Ordnance QF 3-inch howitzer

Mk I Churchill tank with hull-mounted 3-inch howitzer on exercises on Salisbury Plain, January 1942

Ordnance QF 3 inch howitzer was a howitzer fitted to British tanks of the Second World War so they could fire a HE shell in "close support" of infantry.

It was used to equip the British Infantry tanks: Matilda II, Churchill tank Mk I, Valentine tank (New Zealand only) and the cruiser tank Crusader (65 rounds).

A field artillery version seems to have been developed or under development in 1941, its ammunition codes are listed in Field Service Pocket Book, Pamphlet No. 9a, dated 29 October 1941. The ammunition is listed in BOTH the anti-tank and field artillery sections.

Later in the war a larger 95 mm howitzer was employed for the same purpose.

Specification

• Calibre: 3 inches (76 mm)
• Length of barrel: 75 inches (1,900 mm) (25 calibres)
• Overall length: 78.2 inches (1,990 mm)
• Weight: 256 pounds (116 kg)
• Muzzle velocity: 600 to 700 feet per second (180 to 210 m/s)
• Ammunition
  • Cartridge: 76.2x134R
  • Smoke: 13.4 pounds (6.1 kg)
  • HE: 13.9 pounds (6.3 kg)
• Range 2,000 to 2,500 yards (1,800 to 2,300 m)

Notes and references

• Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis British And American Tanks Of World War II

External links

• http://www.wwiitanks.co.uk/tankdata/1940-Britain-Matilda-InfTankMkIIMatildaIIICS.html