The 25-pounder Field Gun 1939–72

The 2S-pounder Field Gun 1939-72

CONTENTS DEVELOPMENT

3

THE FEATURES OF THE 25-POUNDER GUN

8

• rhe :\Ik, 1 Ordnance 011 CUTiages :\1\...,1111'1'. ;\I\.... 1\'1' .111(1 :\I\.... "p

• The :\Ik. II Ordnann' CHRIS HENRY has been inleresled in mllilMy hlslory since hoe was

ill ......11

AMMUNITION

15

TOOLS AND STORES

16

ORGANISATION

18

boy. His

interfll in illrtillery developed wIlllst a ~unl_ wor1 British gun of til(' Second World War. whose "to'1' ("Ol11inll{'d into lhe 1970s. The intention of this book i" to look al thl' main Wl'''PUlH i1l1l"e b\' thc Uriti"h Anllr and therefore il will not concelltmtc Ull the experimental ideas lhal Wt'l'C cmisaged during the dc\'cloprnl'llt orlhe fI'lk. II gUll, For "eterans of the We~lern D('''el'l and all the unit" of the R0Y'II Regimellt of Artillery who lIsed il during the Second World War, tht: 2!)-pollndcr is ,HI icon gUll, the cololtrs of the regimellt. It can be "aid to havc begltn as a requircrncill fur the Urilisll AI'lny ill 1919 when lhc \\'ar Omce discussed the need for flltllre arlll:ll11etlIS, As is the case II'ith much lIew anillery cqllipmcilt. guises, it \\~tS the de'igner" at Vicker.. l\ltO \\ere ke)' to the gun's dt:...ign alld mallufaCture. The import:mce of the 2:-,..,>ounder \\':.1... that it \\'as designed as a gUII/hml'it/cr. The combination of charaCteristics of the IS-pounder field b'l.lIl of the Fir"t World War, with its limited del.llion and high lI1uo.le It:!ocitl, :ltId the 4,5-inch ho\\'iuel' I\'ith its high lrajccton' would make thi" lhc most \"cr....llile Briti"h artillc!)' weapon of the Second World War.

All artillen

de~i~lI i~

a tr.ulc-off. A projectile is normally

de~i!{ned

be a certain "'eight .tIIl! to be fired a certain distance. and thi,

10

The 25-pounder Mk, I on Mk. IVP

anCCl~

cemeie, Thi• .ctual gun w . . not litted with the 25-pounder rlfled .I. ."e end we. rec.....ed lrom Jorden. ICourte.y of RAHT}

the IVlle of barrel and carria!{e needed. In the case of the 25-poundcr. a stop-gap \'er'ioll and a comp1ctdr Ilew design were COllct.'i\'ed \'irILlal1) in tandCIll. This did 110t (Ollie abOllt ill a str.ligillforw.u'd war bccau!>c much less ('l1lphasi~ W;:l~ placed on Ihc de\'elopment of new lI'eapOll~ tcchnolob'Y followill!{ the frightful carnage of Ihe FirSI World War. The hod}' ill\"Olvcd in this procel>s was lhe Royal f\rtillery Corlllnillee. the body responsible for ;lIlalysing ;1l1d lesling ne\\' types of artillery eqllipnrelll. ill cor~lIl1clioll wilh the DireclOr. Royal Artillery, Uy 19~4, the Ro)~\l Artil1cr)' Committee 1\~IS examining mriOIlS options and a range of 1:\000 yard~ I\~l~ con~idered for the new equipment. Tht' prqjecti1c was the ~tartil1K puint. Various calibres and weights of prqjenile wen' considered, 1I0\;lbl}' 3.9-inch and 'I. I-inch projectiles. The fonner wOllld be lin.'d from Ol quick-firing gUll (the prqjecli1c and cartridge cal>e \,,~rc loaded lixetl lugether) and the laltcr from a bl't.'cch loadinl{ (Ill) howiller. ill which the pr~jcctjlc and charge were loaded scpar;lle!\,. The thinking of Ihe thne apllears to ha\'c been that twO glln~ were net.'ded, It \\~IS caleul;lIed thaI the larger calibre 6"un should be able 10 allain an effective range of 13.000 ranis with a 33 pound projectile. The requirement for a gun firing a projectile of 20 10 25 l)()lllHI~ weight :tro~e ill OClobl.'r 1933 and "'as planned as a 3.7·inch gunjho\l'itl.cr. This was to replace the IWO pre\;ollslr mentioned guns, 11 \\! b\' lhe Director, Roral Artillcn, i\1;yor·

