![]() Most British, Polish and Commonwealth forces were equipped with this gun. This gun was first used in the deserts of North Africa in 1941. In late 1944 a VT fuze T100 became available. It could also fire 100 lb smoke or colored flare marker shells. The high explosive HE shell was loaded first followed by the propellant charge canister that would have the correct amount of powder bags in it for the range of the target. The 100 lb shell was fired at a muzzle velocity of 1,675 feet per second (511 m/s) and the 82 lb shell was fired at 1,950 feet per second (590 m/s). It had a rate of fire of two rounds per minute. It was fitted with a Welin breech and Ashbury mechanism with a hydro-pneumatic recoil system. The letters BL stand for ‘breach loading’. ![]() The lighter 82 lbs shell could be fired at a maximum range of 10.28 miles (16.55 km). The 100 lbs shell could be fired at a maximum range of 9.2 miles (14.81 km). It fired a high explosive HE shell that weighed 100 lbs (45.5kg) and a smaller one that weighed 82 lbs (37kg). It weighed 13,647 lbs (6,190kg) and had a barrel length of 13ft 9in (4.19m). This artillery field gun was produced between 1941 to 1945. (Information – Andrew Hills)Ĭenturion FV3805 artillery self-propelled gun prototype The British BL 5.5 inch Artillery Gun Research is still trying to locate the fate of P1 which is still lost. Centurion FV3805 SPG P2 lived on in service as an Artillery Range Observation vehicle sporting the name ‘Major Picton’s Palace’ until sometime in the 1970’s when again it has vanished from military records. Wooden mock-up of the Centurion FV3805 Artillery SPG prototype in firing positionįollowing the unsuccessful trials P2 had its 5.5 inch gun and mounting removed and a steel plate with vision port welded over the hole in the front of the superstructure. The driver position was moved to the center of the vehicle on the left side. The engine and gearbox are at the front and the superstructure built over the front of the machine but facing over the engine deck. The vehicle is built ‘backwards’ very similar to the WW2 Archer 17pdr SPG. With a limited traverse of the gun it was an inferior design to the smaller, lighter and more capable Abbot anyway. The Abbot was chosen because the FV3805 SPG was not air-portable and with NATO standardization of 105mm and 155mm guns the British 5.5 inch gun (140mm) was being made obsolete. The project eventually lost out by the early 1960’s to the FV433 self-propelled gun known commonly as the ‘Abbot’ and both prototype Centurion FV3805 SPG P1 and P2 were thought to have been sold for scrap. This is the wooden mock-up of the Centurion FV3805 Artillery SPG prototype A wooden mock-up of the vehicle had met with approval and two prototypes P1 and P2 were manufactured and underwent testing. ![]() The idea was a good one offering commonality of automotive parts with the Centurion tank which was the main tank in service with the British Army at the time. The vehicle itself started back in the late 1950’s based upon the idea of using the hull of a Centurion tank and fitted with a BL 5.5 inch QF field gun (140mm howitzer) in a built up casemate on the hull. Self-Propelled Gun – 2 Prototypes Built The Design
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