Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: Plynkes on 04 October 2007, 02:09:14 PM
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Found I had a couple of Old Glory mountain guns knocking about in the spares box, so thought I might try and use them for my Great War in Africa project.
The guns come as muzzleloaders, so I performed a little surgery to turn one of them into a breechloader suitable for the 14-18 war. These pictures gave me the idea to use them in this way, both are from 1914 I think:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Tangagun2.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Tangagun1.jpg)
Don't know exactly where the first one comes from, but the second one is from the battle of Tanga.
So here goes (all still at a very early experimental stage):
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/IndianGun2.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/IndianGun1.jpg)
I suppose I ought to cut off the Victorian-era swords from those figures, but I'm not sure I can be bothered with the extra work. Hmmm. I should be good, really. It's not that much effort, after all, and I should set a good example for the troops.
Have no colour reference for the little portable shields. I figure I'll go with khaki as you usually can't go too far off course with that. If anyone knows any different I'd be glad to hear about it.
I'll keep you posted and we'll see how she turns out.
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Thats an interesting pic, is it a local modification as the one in the background doesnt seem to have the shields
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I really have no idea. I just liked the pic and decided to copy it. I don't have any books that go into real detail about artillery of the period.
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Were the breechloaders used in Africa modified muzzle-loaders? The British have always been keen on re-boring or re-whatevering artillery (as opposed to the Americans, who have been content to buy them from others).
And khaki green or khaki tan? I thought Brit guns were greenish.
I like mountain guns.
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My knowledge of such things is extremely basic, and I am open to suggestions on all these points.
I was going to go for the old-fashioned Victorian grey look for the gun itself, simply because I like the way it looks. Like this:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/inianarty.jpg)
Maybe I need to do more research, or maybe I just need to wait until Helen spots this topic and tells me what to do.:) Historical accuracy is something I somtimes dally with, other times I shun it, just as the mood takes me.
I'm naughty like that.
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(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/inianarty.jpg)
That's an interesting way to load a gun. Talk about muzzle loader! The caliber is so narrow so you have drive the cartridge in with a sledgehammer.
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You silly man. It really isn't wise to browse Lead Adventure just after an afternoon binge at the local Systembolaget, you know.
Those chaps on the left are actually operating a fairground "Test your Strength" machine. If the fellow on the extreme left can ring the bell he wins a teddy bear.
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Early squeeze-bore munitions design. Like most military tech, invented by the British in an unwieldy form, modified by the Germans into something sensible, and then copied by the Americans who then claim to have invented the whole damn thing. :D
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and that chap on the right is just bending down to take a photo for the latest issue of "Boys Own Weekly"
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Hi Guys,
Interesting project you are working on Poly. You are correct in converting the barrel to a breech loader. The Indians used the BL 10 pdrs in SW Africa, East Africa and Gallipoli. Keep the swords (tulwars) on them as they were equipped with them at Gallipoli and there is no reasons not to think that they didn't have them in Africa too. I'll look into it, but I've not found anything to say otherwise!
The shield is something new to me. It must be something they nocked up so to speak.
The newer 2.75 inch that replaced this gun had a shield that could be removed.
Specs:
Ordnance jointed BL 10 pdr gun MK I on carriage mountain BL 10-pdr MK I.
Shrapnel and HE.
The Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery used them with the Imperial mounted Camel Corps in the Middle East. They were made up of Sikhs with European and Sikh officers. They also mounted theirs on camels 8)
For your Lawrence adventures you can have No 10 Section RFA with BL 10 pdrs mounted on Talbot tenders supporting the man himself with his Arab irregulars from November 1917.
So again we say to the big Lon, please, please we need some British artillery crew in topis 8) Okay and the QF 3.7 inch mounitain howitzer as well. :)
Good luck Poly with your project and thanks to the other folks for their lovely comments too. 8)
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Hi Guys,
Interesting project you are working on Poly. You are correct in converting the barrel to a breech loader. The Indians used the BL 10 pdrs in SW Africa, East Africa and Gallipoli. Keep the swords (tulwars) on them as they were equipped with them at Gallipoli and there is no reasons not to think that they didn't have them in Africa too. I'll look into it, but I've not found anything to say otherwise!
