Vickers Bl 8 inch Howitzer cannon of 1917

[Stuart BridgerParticipant @stuartbridger82290]

Beautiful work and great skills on show here. Seriously impressed

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Mal, the shape of the nose of the shells is either 1 x diameter or 2cr . sometimes referred to as Krups no 1 or Krups no 2. Now of course we use bottle nose shells with thinner walls.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Clive Hartland on 25/02/2019 11:12:27:

Mal, the shape of the nose of the shells is either 1 x diameter or 2cr …

Have to get up early to catch Mal, I reckon his shell is exactly 2CRH (calibre/radius/head)

While I'm in rivet counting mode, I think a simple 2CRH shell may be historically unlikely for a 1917 gun. Under pressure of war to improve range and accuracy, shell designers made rapid progress with streamlining after 1914. A 2CRH shell is right for earlier marks of the gun, but suspect ammunition fired in 1917 would be been made with a sharper Compound CRH.

Does anyone know?

Dave

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Thanks for the interest and comments guy's. just had a quick read up on the shell and in 1917 or around that time it reads in the manual. The common steel shell had an ogival head struck with a radius of four calibres , so will have another go at getting it wright.

Thanks Mal.

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Posted by Mick B1 on 24/02/2019 19:13:29:

Nice shell – how did you fit the driving band?

Hi Mick ,the bottom of the shell is all brass with a steel collar press on to give the impression of a brass band.

Thanks Mal.

[BufferParticipant @buffer]

Mal

Nice shell. Here's a 12.5 inch RML paperweight I have been making.

Regards Rich

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I'm enjoying this thread

[Maurice Cox 1Participant @mauricecox1]

This thread has taken me back to when I was nine or ten. I had a toy howitzer just like this. Probably by”Britains”. It had proper traction engine type wheels, a controll to elevate it, breech loading, and could lob a one ounce shell about twelve feet! Probably couldn’t sell it now. Happy days!

Maurice

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Posted by Maurice on 25/02/2019 20:48:57:

This thread has taken me back to when I was nine or ten. I had a toy howitzer just like this. Probably by”Britains”. It had proper traction engine type wheels, a controll to elevate it, breech loading, and could lob a one ounce shell about twelve feet! Probably couldn’t sell it now. Happy days!

Maurice

Yes, I had one o' them – it was Britains Ltd., called itself an 18" howitzer, and it could indeed knock out an Airfix Panther across a 12 ft. landing. Bit of backlash in the elevating handwheel IIRC…

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Posted by Richard brown 1 on 25/02/2019 15:33:27:

Mal

Nice shell. Here's a 12.5 inch RML paperweight I have been making.

Regards Rich

Hi Rich, looks like you got the shape to that bang on nice work , just had a little read up on this and as you know and i think it is a 800 pound shrapnel shell fired from a 38t gun the howitzer was a 200 pound shell obviously a hole lot smaller,are you going to but the brass coloured plugs in it that pick up the rifling.

Thanks for the interest Mal.

[BufferParticipant @buffer]

Mal

Its an 800lb palliser shot copied from the dimensions in the handbook. Yes i will black it put in the brass studs and then make a little shell barrow. Just for a bit of fun.

Regards rich.

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Hi all, that will look good when its done Rich will be nice to see a picture , bit more progress on the Howitzer build sorted the middle cross member and cut the radius trail parts to the wright length [ the corner parts not sure what their called } , next part to be made on the trial are the stub axles but before i have a go making them i thought it would be better to make the wheels first ,so rolled some 4mm plate for the rims and welded them up then into the lathe to trim them up ,milled the T rings out of the same plate and tried them together now to grind an edge on the t rings and weld them in, couple of pictures below.

Thank for your interest Mal.

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

Excellent work so far Mal. The wheel rims look grand.

You truly are a magnificent engineer and fabricator.

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Hi all,small update on the Howitzer ,first off thanks Mick for the complement but magnificent,i'am not even in the same ball park as the builders on this forum i'am just having fun in the shed. Welded the T rings into the rims and a bit of grinding and clean up with a flap disc the result looks good to me, then into the lathe to divide up and mark the 32 strakes and 16 spokes on each wheel, plenty of riviting in the next couple weeks for me here are a couple pictures how it went .

Thanks for your interest Mal.

Edited By mal webber on 12/03/2019 23:50:30

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Never thought of using a dividing head on rear of spindle to divide holes in diameter. I will have to remember that one thanks. Very vice job.

David

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Hi everyone ,bit more on the Howitzer build thought I would make the wheel hubs before starting on the strakes and all that riviting , so started with a 60mm dia steel bar bored out to the size I was looking for then turned the outer hub ends x4 with a round insert tool,and for the outer edge used a end mill with lathe in reverse to give me the nice round edge, after that it was the hub centres which were just parting off tool stuff.After working out measurements and placing parts together I think its looking about wright ,mill the slots for the spokes next and they are done ,,couple of pictures how it all went .

Thanks for the interest Mal…

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Hi all small update on the Bl 8inch Howitzer ,one outer rim complete does not sound much but this took me some time to get done 32 strakes 124 rivets later and I think it looks about right , now to get other one done couple of pictures below on how it looks.

Thanks Mal.

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Looking goooood Mal, watching post expectantly for next pics, .

George.

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Outstanding.

[Paul AinsworthParticipant @paulainsworth93685]

That looks fantastic.

[Maurice Cox 1Participant @mauricecox1]

I agree; this model is fantastic! I look forward to seeing the next pictures. Also, I have a question. On traction engines with straked wheels, the wheels were fitted so that the "screw" effect of the slanting stakes when under load, tended to push the wheels in towards the horn plates. Does any such consideration have to be give to this when the wheels are being towed? I can't work it out!

Maurice

[mal webberParticipant @malwebber91786]

Thanks for the interest everyone .Maurice on the wheels the manual reads that the slats or strakes are for grip on soft ground, but looking on the way the slats are angled would bush the wheel inwards to the chassis on firing rather than trying to force them outwards, I mite be wrong but if anyone knows different be nice here.

Mal

[Maurice Cox 1Participant @mauricecox1]

Hi Mal; following my question about the direction of the strakes on the wheels, I have been looking at pictures on the Webb. They have them both "left" and "right" handed. As far as I can see, pictures of them in service generally show them fitted the opposite way to how yours are temporarily set up, that is the other way round to that of traction engine practice; while those in preservation are the opposite Just to make it really difficult, there is one picture of two guns on active duty, side by side. One has the wheels one way and the other, the other! They don't make it easy do they? I think you can choose which looks best to you. Cant wait for the next update.

Maurice

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by mal webber on 12/03/2019 23:42:22:

… thanks Mick for the complement but magnificent,i'am not even in the same ball park as the builders on this forum i'am just having fun in the shed. …

Thanks for your interest Mal.

Edited By mal webber on 12/03/2019 23:50:30

If this is 'just having fun in the shed', what does a proper job look like? While I admire chaps who do super work like this the results do nothing for my inferiority complex! All too often I'm left speechless.

Thanks for sharing.

Dave

[AdrianRParticipant @adrianr18614]

Just a thought about the wheel strakes. In 1917 traction engines were more common so people would be used to what wheels should look like. Perhaps they are just put on that way because it was the norm.

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