WesWorld

[pending]

Field Artillery
Ordnance QF 18pdr, Mk II-V, modernised First World War guns with pneumatic wheels for motorised towing. Being replaced by the 25pdr. Weight in action is 3,228lbs; traverse is 9 degrees or 25 degrees with the Mk V carriage. Firing an 18.5lb HE or smoke shell the 18pdr has a range of 11,100 yards.

Ordnance QF 25pdr Mk I, under development from mid 1935 and entered service in 1937 to replace the 18pdr and to have a secondary anti-tank role. Weight in action is 3,968lbs; traverse is 8 degrees on carriage or 360 degrees with circular firing table. Elevation -5 to +40 degrees, weight of shell 25lbs, range of 13,400 yards. HE, smoke, illumination and a solid AT round is being developed for use from 1938. Licence produced in Canada.

Ordnance QF 3.7in Howitzer Mk I, this is a pack mountain howitzer for colonial use and has a weight of 1,669lbs and a range of 6,000 yards firing a 20lb HE or smoke shell.

Heavy Artillery
Ordnance QF 4.5in Gun Mk I, under development to fire a 55lb shell over 21,000 yards. Entered service in 1937 with the Australian and Canadian armies. Weight in action is 12,880lbs, 55lb shell weight of which 3.875lbs is HE filling. Maximum range is 21,500 yards and the carriage has 60 degrees of traverse and 30 degrees of elevation. Shell types are HE, concrete-piercing, smoke and illumination.

BL 6in Mk 9 on Mk 8 or 8A Carriages, another First World War vintage gun mounted on a new carriage. This gun fires a 100lb shell over 18,750 yards and weight in action is 22,792lbs. Traverse is 8 degrees.

BL 6in 26cwt Howitzer Mk 1, this First World War era piece is being used until units re-equip with the QF 4.5in Gun Mk I.

BL 7.2in Howitzer No.1 Mk I, entered service in 1937 with a four-wheeled carriage for stability. Weight in action is 29,100lbs; traverse is 60 degrees, elevation -2 to +65 degrees, weight of shell 200lbs, range of 19,680 yards. Shell types are HE, concrete-piercing, smoke and illumination.

Coastal Artillery
[pending]

Heavy AA Guns
Ordnance QF 3in 20cwt, some eight marks of this gun are in service across the Empire as the main heavy AA gun. Most are now either on four-wheeled trolleys or in static emplacements. The standard 16lb shell can be fired to a maximum ceiling of 23,500ft. Elevation is 90 degrees and traverse is 360 degrees.

Ordnance QF 3.7in Mk III, is under development by Vickers partly as a private venture and entered service 1937. It is based on a similar Naval AA gun. Weight in action is 9.2 tons mobile and 17.1 tons static, effective ceiling is 32-45,000 feet and ground range is 20,600-25,600 yards. Rate of fire is 25 rpm on the mobile mount and 19 rpm on the static mount. Elevation is 85 degrees on the mobile and 90 degrees on the static mounts. Canada is now licence-building 200 to re-equip its AA defences.

Light AA Guns
40mm Vickers ‘Pom Pom’ Light Anti-Aircraft Gun No.1 Mk I, based on the naval anti-aircraft gun and mounted on a semi-armoured 4x4 truck. GM Canada has produced 70 such trucks for the Canadian Army.

Ordnance QF 6pdr Mk VI, this semi-automatic AA gun will be produced in single mounts for the Army and semi-automatic twin mounts for the Navy. The 6pdr shell with have around 1.1lbs of HE filling and will have a secondary anti-tank capability. Rate of fire will be around 95rpm and effective ceiling 15,500ft.

Cannon 20mm Mark I, a licence was brought from Oerlikon in 1934 for production to begin in 1935 for Australia and Canada as the main light AA gun. The two-wheeled HB Mk I Mount is the standard towed light AA gun across the Commonwealth Armies.