The shield is something new to me. It must be something they nocked up so to speak.
The newer 2.75 inch that replaced this gun had a shield that could be removed.
Specs:
Ordnance jointed BL 10 pdr gun MK I on carriage mountain BL 10-pdr MK I.
Shrapnel and HE.
The Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery used them with the Imperial mounted Camel Corps in the Middle East. They were made up of Sikhs with European and Sikh officers. They also mounted theirs on camels 8)
For your Lawrence adventures you can have No 10 Section RFA with BL 10 pdrs mounted on Talbot tenders supporting the man himself with his Arab irregulars from November 1917.
So again we say to the big Lon, please, please we need some British artillery crew in topis 8) Okay and the QF 3.7 inch mounitain howitzer as well. :)
Good luck Poly with your project and thanks to the other folks for their lovely comments too. 8)
Bliemy That Helen knows a thing or two :lol:
Helen - hats off to your vast knowledge of this subject, Its great to read your posts they are so informative :)
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Top work, Helen, as always. There's something about those early mountain guns that I find appealing. No doubt the later models were much better at their job, but I think these ones look much better, from a purely aesthetic point of view.
Malamute, Helen is an absolute treasure. There is hardly anything she doesn't know or can't find out for us about the peripheral theatres of the Great War (probably the main ones too, we've just never asked her about that yet). I knew she'd have something to contribute, which is why I mentioned her by name in my initial post. If it ever looks like she is going to desert us for another forum, we need to kidnap her to prevent it. You're in charge of that, okay?
Though in a small, petty way, I take a little joy in finding something she hadn't seen before, that's to say the little shields. It's not often we can do that. (Just joking, Helen :) ).
Didn't get around to doing any modelling yesterday, and tonight, tomorrow and possibly Sunday I shall hopefully be gaming. So it may be a few days before there's a progress update on my gun.
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Didn't get around to doing any modelling yesterday, and tonight, tomorrow and possibly Sunday I shall hopefully be gaming. So it may be a few days before there's a progress update on my gun.
I was hoping you would start a "a mini a day" project :(
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Yeah, sorry Prof. I was just too tired after work.
As for the weekend: Surely it's not a sin to be gaming rather than painting? Isn't that what the painting is supposed to be leading up to? :)
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Hi Guys, Thankyou for your kind comments and Poly you can always joke with me :lol:
The Sideshows of the Great War is my favourite period as oppose to the Wetern Front (Okay I do have some forces for that area, but I think of it as an branch for RCW) and I'm no expert, but appreciate and acknowledge when I see information that I've not discovered myself. Thanks Poly on those photos - Top Job 8)
Malamute Thankyou you too. We are here to share our knowledge with what we know. I know its difficult to sort out fact from fiction and sometimes even us humble folk get it wrong. :)
Looking forward Poly to your adventure report.
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Oh, and thanks for the tip about the swords. It's nice when one's laziness can be backed up by historical facts. If they took them to the Dardanelles that's good enough for me, as there is a good chance that the models will be used for both theatres.
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Found some nice pictures of the later gun types that Helen mentioned.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/M-1.jpg)
The 2.75".
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/M-2.jpg)
And the 3.75", which I believe (if someone manufactured it), is good for the inter-war years and World War Two, so would be a nice versatile piece to have in a wargamer's collection.
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You silly man. It really isn't wise to browse Lead Adventure just after an afternoon binge at the local Systembolaget, you know.
Let me let me elevate you from your quasi-knowledge about Systembolaget: try binge-drinking there and you are out through the doors faster than a cat wit Dijon mustard spread arround its rear orifice.
...which is roughly what happened before I made wrote that post.
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Well, I didn't exactly mean a drinking binge inside the Systembolaget, just that it was the source of your drink.
