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^[1]
Barrel length	97.5 inches bore

Shell	64 pounds (29 kg)^[2]
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)^[3]
Effective firing range	5,000 yards (4,600 m)^[2]

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.

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The calibre of 6.3 inches was chosen to enable it to fire remaining stocks of spherical shells originally made for the obsolete 32 pounder guns if necessary.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

The sole surviving Mk I gun, at Fort George, Scotland.

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
Mark III Gun number 17 on board HMS Gannet, Chatham Dockyard, UK
Two Mark III guns at Pendennis Castle, Cornwall, UK
At Fort Glanville, Adelaide, South Australia
Mk III gun no. 739 of 1878 at Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Two Mk III guns at Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct, Brisbane, Australia^[6]
Lei Yue Mun Fort's Central Battery, Hong Kong
6 guns at Fort Siloso, Singapore includin Mark III gun No. 767 of 1874
RML 64-pr 64 cwt Mk 3 at Albert Park, Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Surviving Examples of Ammunition

RML 64pdr shell that has been fired, and RML 64 fuse at Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct, Brisbane, Australia

Notes and references

↑ http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled5.htm
1 2 3 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".
1 2 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. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
↑ The two 1878 guns are still fired regularly "Gun-firing Re-enactment | Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct". fortlytton.org.au. Retrieved 13 August 2016.

Bibliography

External links

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

Handbook for the 64 - pr. R.M.L. gun of 64 cwt., marks I-III land service 1888, 1893, 1900, 1902 at State Library of Victoria
Diagram of gun on 6 foot parapet platform mounting at Victorian Forts website

British Empire Small Arms & Ordnance of the Victorian era

Side arms

Muskets and Rifles

Artillery

Field Artillery	SBML 9 pounder 13 cwt RBL 9 pounder RBL 12 pounder RBL 20 pounder RML 9 pounder 8 cwt RML 13 pounder 8 cwt RML 16 pounder 12 cwt BL 12 pounder 7 cwt BL 12 pounder 6 cwt QF 12 pounder 8 cwt BL 15 pounder QF 1 pounder pom-pom

Mountain artillery	RML 7 pounder Mountain Gun RML 2.5 inch Mountain Gun

Howitzers, medium, and heavy artillery	RML 6.3 inch Howitzer RML 6.6 inch howitzer BL 5 inch Howitzer BL 5.4 inch Howitzer

Siege & garrison artillery	SBBL 32 pounder SBML 24 pounder SBML 8 inch 65 cwt RBL 40 pounder RBL 7 inch RML 25 pounder 18 cwt RML 40 pounder gun RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun RML 64 pounder 58 cwt RML 64 pounder 71 cwt gun RML 80 pounder RML 6.6 inch gun RML 8 inch howitzer BL 5 inch gun Mk I - V BL 6 inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 9.45-inch howitzer

Coastal artillery	QF 3 pounder Nordenfelt QF 4.7 inch BL 6 inch Mk III, IV, VI BL 6 inch Mk V RBL 7 inch RML 7 inch RML 8 inch BL 8 inch Mk VII RML 9 inch BL 9.2 inch Mk IV & VI BL 10 inch Mk I BL 12 inch Mk I, VI, VII RML 12.5 inch RML 16 inch RML 17.72 inch

Mortars

13 inch 36 cwt mortar
10 inch 18 cwt mortar
8 inch 9 cwt mortar

War rockets

Congreve 6-pounder
Congreve 12-pounder
Congreve 24-pounder
Boxer
Hales 9-pounder
Hales 24-pounder

Machine guns

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 breechloaders (Armstrong)	RBL 9 pounder 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

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