Anti-Tank Guns
Ordnance QF 2pdr Mk VIII, this light anti-tank gun entered service in 1934 as standard equipment. This 40mm gun weighs 1,848lbs and has 360 degree traverse and -13 to + 15 degrees elevation. The 2.375lb round can penetrate 53mm of armour at 500 yards.

Mortars
Ordnance ML 3in Mortar No.1 Mk II, a modernised mortar the based on the similar Mk I fires a 10lb HE or smoke bomb to 1,600 yards, weight in action is 126 lbs. Can be mounted on tracked carriers or trucks to give some mobility.
From 1940 the improved No.1 Mk III used new propellants to improve range to 2,750 yards.

Ordnance ML 2in Mortar No.1 Mk I, a small light mortar for platoon or squad use for illumination and infantry support. The 2.25lb bomb can be fired to 500 yards and the mortar can be carried by one man, features a detachable base plate and weighs 9lbs. It can be fired almost horizontally in emergency situations. The ammunition is loaded into three tubes, each of which holds three bombs and this pack is carried by the second crew man. The Mk II features a larger base plate and more advanced sights and is used with the Carrier Mortar No.1 Mk II.

Anti-Tank Rifles
Boys Anti-Tank Rifle No.1 Mk I, entering development in late 1936 this .55in calibre rifle is designed to penetrate 21mm of armour at 300 yards. It is fed by a five-round clip and will become the standard platoon anti-tank weapon.

Support Machine Guns
.303in Light Machine Gun No.1 Mk I-III Lewis, large stocks from the First World War are held and this remains the standard light support machine-gun in Canada in four improved marks.

.303in Vickers-Berthier Light Machine Gun No.2 Mk I, based on a 1914 weapon this modernised version based on the same internal design but designed wholly by Vickers weighs 24.4lbs and has a cyclic rate of fire of 450-600rpm. In production since 1931 this is the main LMG for the Commonwealth Armies. Australian versions have improved cooling. Ammunition stowage is either a 96-round drum or a 30-round clip.

.303in Vickers Mk. I, this world-beater can trace its roots back to 1912 and is mounted on many mounts ranging from the standard tripod to high-elevation AA mounts. A 0.5in version is also in service in both vehicle and tripod mounts as the Mk. III and Mk. IV.
In 1936 the .303 Mk.VIIZ Ball round was introduced with a nitro-cellulose propellant and with better aerodynamics to improve the range to 4,500 yards and with less muzzle flash.

.30in Browning Mk IC, built in Canada under licence, this is slowly replacing the Vickers .303in in Canadian service.

Rifles
Large stocks of First World War .303in Rifle No.2 Mk III, Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) are still held and many troops are still equipped with these weapons (still regarded as one of the finest rifles ever made).

.303in Rifle No.3 Mk I; this rifle is 3ft 8.4in long, weighs 9.13lbs, muzzle velocity is 2,465 ft/sec and has a ten round magazine. A new 9in long bayonet can be fitted. Entering service 1937 with licence production in Australia and Canada.

Sub-Machine Guns
[Pending]

Pistols
During the First World War the Webley .455 revolver and the .38 Pistol, Revolver No.2 Mk 1 from 1931 are standard Army issue. The very similar Webley Mk 4 is also used by the RCAF, RCN, RAAF and RAN.

Pistol, Automatic No.1, this is the Browning-designed P-35 "Hi-Power" produced by John Inglis and Company to replace the older revolvers in Canadian service. The gun is 7.75in long, weighs 2.23lbs, rate of fire (cyclic) is 40 rpm and muzzle velocity is 1,160ft/sec. A magazine holds 13 9x19 Parabellum rounds and another can be stored in the breech.

Grenades
Types in use include the new 1.7lb No.36M Mills fragmentation grenade alongside older 1920s designed 1.25 and 4lb HE grenades. Smoke versions are also available as is a rifle-mounted cup discharger with a range of 200 yards.