So do they still have the strange government drink-rationing thing in Sweden? My knowledge of it is twenty years old. Always struck me as odd that a country seen by foreigners as liberal and relaxed towards many social issues has such authoritarian drinking laws.
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We don't trust ourselves to be adults about liquer and wages. It's in our national psyche.
Sex is different. Unlike the rest of Europe we have a lot of our own territory to colonize. Or at least it used to be the opinion of the day. Nowdays it think the reasoning goes "sit on the empty space till the climate change REALLY kicks in so we can sell it dearly to the Mediterranians and other victims of draught and heat waves. Thats when we will get the real payback for having to live in the cold and dark for oh so many centuries".
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Found some nice pictures of the later gun types that Helen mentioned.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/M-1.jpg)
The 2.75".
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/M-2.jpg)
And the 3.75", which I believe (if someone manufactured it), is good for the inter-war years and World War Two, so would be a nice versatile piece to have in a wargamer's collection.
Poly, Thanks for sharing the photos you have.
Here is a couple of my BG 2.75 in providing support (they are representing 10 pdrs).
BH makes a 3.75 in both with spoke wheels and pneumatic tyres with Indian crew. My friend Andrew has the model and its okay for gaming purposes. I'll take a photo sometime in the next few weeks after I've moved.
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/HelenBachaus/Africa/BGEastAfrica.jpg)[/img]
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Hi Folks, Here is some more info that I've pieced together from the GW forum and with additional photos:
Mountain Guns
Prior to the war, the standard mountain gun for the Territorial Force mountain batteries, the mountain batteries of the British Army and the mountain batteries of the Indian Army was the 10-pounder, which had a bore of 2.75 inches. Shortly before the start of the war, the fitting of a new breech mechanism and the provision of a carriage improved some of the 10-pounders with a recoil mechanism. To avoid confusion, these new weapons were known as 2.75-inch mountain guns. Though able to fire ammunition that had been built for the old 10-pounder, the 2.75 mountain gun was (thanks to its new breech mechanism and carriage) also capable of firing shells that were somewhat heavier. Thus, a new 12.5-pound shrapnel shell was designed for it.
Vickers as a private venture produced the 2.95-inch mountain gun. It became available in 1901, which was the same year that the 10-pounder was adopted by the British Army. While some 2.95-inch mountain guns were purchased for use by the local defence forces of various African colonies, none were acquired for the use of the mountain batteries of the Territorial Force, Regular Army or Indian Army.
Only ten of the 2.75-inch guns were on hand at the outbreak of the war and, as far as I know, none had been issued to operational units until after the outbreak of the war. As only eight additional 2.75-inch guns were manufactured during the first year of the war, no more than eighteen were available to the British Empire as a whole at the time of the Gallipoli landings. All eighteen of these, moreover, were issued to the three Regular Army mountain batteries (the 2nd, 5th and 7th) that served with the British Expeditionary Force in 1915.
The following account states that the Indian batteries consisted of 10-pdr guns. Thought I'd include the whole thing as it's bound to be as interesting to some others as it is to me.
There were two types of mountain batteries in India: units in which the gunners were British and units in which the gunners were Indian. The former batteries were units of the British Army that were 'temporarily' assigned. The latter were units of the Indian Army. The picture is complicated by the fact that the British mountain batteries rarely served outside of India. At the outbreak of the war, for example, eight of the nine mountain batteries of the British Army were serving in India. (The one serving outside of India was stationed in Egypt.)
British mountain batteries had numbers that ran from '1' through '9'. The numbers of Indian mountain batteries ran from '21' through '32'.
Greets Aussies: Indian Battery
Reveille 1 Feb 1933 p10
IN a letter to "Reveille" from Army Headquarters, Melbourne, dated January 9, Major-General J. H. Bruche mentions that a card conveying the best of wishes for Christmas and the New Year had been received from "all ranks 6th (Jacob's) Mountain Battery R.A." This battery, General Bruche explains, was formerly known as the 26th Mountain Battery, and took part in the Landing at Anzac, and every year, on behalf of the personnel a card was sent to Australia to keep up the bond established at Anzac.