5

A. rear vIew of the 2!1-pounder on Mk. VP spilt-trail camage, Only a f _ of theae guns entered service and moat were loat in Fr,lnce durlng 1'140. (Courtesy of RAHT)

6

General II. A. Lewi~. who ordcn."
The Mk. II 25·pounder on Mk. I

cernage. Thi, ver1llon ha• • bilrre' with. ,m.1I muu.ie ..tlV,ion .1 th. end .}gnlfylng thai It probably m.de In Canad". The .h.pe made m;In ,I \l·llical ..liding blocl Ilith a lllechaniGlllirillg loc.... The \~Iliilble charg(: ~\'~Iem of tile hllllllllcantthatlhe propcllam charge, l\t."rc 100Ided bl irN.·r1illg "ql.lr.lle b.lh~ irllo the metal cartridge case, and a plill1er in:.erted inlo lhe ba..e of lhe ca..e. Loading \\";1.. Glrrit:·d OUl bl placing lhe shell hllO Ih(: brn'ch fir"l and Ihen Ihe cartridge. One uf Ihe lIlo.. 1 illgt:l1io\l~ de\'ice.. fur making the 25-pounder ..0 \,crs:lti\c 11';1.. the firing pl.ltfoflll. There \,en: lWu \cr..ium: the Iargel :\'0.9 and IIU' 1\:0.22. Ill(' fonJl(:r I)(:in/{ for Ihe .\lk. I carriage. rhe latter for tht: i\tL II plalfonn in "l'c()nd~ IdH..'n' it ll"Ollld h;t\·c 160...degrec 1ll00'Clll('1I1. Thi~ could ;llso be C,II ricd our wilhout tht' \"l;'hic1e hut Wilh lhe No.27 lnlilcr heing used ;l.. a fu!lnull. bUI it "';IS a !ahoriou.. proCC1>s. \\'hen the gun II~I~ placed on lilt' plalfonn the 1I,lil ~pade I\,l" normally covered. This II';I~ tu pre\"ent rhe spack Irolll diggillH" into the ground whell rhe gun rlccc!ed lO be U';I\"erM.:d r';lpidly for ;mli-tank work. Thl.: I'rohert scait' \)1" mng:(' ~(e reading between 0 and 45 deg-rec... I{ange .. cale~ gr.ldualed in hllndred~ ofprds arc all>O el1gm\(~d on the cone. In addition. a IUlILLIe \'e1ocit) reader ann could IX' read orr agaiml lhe cone. The range scale cone made all of the aein,l{ the No.7A. No.iC and No.9 In>cs. For direct aiming the gum t'lllplmed the No.~ or the No.4l sigilling tde~cope. [II addilioll 10 'ighl.'l, the gun IWluired a ~ight clinometer to indicau' the angk of ~ight and often a lidd clinometer \\~.tS used for elemtiOIl. thc lidel clinoillctcr ~lk. (j beinj{ used fol' this pUI"JX)se. Among the mol'(' cllrio\l'i instruments for sighting were the aiming po..ts. These were two metal rods p;linled in bbck ami while seClion~ with;1I1 adjll~table l1lllnlX'red crossbar 011 the top. The aiming POSI.S wcrt' int('neled to 1)(' ll"c'd where there \\'crc no pr01l1inelll ft:alure .. for ;nl aimillg point or \'i~ibi1it}' \'~IS had, The dial sight could be focused UII them. There were (WO tYlws: th(' No,l for the field gUll ~l11d Ihe No,~ fur the se!t:pl'Olwlkd gUll, Thl'l"c were six \'ersions of the gUll barrel itself. The origillal was tilt.: ~Ik, [ barrel with a loose liner, The Mk. II was the standard design and lhis "~IS manufactllred in Canada ~l11d known as the C ~[k. II. It was llSt'd at abuut the ,al11c lillIe as lhe :.tallelard ~Ik. II, during the earlr pan of the "';'11'. It is di~lillglli~l,ahk hr tIle linear silh01lctte orlhe barre! ~howing a larger 1111171le ;l1'l'a. Tht' ~Ik. III was introduced in 1944 and had the chamber altered ~o th,ll whell the Kun W;'IS c1emtcd the projectile did not ~lip b;'l('k OLlt of the chamlwr. The area knOlm as the shot seating was allcreel to get thi~ effect. Again. there was also a C."111adian \ersion of ll,b, lllark denoled C ~Ik. III. The ~H... [V barrel was an attempt to stop the breech ring cl~lcking when Ill(' gun fired. b\' slight]\' changing il.'l ~hape. The ~tk. \'1 barrel was tht, final aheralion, made in 1964. in \,'hich the breech ring was 1ll.lde of beller <juali., steel. Often one can see the u,m.. jliOllorbing Ihe cnerg-. or recoil ami comrollil1K I1m-()ut. and returned the gun to tht: rulh nm-QUI l>O'>ition and mainlilined il Ih{'re.11 ,III angle~ or c1e\;ltiOII. In order to unde!'litand ho\\ Ihi.. i.. dOlle, one Il{'('d.!l to look at the C\linder block itself. \\hich had rOllr C\lindel'li: th{' buffer. the hnlropllculIIatic c}linder. tht" liquid cllind{'1' :uld tll{' reSl.'noir ror the bunel'. A pistoll nms lip and dO\\'n the buffer along rour ~pir:11 groo\'t~owlng e No.9 dlel sight end sighting teleKope. (Courtes, of RAHT)

