REME - 003

Last night (Wednesday) saw a small group of Garrison members meet at Larkhill for the first test-firings of the 3.7” anti-aircraft gun. Barry had done a fantastic job of fabricating from scratch the missing parts of the firing-mechanism linkage, but until last night it hadn’t been tested with a live charge. As can be seen from the footage posted on the YouTube site everything worked perfectly.

As well as trying out the firing mechanism, another reason for the test was to ascertain the size of the blackpowder charge needed to generate a decent bang. As such three cartridges were prepared: the first contained a similar sized charge as is used for the 25-pounder carts; the second was about half as big again, and the third was bigger still. As can be seen from the footage (and the audience reaction!), the results were pretty decisive. The smallest charge provided a pretty feeble bang and was much derided, the medium charge was much better, whilst the third and largest was seriously impressive! The result was that it was felt that the medium charge would be perfectly adequate for most situations, and will probably be the one used for the forthcoming displays at the National Army Museum and HAC events.

Once again, getting up-close and personal with the 3.7 underlines just what a beast of a gun this is; at nine-tons, everything about it is built on a much bigger and heavier scale than the 25-pounder. Having an opportunity to help crew the gun really begins to give a small insight into just how much hard work it must have been working on these during the war.

Whilst at the workshop, I also got to have a first look at the Garrison’s latest acquisition, a First World War 18-pounder field gun.(Again, see the YouTube site for a sneak-peek) The contrast with the 3.7 couldn’t be greater. Whereas everything about the AA gun is on massive scale, the 18-pounder is built upon decidedly trim lines. The spoked wheels, slender trail and sloped shield do, however, give the whole thing a rather graceful appearance and reflect its origins as a weapon intended for wars of manoeuvre rather than the static trench warfare in which it made its name. What was really surprising was the lack of elevation, even at maximum elevation the barrel was barely above the horizontal! The gun itself appears to be in excellent condition, though will benefit from a thorough servicing. It is also missing quite a few bits and pieces, including the dial-sight holder, the hinged upper-section of the shield, firing pin, not to mention the limber! So, we will need to be on the lookout for these before we can get the piece back into action (any leads gratefully received). Once up-and-running though, it will add another facet to the range of displays that the Garrison can offer. With the addition of this gun to the collection, and the MKIII 25-pounder (together with and the recently acquired sets of 49 pattern battle dress) we can now potentially portray British field artillery from about 1914 right through to the 1960s!