The Diggers are never likely to forget the heroic men of the 21st and 26th Indian Mountain Batteries, which from first to last supported them at Anzac.
On the eve of its departure from Egypt early in April, 1915, the Anzac Corps was strengthened by the addition of the 7th Indian Mountain Artillery Brigade, then forming part of the force guarding the Suez Canal. Its batteries, each armed with six 10-pounder guns, were the 21st (Kohat) and the 26th (Jacob's). An officer named Jacob in Beluchistan had originally raised the 26th.
At 10.30 a.m. on April 25, the 26th Battery began to land at Anzac, and the subjoined account, taken from our Australian Official History, gives a vivid picture of its initial experiences.
"When the battery landed," says Dr. Bean. "the small guns - wheels. trail, and two parts of the barrel packed on a string of mules - wound up through the steep scrub of the Razorback, where it was ever afterwards camped, to a point on the 400 Plateau, close behind the crest. Rafferty's platoon of the 12th Bn., coming from the fight at Fisherman's Hut to escort the guns, met them on the beach. The escort, originally fifty, was now reduced to Rafferty, a sergeant, and sixteen men. Nevertheless it marched with the battery to the plateau, and there, with three guns on either side of the head of White's Valley, at five minutes before noon, Jacob's Battery opened fire.
"According to the plan, this battery was to support from that position the attack of the 11th and 10th Bns. on Battleship Hill and Scrubby Knoll. The commander of the battery, Capt. H. A. Kirby, went forward to the firing line of the infantry at the head of Owen's Gully to direct the shooting of his guns. Down the slopes south of Scrubby Knoll - which the 10th were to have been attacking - almost opposite the plateau, he could see the Turks moving through the scrub. As the best means of supporting the Australian infantry on the plateau, he turned the fire of his six small guns upon the slopes of the Third Ridge.
The mere sound of Kirby's battery close behind them came to the Australian infantry like a draught of cool water to one perishing from thirst. From end to end of the line it brought fresh heart to the men. But it could not last long. Although the position of the guns was screened from the Turks immediately ahead, Battleship Hill and the main heights to the north looked down upon it almost as the gallery of a theatre looks upon a stage. The battery had scarcely made its appearance there when the Turkish battery in the folds of the main ridge was turned upon it. From then onwards the shrapnel seemed to concentrate upon these guns, and upon the parts of the line about them. The British officers of the battery carried our their work exactly as if there were not a shrapnel shell in the air. Capt. P. C. Chapman was wounded in the forehead and shoulder. He was sent away and died in Egypt. Jemadar Dulla Khan, an Indian officer, was wounded. Ammunition was running short. At 1.7 p.m. Colonel Parker (the brigade commander) sent a message to Kirby in the front line telling him to come back to the guns. Kirby left Capt. Whiting to observe, and went to the battery."
Between 1 and 2 o'clock another Turkish battery joined in, and the position was raked by crossfire from two directions. As the infantry line in front was gradually being reduced in numbers, the Indians became anxious for the safety of their guns. Rafferty's escort was now a mere 12, so Kirby, with Sgt.-Major Piggott (an old British soldier, serving with the 5th Bn., who died of wounds next day), collected what men they could from the valleys.
At 2.25 the Turkish shrapnel and rifle-fire became so intense that Kirby, who had been wounded in the head, decided to withdraw the guns to cover. The Turkish fire being far too deadly for him to bring up the mules, he ordered the guns crews to drop part of the equipment and to run the guns back off the plateau by hand. On the beach the battery was reorganised, but it was found that there were only sufficient personnel left to man four of its six guns. Kirby, after working until he fainted through loss of blood, was sent off to a hospital ship, but next day he "deserted" back to his battery.