13

The breech mech.nl.m 01 the Mk. II gun. complete with firing lock l.trlker c••e). Thi. could be ••sUOY Nlmovltd by pulling on the ret.lni"1! e.tch, seen he.e to lhe right, .nd pulling It 'rom the block. This in effecl disablltd the gun. !Courtesy 0' RAHT}

ill lhe rcrupcr.uor forct''' lht, f10aling pislon forward and liquid i" forced lhrough Ihe re«lrdins.; \;II\'c. lneclheh, Ihe buffer works in the oppo,ile wa\ to rcroil and ..110\" ,moolh cOllLrol 011 nm-oul. All\one \dlu h,l~
CrC(.'1I b.md Two bl.lel.. band... One biOId-. band Yello\\ band

Amatol or T~T lilled 1-1 £ practice emp" shell for drill pr.lctice projectile

Thc 25-pollnck'I' W'L' al~o pro\'id('d with an allLi-tank rOllnd cOIl... i~ting of annour-picrcing wlid shol with a copper drh'ing band, SlllOI..C and propag ~lo.5 1'\0.7 glln pull-back Quick release attachment No.1 Boxes. charging pumps Spade plalfonn :-':0.2 c.'lp sponge :'\'0.6 ClC~ No.120 for setting fuses No.12l for inserting or removing 2-inch percussion fu~es No.139 for seiling the No.2lO time fuse Fu'e indicator No.20 2.f>-ton lifting jack Pullingjack No.2

17

A 25.pounder Mk. II of the

141h Army In Burma In 1944. The

crew h.. ettached drag ropes to the wheet. and I. attemptlll9 to move the gun. The rope. would normally be attached to the lront ollh••"Iald. (Court••y 01 RAHT)

Kc... muzzle ,·clocil\' corrector scale reader Remo\'lngjammed QF Glrlridge :-':0.1 Cocking lam;'tr.polinclcr ~'k. I. A regiment was [ormcd of ,\,'0 12-gun hallcrics. {';lell of three +gUll troops. There were three regiments to a di\ision. so lheorclicalh a division should consist of 72 25-pollndcrs.

,.

The Detachment

In the Ropl Artillel"}. the crew of the gun is knowil as the dClachmCIll. 'nlis goes back 10 the carh cla\'.'> of the regiment when gunners were

formed into cOll1pank~ alld thl.:ll wl.:re delached to their v,lrioll~ g'11l1~. Tllt:rc wcre ~is lllC11 ill a 25-pounder detachl11elll and tile) \\"el"e numbered from Olle to ,is as lx:I(JI\'. No.1 the COllllllall(!l:r, made brJ:;"(' lnl\'er~es of the gUll and was nonnall\' po.'>itioll(c'd to thc rcaI'. No.2 held Ihe l~lIllinel' and operated the brN'eh lewr. lie ~lnod co Ihe riKhl or the: gun l\llI'n d('\\cd frolllthc I'car. No.3 l..llown ,I.'> lilt: 1.1\·cr. hl' ,at on the \\()()(Iell scat at the left uflhe gUll and :H~ill!'oll.'c1 Ill{' ~ighL'" Ill' also ~ignalll.:d acUIIStlllCiliS 10 Ihe No.1 during !;Ifge lI-;I\·l·....,l·~ and fired the gUll. NoA 1\,:1.'> the 10.lder and placc..-d the projectile and charge illln thc hreech, :\0.5 pas..'>ed ammunition 10 NoA :md checked Ihe fuse seuings. No.6 the second ill conuJlalld. SCt the fll~'S and lhe chargl'S. He "~l.'> also re..ponsible for the bmking and movement of the trailer.

