lei Yue Mun Fort's Central Battery, Hong Kong
6 guns at Fort Siloso, Singapore. See also Mk III gun No. 767 of 1874
RML 64-pr 64 cwt Mk 3 at Albert Park, Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Notes and references

↑ http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled5.htm
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 A Guide to Fort Glanville, South Australia. Semaphore Park, South Australia: The Fort Glanville historical association. 2000.
↑ 1,252 feet/second firing a 64-pound projectile with 8 pounds R.L.G. gunpowder is quoted for wrought-iron tubed guns in "Treatise on Construction and Manufacture of Service Ordnance, 1879", page 363. 1,390 feet/second firing a 65-pound projectile using 10 pounds R.L.G.4 gunpowder is quoted for Mk III steel tube gun in Table XII in "Text Book of Gunnery 1902".
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Treatise on Construction and Manufacture of Service Ordnance, 1879, pages 292, 261-265
↑ "The 64pr. 64 cwt gun Mark III". Palmerston Forts Society, Fareham Hampshire U.K. http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/pav1/pend.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-20.

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RML 64 pounder 64 cwt Gun.

Diagram of gun on 6 foot parapet platform mounting at Victorian Forts website

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).

[1] ttp://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled5.htm

[ftglanville-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 A Guide to Fort Glanville, South Australia. Semaphore Park, South Australia: The Fort Glanville historical association. 2000.

[3] 1,252 feet/second firing a 64-pound projectile with 8 pounds R.L.G. gunpowder is quoted for wrought-iron tubed guns in "Treatise on Construction and Manufacture of Service Ordnance, 1879", page 363. 1,390 feet/second firing a 65-pound projectile using 10 pounds R.L.G.4 gunpowder is quoted for Mk III steel tube gun in Table XII in "Text Book of Gunnery 1902".

[TOC1879-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Treatise on Construction and Manufacture of Service Ordnance, 1879, pages 292, 261-265

[palmerston-5] "The 64pr. 64 cwt gun Mark III". Palmerston Forts Society, Fareham Hampshire U.K. http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/pav1/pend.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-20.

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v t e British Empire naval weapons of the Victorian era
Smoothbore muzzle-loading cannons	18-pounder 24-pounder 32-pounder 58 cwt 68-pounder Somerset cannon
Smoothbore muzzle-loading shell guns	8 inch 10-inch 86 cwt
Mortars	10-inch Blomefield 13-inch Blomefield
Howitzers	12-pounder Millar 24-pounder Millar
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Armstrong)	RML 17.72 inch gun (100-ton gun)
Rifled breechloaders (Armstrong)	RBL 20 pounder RBL 40 pounder RBL 7 inch 110 pounder
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Lancaster)	68-Pounder Lancaster gun
Rifled muzzle-loaders (converted)	RML 64 pounder 71 cwt
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Woolwich)	RML 9 pounder 8 cwt RML 64 pounder 64 cwt RML 7 inch RML 8 inch RML 9 inch RML 10 inch RML 11 inch RML 12 inch 25 ton RML 12 inch 35 ton RML 12.5 inch RML 16 inch
Quick-firing guns	QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mk I QF 4 inch QF 4.7 inch QF 6 inch
Breech-loaders (new pattern)	BL 4 inch BL 5 inch BL 6 inch 80 pounder BL 6 inch Mk II – VI BL 8 inch BL 9.2 inch Mk I – VII BL 9.2 inch Mk VIII BL 10 inch BL 12 inch Mk I – VII BL 12 inch Mk VIII BL 13.5 inch BL 16.25 inch
Light weapons	Gatling gun Gardner gun Nordenfelt gun 1-inch Nordenfelt gun
Torpedoes	Whitehead torpedo