The Kohat Battery (21st) landed at 6 p.m. That night two of its guns, with two of the 26th's (under Lieut. F. N. C. Rossiter), were taken up to Plugge's Plateau and emplaced on its almost perpendicular edge, thus constituting a four-gun battery, which fired on the heights of the main range north of the New Zealand front. The remaining guns of the 21st, placed near the lower end of Shrapnel Gully, provided a second battery firing against the same heights. The other two active guns of the 26th, under Capt. Whitting, were next day sent to a spur on Bolton's Ridge, on the right flank, where they overlooked Gaba Tepe.
On April 27, when the two divisions of the corps were completely ashore and working under their own commanders, Jacob's Battery (26th) was allotted to the N.Z. and A. Division, and the Kohat (21st) to the 1st Aust. Division. All the Kohat guns were now emplaced in Shrapnel Gully, though two were shortly afterwards transferred to Bolton's Ridge to fire south, east, or north. Rossiter's section of the 26th still remained on Plugge's Plateau, while Whitting's was moved to another position on Bolton's. The two unmanned guns, with the assistance of some drivers from an Australian ammunition column, were got into action (under Major J. E. L. Bruce, R.A., who was killed on May 29) on Walker's Ridge. All the guns of this battery, like the four of the 21st in Shrapnel Valley, fired north or northeastward. mainly against positions facing the N.Z. and A. Division, the two of the 21st on Bolton's being the only mountain guns which really covered targets in front of the 1st Aust. Division.
After the evacuation these batteries were sent to Mesopotamia. Capt. Kirby, now a lieut.-colonel with the D.S.O., M.C., commands the North Irish Coast Defences. Whitting, also a lieut.-colonel and D.S.O., M.C., is at present in command of the 3rd Medium Brigade, R.A., at Longmoor, England. Rossiter (M.B.E., M.C.), is, we understand, still on the active list, holding the rank of major.
'Greets Aussies: Indian Battery', in Reveille RSS&AILA, NSW Branch, Sydney. 1 Feb 1933, p10. That the Indian batteries at Anzac had 10 pdr guns is also stated in another article from 'Reveille': Hobbs, Sir T. 'A Gunner's Reflections: Gallipoli Campaign', in 'Reveille', 31 March 1932, p29, 66, 67. As subsequent issues of 2.75-inch guns did not take place until 1916, it follows that both of the mountain artillery brigades that served at Gallipoli - the 4th Highland Brigade of the Territorial Force (assigned to the 29th Division) and the 7th Indian Mountain Brigade of the Indian Army (assigned to the ANZAC Corps) - were armed with 10-pounder mountain guns.
Additional Photos:
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/HelenBachaus/artillery/10pounderMountainGunEastAfricaBrigh.jpg)
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/HelenBachaus/artillery/IndianArmyMountainGunTimesHistoryVo.jpg)
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/HelenBachaus/artillery/post-2067-1191730982.jpg)[/img]
Edit: Four Indian Army Mountain Batteries served in East Africa: 27th & 28th Mountain Batteries which arrived in 1914, plus 2nd (Derajat) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) & 4th (Hazara) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) which arrived when the campaign moved to GEA, along with the Imperial Service No 1 Kashmir Mountain Battery supplied by the Maharajah of Kashmir.
I believe that your image (first photo) shows a gun of 28th Mountain Battery operating in the Lake Victoria region. Guns from that battery provided the artillery support for British amphibious operations at Shirati & Bukoba in GEA.
Shields were fabricated & fitted in the Uganda Railway workshop at Nairobi in 1914. These were later improved & lightened using special steel.
My thanks to Harry (Bushfighter) from the Great War Forum.
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Helen, thanks very much for the information! I've always wondered how these were used in real life.
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Helen, thanks very much for the information! I've always wondered how these were used in real life.
Hi Pete,
You are most welcome. I'm always on the scent of information that assists us good folk in our hobby. :)
I'm sure Poly will get a buzz 8)
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Top work as always, Helen. Very much appreciated.
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Top work as always, Helen. Very much appreciated.
