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The Ordnance BL 15 pounder, otherwise known as the 15 pounder 7 cwt, was the British Army's field gun in the Second Boer War and some remained in limited use in minor theatres of World War I. It could fire a shell of 3-inch diameter with a maximum weight of , hence its name which differentiated it from its predecessor "12 pounder" 3-inch gun which fired shells weighing only .〔The British at that time traditionally identified smaller guns by the maximum weight of shell they could fire, arbitrarily rounded up or down.〕 ==History== The gun was a modified version of the previous BL 12 pounder 7 cwt gun of 1883. When the modern smokeless propellant cordite replaced gunpowder in 1892 it was decided that the 12 pounder was capable of firing a heavier shell up to . A 14 pound shell was adopted and the gun was renamed a 15 pounder.〔Clarke 2004, page 17-18〕 Mk I carriage : recoil was controlled by drag-shoes. These were placed under the wheels, and were connected by chains and cables to the wheel hubs and the trail.〔 Mk II carriage : this had the same drag-shoe system and also a hydraulic buffer. This only allowed a short recoil, and was not successful.〔 Mk III carriage : In 1899 a rudimentary recoil system was added, consisting of a "spade" beneath the axle which dug in when the gun recoiled, connected by a steel wire to a spring in a cylinder on the trail. Mk I and II carriages fitted with these were known as Mk 1 * and Mk II *. The latter retained the hydraulic buffer.〔Hall, June 1973〕 Although the whole gun jumped and moved backwards on firing, the spring returned it to firing position and hence still increased the rate of fire compared to the old model without any recoil mechanism.〔Clarke 2004, page 18〕 Hogg and Thurston comment ironically : "It is said that it checked it () so well that the gun usually recoiled 1 foot and jumped forward 2 feet".〔Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 70〕 Other Mks of carriage followed, all with axle-spades, but without buffers. From 1904 the BL 15 pounder was superseded by the modern QF 18 pounder. Remaining BL 15 pounders were upgraded as the BLC 15 pounder to equip the Territorial Force with an "ersatz QF gun".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ordnance BL 15 pounder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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