Artillery in Canada: 13-pounder QF field gun

The Ordnance QF 13-pounder (quick firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian Royal Horse Artillery when the First World War broke out in 1914. It was developed as a response to combat experience gained in the Boer War and entered service in 1904It was intended as a rapid-firing and highly-mobile yet reasonably powerful field gun for RHA batteries supporting Cavalry brigades, which were expected to be engaged in mobile open warfare. It was developed in parallel with the QF 18-pounder used by field artillery. From late 1914, when the Western Front settled into, the 13-pounder was found to be too light to be truly effective against prepared defensive positions. As a result, a few RHA batteries that were not supporting cavalry formations converted to 18-pounder guns and 4.5-inch howitzers. However, it was retained in the British and Canadian cavalry brigades on the Western Front. As the war progressed the increasing air activity created a requirement for a medium anti-aircraft gun. Some 13-pounders were slightly modified to become "Ordnance QF 13 pdr Mk III" and mounted on high-angle mounts to produce what became known as the

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

13-pounder 6-cwt QF Mk. I Field Gun, weight 6-0-13 (685-lbs), RGF J 1913, N. 290 on barrel, carriage plate 13-pr Mk. I.IP, L, 1917, GCR 1910, Reg. No. 10. Royal Canadian Artillery Museum, CFB Shilo, Manitoba.

(Author Photos)

13-pounder 6-cwt QF Land Mk. II Field Gun, VSM, broad arrow, 1911, (Serial No. 279), King George V cypher. Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395208)

13-pounder 9-cwt QF Anti-Aircraft Gun in action, Oct 1916.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194240)

13-pounder 9-cwt QF Anti-Aircraft Gun in action, Oct 1916.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194240)

13-pounder 9-cwt QF Anti-Aircraft Gun unit playing cards during a break in action, May 1918.  

(Author Photos)

13-pounder 9-cwt QF Anti-Aircraft Gun Mk. I, EOC, broad arrow, P, 1917 (Serial No. 1372), on Mounting Motor Lorry RCD IV 1916, (Serial No.  A3414). Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

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