FIELD ARTILLERY TRACTORS Although main lhnl.'>t of thi.'> wOI'k is the gun itself. il is :.cnsiblc 10 ~I\ something of the 100\;ng \chick.... IIScd \\;th lhc 25-poundcr. Initialh. the 2~"pollnder )'\l... I \\~lS lOwed b\ lhe Dragon scril.'S of :ulillen lracco~ mallllfactun..d b\ Vjcl..er" Armstrong. and photographic C\;deIlCl' shmo'S thai 'IOmc wcre 'lC1H 10 Fr.mcc \\;th lhe BEF to tow thc Mk. I glln, The'\(' \chicles I\cre prol>;lbh lhe LiglH DI lhe CDSW 6s'l ridd anillcn tractor, which \\~l.'> manur.'CllIred 1)\ .\Ionis in 1936. l-Iol\'l'\·er. four-wheeled \'chic1c~ I\'erc considered and in 19:\7 a slx:cilication was issued for a four-whcel-dri\'c artillery ImCLDr. There \\'crl' tllree main companies involved: Collllller. Guy and r-lorris Commercial. The Quad, as it became kno\\'n, \\~IS Ihe distinctive Morris C8 InVD Field AI1illclY Traclor or FAT for shon. This ,"chide \\'ellllhrough tiLrl'C llIarks and a redesign ofbod)'work during the Second World War but \\~L~ the most widely used form Oflfe ,,'cre manufactured. The main U"tecl Mores 11....\ was filled on the frolll of Ihe ammunition box. gil ing morc nexibilit\. The trailcr had 1>imil;tr ammunition tr:tl~ to the 1"0.21. which werc open. The :\'0.27 trailer had a later de1>ign lI'ith altcred tr;wl; that completeh encomp;l~d Ihe projectile and propellant. hinb';ng in the middle so that either object could be remm·ed. Some \ctcmns of the desert war ha\'c commcmcd lhat the reflcctors on the \l'hide and trailer were often smashed so that lhel would not reflect the ,un, which allowed them to be easih detected m enCIll\ ground-:utack aircraft. The front mIl' nonnalh' held axel;.

The "'0.27 emmunilion 10I'1er with later Pf'OIoectlle end eharge kolden, The eartler modals of the tOlller had a almpte, lIal tray to hoW the projec:Ule. The projec:t1ons on the open door ere meant to kold the treys Ilnnly In place when closed. (Courtesy 01 RAHT)

.,

crOld);U"l>. the pn~l'clik (jccwr. hambpilcs. a jack. a -"palk, ''''0 drag rope... alld the ilIulllillall,d ;timing poilll \Iith ib post "piing .1IIt! cmer.

OPERATIONAL HISTORY

22

The Second World War The Guns with the British u'I:teditionary Force in France The .uTi"tl of the Ikili...h E);I~diliuna ..... Force in France in 19-10 ,lIId ib 'ub't.'quc!Il C\';ICll;U;OIl fmlll Dunkirk is a ",ell-documented Mon, ~'am diflcr('1ll 1\'1)(''< ofanillt'r\ eqllipment ,,'ere 'lent 10 fr.lllce hilt. ,,,piralh. older CqUiplllCIlI \''! like Lhis. gun Cl'el"S cOllld Ix: picked 011 al will and as onc commentator put it: 'the old horse anil1en t;lnic, - quick a{h~II1C~. quick I\n limlx'ring 10 action fm11l. quick r('1 iremenl (if 'llcll \\~IS oHlered) - did nul WOI'l. and 110 mloul' and skill could ha\{' llIade thcllllI'ork. in a terrain whcre 60 hOl'sepo\\'cr could nul do wllal ~ix hOl"M:~ h,ld. mer dt.-cent KO;I1Io;. 'iO often done.' In fact. according 10 reporL~ from Nowmbcr 19-12, imlireci lire on tank fonll:lLions \,~LS comiderl'd to lx' fal more enccti\'e. If l'ncm}' 11mb in numl)('I" \\crc .seen bl .1Il ob\t'..... ~t1ion IX>SI. a concentralion of fire was brought down upon tlWlll, It was dinicult to judge lhe effecl ofthis fire bec;l1Isc il \\..~ o~ur{'d Il\ dUSlilnd heal \\~I\t°S. For example: 'In one case a regimental cOllrenmuion fired 011 "Ollie