Thanks Poly 8)
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Hi Folks, Here is another link for you good folk who have an interest.
http://www.king-emperor.com/article1.htm
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Finally some more pics. Sorry about the delay, had a bit of flu for a while, then no camera access for about a week and a half, some old friends came in from out of town, a plague of locusts ...
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/MountainGun1.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/MountainGun2.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/MountainGun3.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/MountainGun4.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/MountainGun5.jpg)
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That looks really, really nice.
:love:
I might have to steal the gun shield idea.
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Hmmm. Thanks for the encouragement, I'm ambivalent towards it right now. I thought it looked real good to the naked eye, but as usual, when I took a photo of it, it suddenly didn't look so good. I'm happy with the figures for the most part, but the gun and shields suddenly look messy to the camera's eye.
Oh well. Never mind. Keep pressing on. At least the damn thing is finally painted. I've had it for years.
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Hi Poly, Nice work on the gun crew :)
I's also recovering from a week and a half with the flu too :cry:
Get better soon :)
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Great work on the guns, Poly. I'm really glad you chose to keep the swords on your gun crews, and the gun shields really do look like the ones in the picture. A nice little modificaiton that makes them a bit more specific to the period.
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Hi Guys,
continuing with the Indian Mountain Batteries in East Africa my good friends at the Great War Forum have been very helpful with answers and I present the additional information here for all to share who have an interest in Sideshows of the Great War!
Please don't forget Lon has some lovely looking 2.75 in Mountain Guns (beautifully designed by Michael Broadbent) available with Indian crew and also with Mules :-)
Oh, the Mule with the ammo boxes and a few spare Indian gun crew (as Muleteers) make for an excellent logistical elements in your games.
INDIAN PACK BATTERIES
1 KASHMIR Mountain Battery
This was the only Imperial Service Mountain Battery in the East African theatre and was equipped with four 10-pounders (2.75 in). (See pages 338 and 339 of “The Forgotten Fronts” by Maj-Gen Sir Martin Farndale.)
“1 Kashmir Pack Battery was despatched to East Africa in November 1916 under the command of Major Dharam Singh. The battery gave support to the forces operating in the Rufigi River area and, in February 1917, at Mikalinso. The battery was in constant action from March to November 1917 and suffered heavily from malaria and dysentery. Almost all the mules were lost due to illness. The battery returned to Jammu in March 1918.” (From page 107 of “Jammu and Kashmir Arms” by Maj-Gen D.K. Palit.)
“The Kashmir Mountain Battery (which started with 198 rank and file and 172 mules) went with Brigadier-General Beves’ 2nd South African Infantry Brigade . . . Extract from the Battery history: During the time the battery was in Africa, owing to malaria and other sickness, a very large proportion of the personnel had to be replaced from India, most coming from No 2 Kashmir Mountain Battery. Of the animals taken out by the battery only one survived to the end of 1917, all the rest having succumbed to the tsetse fly and horse-sickness. The battery had 24 casualties, all except three being deaths from sickness.” (From “The History of The Indian Mountain Artillery” By Brig-Gen C.A.L. Graham.)
22nd (Derajat) and 24th (Hazara) Mountain Batteries
S.D. Pradhan on page 132 of “Indian Army in East Africa” incorrectly relates these two batteries to Jammu and Kashmir. Both were Indian Army Mountain Batteries.
The 22nd (Derajat) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) landed at Kilwa on 18th December 1916. It was deployed as a four gun (initially all 10-pounders) unit. At Ankuabe in early 1918 two 3.7-inch howitzers were issued in exchange for 2.75-inch Breech Loading guns (10-pounders). The howitzers were in action for the first time at the capture of Medo Fort , 11th April 1918. (Reference Graham and Farndale.)
