RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun

Description

The calibre of 6.3 in was chosen to enable it to fire remaining stocks of spherical shells originally made for the obsolete 32 pounder guns if necessary.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 in).

Ammunition

The gun's standard shell was "common shell", for firing on troops in cover, ships and buildings, weighed 57.4 lb when empty with a bursting charge of 7.1 lb. Shrapnel shells could also be fired; a 66.6 lb shell with a 9 oz bursting charge propelling 234 metal balls.

Surviving Examples of Guns

• Mark I, Mark II number 164 and Mark III guns at Fort George, near Inverness, Scotland, UK
• Mark III gun number 17, on board HMS Gannet, Chatham Dockyard, UK
• Mark III gun number 294, dated 1867, Nothe Fort, Weymouth, UK
• Mark III gun at Fort Brockhurst, Gosport, UK
• Two Mark III guns, including no. 318 dated 1867 at Pendennis Castle, Cornwall, UK
• Mark III guns number 462 and 463 at Fort Glanville, Adelaide, South Australia
• Mark III gun number 739, dated 1878, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
• Mark III gun number 742 dated 1878 - ex HMQS Otter (Queensland colonial navy) example displayed in Queens Park Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
• Two Mark III guns, including No 729 dated 1878, at Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct, Brisbane, Australia
• Lei Yue Mun Fort's Central Battery, Hong Kong
• 6 guns at Fort Siloso, Singapore including Mark III gun Number 767, dated 1874
• RML 64-pr 64 cwt Mk 3 at Albert Park, Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Surviving Examples of Ammunition

• RML 64pdr shell that has been fired, and RML 64 fuse at Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct, Brisbane, Australia
• RML 64pdr Mark I shell (no fuse) is held in the collection of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Bibliography

• Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service. War Office, UK, 1879
• Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE

References

1. "The Gun Rifled Ordnance".
2. 1,252 feet/second firing a 64-pound projectile with {{convert. 8. lb. kg. 1390. ft/s. m/s. 10. lb. kg
3. (2000). "A Guide to Fort Glanville, South Australia". The Fort Glanville historical association.
4. Treatise on Construction and Manufacture of Service Ordnance, 1879, pages 292, 261-265
5. "The 64pr. 64 cwt gun Mark III". Palmerston Forts Society, Fareham Hampshire U.K.
6. "Gun-firing Re-enactment {{!}} Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct".