BL 60-pounder gun

Ordnance BL 60 Pounder
A 60-pounder Mk I at full recoil. Photographed by Ernest Brooks in action at Cape Helles during the Battle of Gallipoli, June 1915.
Type	Heavy field gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1905–1944
Used by	British Empire United States Russian Empire Soviet Union
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Elswick Ordnance
Designed	1904
No. built	1,756 (Mk. I)[1]
Variants	Mk I, Mk II
Specifications
Barrel length	Bore Mk I: 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m) Bore Mk II: 15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)[2]
Crew	10
Shell	60 lb (27 kg) shell with 8 pounds (3.6 kg) Lyddite or 6 pounds (2.7 kg) Amatol.[a] Later 56 lb (25 kg) shell
Calibre	5 inches (127 mm)
Recoil	55 inches hydro-spring constant (Mk I – III) 54 inches hydro-pneumatic variable (Mk IV)[3]
Carriage	Wheeled, box trail
Elevation	-5° to +21.5° (Mk I) -4° to +35° (Mk. II)[3]
Traverse	4° L & R[b]
Rate of fire	2 rpm
Muzzle velocity	2,080 ft/s (630 m/s) (Mk I) 2,130 ft/s (650 m/s) (MK II)[3]
Maximum firing range	10,300 yd (9,400 m) (original 60 lb 2 c.r.h. shell), 12,300 yd (11,200 m) (modified 8 c.r.h. shell shape) (Mk. I);[1] 15,500 yd (14,200 m) (56 lb Mk 1D 10 c.r.h. shell, Mk. II gun)

The Ordnance BL 60-pounder^[c] was a British 5 inch (127 mm) heavy field gun designed in 1903–05 to provide a new capability that had been partially met by the interim QF 4.7 inch Gun. It was designed for both horse draft and mechanical traction and served throughout the First World War in the main theatres. It remained in service with British and Commonwealth forces in the inter-war period and in frontline service with British and South African batteries until 1942 being superseded by the BL 4.5 inch Medium Gun.

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