33

22 2

The dltflcutltu 01 transport along desert roads. A gun troop attempting to negotlate a blocked dese" road, and the gun In the rear has been unlimbered. NOle the upper shield of the gun I\.as been folded down for travelling. This would also be do_ If the dial sight needed a forward view. (IWM)

30 enelll\ mnls \Iilh Ihe fL..,ult. il is alleged. lhat:; were -.et on fire. ,I fCI\ wcre 'loppt:d and the re~' \\;Ihdr('\\,.. 111e main conclll~ion \\'a~ lhat the conCl'nu~l\ion of a rCRimell1 of gilib 011 lank groups 111\";'I1;"bh led 10 \1'ith(h~I\\";'11 of 'he I.lllk..l.: 'The 2;~~pr al ,"Hlhing bUI ,hon range" iccilic order~ thaI indiclled lhe siLe of Ihe firing group. A 'Mike' Iarget order gale the fire of an anillel)' regiment (2'1 b'1.lI1s), an 'Uncle' t;lrgct g-.I\"C the fire of a di\ision (i2 b'1.lTls) and a 'Victor' target concenu~II{.'(1 the firc ofa corp~ (150-2j() guns). 111e auack of the 2nd :\e\\' Zealand Di\;sion on the night of 1/2 NO"ember w.lS accolnpanied b) a b.'uTIlge of2j-pounder guns that was able to givc a concentration of one gun I>cr 21 ' ,, ; obscn

•

35

that eVl:lI bdore the bank. 0111' artilkl) h:ld aehicve.:d a moral ~lIpcri()ritv over the.: Cl1Clll)"~ ;u·tilkl)', parll} duc, no doub!. to the cnell\) 's diniClIllie~ of alllllHH,ilion ~uppl}, Ihough he had a practic:lII~' unlimited Sllpplr uf 2.>-poum!cr 'UlIlllU1litiun and a number of guns from which to lire iL'

3.

D-Da)' and the Normandy Bolllles in 1944 -'our ,ul)('rgun - the autulll,ttie 2'>-pollndcr.· (German pn"Ollt:r at till' Village of II's. ~onllamh. 1914) From June 19,14 onward~_ thl' 25-poullder. bOlh towed and '>l'1I: prol)('lIed. \',IS ill c\'idenn' ill larger lIumbers. The 25-pounder Sl:l\ton was i,~ued to Rm,ll I forSt: i\nillc.... units immediate.:h aftcr D-D,I\ 110 that the\ cOllld be intel,rraled \I'ith the al1l1oured di\isiolls crossing FlOlllCC at that limc. II h,1lI been estimated that 20 per CCIlI of all 0\1111\ per';Otlll .,inn: the Sccolld Wodd War. Large llumber.. of lhc'it: gun~ wcre u1>cd b\ Ixllh ,idt.'S dllring lhe Ind()-I~;:il';'btan conflict of 1970--71. In facl. India \\it... 1 major IIscr of Ihe 2:)-pollnder llnlil the lalcr 197(b.. \fler parlition in 19-18. both India :md Pakislan wert.' allOIlt.'d fit:ld regiment.!> equiplx'd with the 2;;'pulinder. Inllllt:dialch afler lhe Sc.-ocoml World \\';\1'. 1 ,md 2 Indian Anll\ Field Rel,>imeIlL" were e(llliplx'd \\'ilh XlUOIl M:lf-propelled Kiln... III 19-18 Ihere W;:I anion in Jammu .llld ,,"lShrnir and. ;1.., IllO.,t of lhe field llniu wert: ;:ll1ncd wilh lhe 2;;'polillder. 1I1L'SC were inc\'il.lbh u'it:d. In ~o\'ember 1962. border inCIlf'iioll" h\ Ihl' Chine~ led (0.1lI tllldec1.lred \\';.11' against India in which ~e\t'I;11 licld

were deployed in Ihe Opel;Hioll~ around K.;uneng when' til(' border meet.!. I~htltan and Ti!X'L In one aHack, t5-poundcr~ or97 Field Ballet; fired mer 300 rounds alr.lin~t lhe Chinese which. it is claimed. broke up their infantr\' allad. Cen('rall~. all of lhese annies deplo)'('d the 2;;'pounder 1\1~. II alld III on ~Iks. II and [II carriages wilh few changes. althollg-h Soulh Africa lIlodified and manufactured Iht:1Il 011> lhe 90 mill gun. Man\ African nalions. including ;-..'igclia and :-'Iol.unbiquc. still ha\c Ihem in senke.