The 24th (Hazara) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) disembarked at Dar-es-Salaam on 26th April 1917. During a rail journey to Morogoro on 6th May the train ran off the line whilst crossing a bridge that gave way, killing or drowning 16 men, including the Salutri (farrier or horse-doctor). Most of the dead were in a goods wagon which was stuck in the mud and water and could not be recovered for five days. A great number of men were hurled into the water and carried downstream into the trees below the bridge and were rescued by swimmers. The Battery took over the six 10-pounder guns previously used by 28th (Lahore) Mountain Battery but initially only one section of guns were operational. (Reference Graham and Farndale.)
Unfortunately Pradhan (Author of "Indian Army in East Africa) has confused the issue, and also gunners in their histories often use the post-Great War battery titles (eg: 2nd (Derajat) Mountain Battery (F.F.) instead of the actual 22nd (Derajat)Mountain Battery (F.F.) used in the war. Also the word “Pack” can be used instead of “Mountain”. But you can wind your way through the maze!
Additional Information:
Order of Battle 01/02/16
4th Indian Mountain Artillery Brigade (under Lieut.-Col C.E. Forestier-Walker) Consisted of
27th Indian Mountain Battery (Major A J T Farfan). Arrived at Mombasa 27/08/14. Embarked for India 02/01/18. Battle Honours "East Africa 1916-18", "Kilimanjaro", "Narungombe" and "Nyangao".
28th Indian Mountain Battery (Major A M Colville). Arrived Mombasa about 30/10/14. Involved at Tanga with guns in action lashed on deck of Transport Bharata. Returned to India in December 1916. Battle Honours "East Africa 1914-18" & "Kilimanjaro".
Both batteries equipped with 6 x 10-pdrs with mule transport, although some MT was used in Tsetse fly areas. New gun shields made of specially hardened steel were fitted at Nairobi.
Two fresh mountain batteries arrived from India.
1st Kashmir Mountain Battery on 05/12/16 (Major Dharam Singh Bahadur, Maj A F Cole as Special Service Officer) Embarked for India 02/02/18. Battle Honour "East Africa 1916-18"
22nd (Derajat) Indian Mountain Battery FF on 18/12/16 (Major S Perry) (FF = Fronter Force, which I would suggest is the North West Frontier Force) Used new 3.7 inch howitzers for the first time on 11/04/18 at Medo. Left for India 11/18. Battle Honours "East Africa 1916-18" and "Narungombe".
24th (Hazara) Indian Mountain Battery left Nowshera 07/03/17. Smallpox broke out on the voyage & delayed disembarkation until 26/04/17. The Battery left Dar-es-Salaam by train 05/05/17. 06/05/17 bridge gave way & part of train plunged into river below. 16 men died.
They took in 28 men, 6 guns, 34 mules 1 British WO and 33 followers from the 28th Indian Mountain Battery [presumably left behind when 28th went back to India in Dec 1916].
Left for India 11/18. Battle Honour "East Africa 1917-18"
2.75 inch guns - Both 1st Kashmir and one section of 27th Indian MB reported in action at Nyangao 16-17/10/17 with this equipment. However reading a little further on, the conclusion to the chapter has "whether the ubiquitous 10-pounders (2.75 inch), the 2.95 inch guns of the West Africans, or the new 3.7 inch....."!!
All the guns used were 2.75-inch but the first ones in theatre were the 10-pounders that had been issued by 1903. Here's Graham's description of them:
"The drawbacks of the 2.5-inch R.M.L. gun had long been known in India, but its failure in South Africa led to a hasty rearmament of all mountain batteries. A 10-pr. jointed B.L. gun was in the experimental stage and its trials were hurried on so that all batteries were rearmed by the end of 1903; but, although far superior to the 2.5-inch gun, it was still behind the times. By this time field artillery carriages had a top cradle to take up the recoil so that the carriage remained steady when the gun was fired; the 10-pr. carriage differed little from that of the 2.5-inch and the recoil was controlled by a similar "check rope" round the trail. The two portions of the gun could be united without noise with a wrench. The breech portion was wire wound.
