RML 64 pounder 64 cwt gun
Encyclopedia
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, 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
.
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.
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).
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
gun manufactured in England in the 19th century, 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
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
(cwt) = 112 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
.
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The calibre of 6.3 inches was chosen to enable it to fire remaining stocks of spherical shells originally made for the obsolete 32 pounder guns if necessary.Mark I (adopted in 1864) and Mark II (adopted 1866) guns, and Mark III guns made from 1867 - April 1871 had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.
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).
Ammunition
The gun's standard shell was "common shell", for firing on troops in cover, ships and buildings, weighed 57.4 pounds (26 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 ounces (255.1 g) bursting charge propelling 234 metal balls.Surviving examples
- Mk I, Mk II and Mk III guns at Fort GeorgeFort George, HighlandFort George , is a large 18th century fortress near Ardersier, to the north-east of Inverness in the Highland council area of Scotland. It was built to pacify the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745, replacing an earlier Fort George built with the same aim after the...
, near Inverness, Scotland, UK - At Nothe FortNothe FortNothe Fort is a fort in Weymouth, Dorset, England. The fort is situated on the shore beside the northern breakwater of the ex-military Portland Harbour, and at the mouth of civilian Weymouth Harbour. The fort was built in 1872 to protect Portland's harbour, which was then becoming an important...
, Weymouth, UK - A Mk III gun at Fort BrockhurstFort BrockhurstFort Brockhurst is one of the Palmerston Forts, in Gosport, England. It is now an English Heritage property.Fort Brockhurst was designed by William Crossman in the 19th century to protect Portsmouth...
, Gosport, UK - On board HMS GannetHMS Gannet (1878)HMS Gannet was a Royal Navy screw sloop launched on 31 August 1878. She became a training ship in the Thames in 1903, and was then lent as a training ship for boys in the Hamble from 1913...
, Chatham Dockyard, UK - At Pendennis CastlePendennis CastlePendennis Castle is a Henrician castle, also known as one of Henry VIII's Device Forts, in the English county of Cornwall. It was built in 1539 for King Henry VIII to guard the entrance to the River Fal on its west bank, near Falmouth. St Mawes Castle is its opposite number on the east bank and...
, Cornwall, UK - At Fort GlanvilleFort Glanville Conservation ParkFort Glanville Conservation Park is a registered heritage conservation area in Semaphore South, South Australia, a seaside suburb of Adelaide, that incorporates a functional 19th century fort. The fort was built after more than 40 years of indecision over the defence of South Australia...
, Adelaide, South Australia - Mk III gun no. 739 of 1878 at Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Lei Yue Mun Fort'sHong Kong Museum of Coastal DefenceThe Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence is a museum in Hong Kong, located in a former coastal defence fort overlooking the Lei Yue Mun channel, near Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island. The fort was built by the British in 1887, intended to defend the eastern approaches to Victoria Harbour.The total...
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, AucklandAlbert Park, AucklandAlbert Park is a scenic park in central Auckland, bounded by Wellesley Street East, Princes Street, Bowen Avenue and Kitchener Street. From the entrance at the corner of Bowen Ave and Kitchener St, sealed footpaths climb steeply through native trees to the large flat area at the summit, where...
, Auckland, New Zealand
See also
- RML 64 pounder 58 cwt gun : conversion of SBML 32 pounder 58 cwt gun
- RML 64 pounder 71 cwt gunRML 64 pounder 71 cwt gunThe RML 64 pounder 71 cwt guns were rifled muzzle-loading guns converted from obsolete smoothbore 8-inch 65 cwt shell guns. "71 cwt" refers to the gun's weight rounded up to differentiate it from other "64-pounder" guns : 1 cwt = 112 pounds....
: conversion of SBML 8 inch 65 cwt gun
External links
- Diagram of gun on 6 foot parapet platform mounting at Palmerston Forts Society website