II. Interesting 25-pounder

.new of ... Ind.,,"

snow;ng the Ioe.aIty

applied camouftage colour

scheme, pnMMbly gt'Hf\ 8nd 1thMl. Othet' ~ schenIes - . . applied In the field. especlalty In the Western DeMfl campaigns. as defenc:e against .Ir anaek.. (COurtesy RAHT)

b:lllel;c~

3.

VARIANTS Ordnance QF 25·pounder Short (Austl Mk. I on Carriage Light (Aust) Mks. I and II

The Aust,..lIan 2~-pounder gun. TM two cu..... ed pl.t" b4tw..-n lhe wn-l. 1100 c.m.ge .......Ie stand. uHd to reUrt1I th. str.ln of 'IrI"9 from lhe wh_ls, (Courtesy 01 RAHT} An e.cellef'lt plclure depleting lhe problems of tnll1$I)Orting rll»d

gun. during tM Burmll campal9n., II .hows II gun 01 27 FIeld Regiment I,.."elllng on lhe Kalapanzln RI"." Burma, This gun appears to be. Mk, II gun on a Mk, I carriage Judging by the posltlon of the .lr pump bracket, The shield has been removed .nd the jeep appears to b4 Ihe towing "ehlcle. (Courtesy 01 RAHT}

40

j\ll gUll' gu through modifications \\ IIt:n lI~cd ill the fidd. l'rublclll:'> afe CllCOlllHCfCd IlwlI O\('rCOIlll' hI .l.llIt', .Illd W;IS 'l:11I to Africa Ilherc it ga\"c gOtXI servicc, cerlainh in Iht· TlIni~ian c,lIl1paign, The 25-poundcl" carriage \\~IS nOI dc~igllCd 10 tall' tilt' ~lrt"~t'~ generated b\ a gun thai had a mill/ie rclocil' of 2,9{){) !eet per 'ecund but it \\~IS ~aid to be able 10 copc \,'illl the firing of lilt' gllli rea~oll;lbl)' \\"cll. As has bCl'n pn:dol1,11 mentioned, the de\elupmenl of a ne\l' gUll led 10 a gnc"al dcal of cxperirnclltatioll and Ihis led to a number of imcre'iting aheration .., One of the 1110re illlrigl1ing \l"a'i the 25-pollndcr ~[obilt' t\nllOllr(,d l{evolving Cupola designed by lhe Free French Oflicer ~l. Kibal1d. Tlti~ cOll .. i~lCd of a stl..'cl IlilTet on a four-I,'heeled tmiler and could he Inll'l'rsed ill any direCtion. As wilh lhe SR mIn FlaK gUll il was inlended Illal il could be lired from wheels bill llorrnally it lI'ould be IIlOllllted on two :ltUuslable rear legs. As with Ulany similar idea'i, it pron:d 10 IX' il1lPI~IClicable ,mel the idea was dropped ill 1944,

Front "Iew of Itte Bishop

,.If·propelled gun, ICourt. .y of RAHTI

THE 25·POUNDER SELF·PROPELLED VERSIONS The 2S-pounder Mk. I on Carrier, Valentine, 25-pdr, Mk. I (Bishop)

111c two main dcveloprncnl:'> in tcnns of self-propelled t:elled \'Cl'~ion of lhe 25-pollnder gun. In June 19-11. lllc Hinningham Railwa\ GlIliage and Wagon CoO. Ltd ,,'ere asked 10 d(~ign ...\I('"h a hrtlll I>.\i ..,,", "uJ"., ,_ "",,.. ........."' of I,,,,,,J'''J'" ",J"I","",h.k , .. ,tl< 'u ,II< fl,h"", ,,,,,If. ,..... ""''I'k ,""."J I ". I....,,,, ,mpov.p/I> .nJ J",~.m.. 1>.-,,,, ,,' ,. 'OOll , ...... of ho""... ",oJh bf..

,u

ELITE 'l'h" ~ ""'I'............ u,prnrn, .•"",..'" ...... ......., 11 _\ bu, ," _ ... < "pc"rnI, c..n..... ~~ """'''''.'''' ·.Ie pl.o>1. "'" I.. JkuIou, lahl< """ode'

'0

COMBAT AIRCRAFT

The .oriJ\ F'/'" _ _ noli ....... ,,,...1 ""'h ........ bn, , ... ............t til Ilo