Weights, etc., of the 10-pr. gun: Weight, 404 lb.; calibre, 2.75 in.; length, 6 ft. 4.5 in.; grooves, 16; wheel track, 2 ft. 10 in.; maximum elevation, 25 degrees; maximum depression, 15 degrees; muzzle velocity, 1,289 f.s.; charge, 6 oz. 14 drs. cordite; ammunition mules, 6 per gun; Range, 6,000 yards, but sights engraved to 4,200 yards only.
The gun was provided with shrapnel and star shell; case shot was originally issued but soon withdrawn; the use of cordite and the breech-loading system made for a more rapid rate of fire than could be got out of the R.M.L. gun, and the range was half as long again. Common shell was provided later."
But another 2.75-inch with a 12.5-pound shell was issued once the Great War started. As Graham says:
"In the ensuing years during the First World War batteries were rearmed, as occasion permitted, with the 2.75-inch B.L. gun. This was the 10-pr. without trunnions, recoiling through a cradle, after firing, to the extent allowed by the piston of a hydraulic buffer, and forced back to the firing position by the energy of springs compressed during the recoil. This equipment was called 2.75-inch converted, Mark I. A later pattern was called 2.75-inch B.L. Mark I: this had a breech ring.
A long trail which made two loads for transport was provided, and a reversible axle which could be used in "high" or "low" position. A steel shield made in four parts hinged together protected the detachment; it weighed 78 lb. and was carried on the same mule as the rear end of the trail. The gun itself was a few pounds lighter than the 10-pr. Other differences were:
Wheel track, 3 feet.
Maximum range, 5,500 yards. Full charge, 7 oz. 12 dr. ballistite, M.V. 1,300 f.s.; Half charge, M.V., 775 f.s.
Height of axis of gun:
High position, 43.5 inches elevation 22°, depression 8°.
Low position, 32.5 inches elevation 15°, depression 15°.
Sighting was up to date, i.e., independent line of sight and a No.7 dialsight were provided.
Projectiles: Shrapnel, weight 12.5 lb.; H.E., weight 12.5 lb.; Star, weight 12.5 lb.
This equipment was approved for issue in 1911, but Indian batteries did not receive it until several years later. Its transport took an extra mule and relief mule.
Each ammunition box weighed 25 lb. more than the 10-pr. box, and the battery carried 714 shrapnel, 42 H.E. and 24 star shell.
The equipment for draught weighed 75 lb. The two-man mekometer was still issued. A fuze indicator was provided with a corrector scale. Fuze T. and P. No. 80 was issued for shrapnel and D.A. No. 44 for H.E. The shrapnel was exceptionally powerful and won good opinions everywhere. There was little difference in the rate of fire compared with the 10-pr. as a single motion breech mechanism was not provided, but this gun had the great merit of not overturning when fired from bad ground.
The handbook was published in 1914."
Thus I interpret the 22nd Derajat Pack Battery entry for 28th August 1917 to mean that four 2.75-inch converted, Mark I (or 2.75-inch B.L. Mark I) guns were issued. To reinforce this interpretation the 29th September 1917 entry reads:
"Orders received to reduce the 10 Pr. Section. Battery to consist of 4 2.75" guns only."
ESTABLISHMENTS
Here is 1 JAK Mountain Battery's establishment for East Africa:
Strength: 5 officers, 198 rank and file, 38 followers, 3 private followers, and 172 mules.
Guns: Four 10-pounder B.L. guns
ESTABLISHMENT OF FOLLOWERS IN AN INDIAN ARMY MOUNTAIN BATTERY
A six-gun 10-pr. bty. (1913)
1 tindal (Head Follower)
6 cooks
3 syces (Grooms)
1 head smith
3 smiths
1 head carpenter
2 carpenters
1 head saddler
4 saddlers
1munshi (Clerk)
3 sweepers (Cleaners)
1 mutsuddy (Accountantant
1 bhisti (Water Carrier, traditionally using a goatskin bag)
3 hand bhistis (Water distributors, using pakhals which are canvas containers)
Some followers were attested as combatants, some as non-combatants, and others only enrolled.
One mule carried the kits of six fighting men or eight followers.
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