QF 4.5-inch howitzer

Ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer
Camouflaged British 4.5 inch field howitzers at Arras, April 1917
Type	Field howitzer
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1908–1944
Used by	British Empire Russian Empire Finland Estonia Ireland Portugal Romania
Wars	First World War, Second World War
Production history
Designer	Coventry Ordnance Works
Manufacturer	Coventry Ordnance Works, Royal Arsenal, Vickers, Bethlehem Steel
No. built	3,359
Specifications (Mk1 & Mk2)
Mass	Barrel & breech: 972 lb (441 kg) Total: 3,010 lb (1,370 kg)
Length	9 ft (2.7 m)
Barrel length	Bore: 5 ft (1.5 m) Total: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Width	6 ft 3.5 in (1.918 m)[1]
Crew	6
Shell	114 x73-86 mm R separate QF. HE shell 16 kg (35 lb)
Calibre	4.5 in (114.3 mm)
Breech	Horizontal sliding-block
Recoil	Hydro-spring 43.5 in (1.10 m) at 0° of elevation; 15.2 in (0.39 m) at 45° of elevation[1]
Carriage	Wheeled, box trail
Elevation	-5° to +45°
Traverse	3° right and left
Rate of fire	4 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	Maximum: 1,012 ft/s (308 m/s)[1]
Effective firing range	6,600 yd (6,000 m)
Maximum firing range	6,800 yd (6,200 m)[1]
Sights	Reciprocating & non-calibrating

The Ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer was the standard British Empire field (or "light") howitzer of the First World War era. It replaced the BL 5-inch howitzer and equipped some 25% of the field artillery. It entered service in 1910 and remained in service through the interwar period and was last used in the field by British forces in early 1942. It was generally horse drawn until mechanisation in the 1930s.

The QF 4.5-inch (110 mm) howitzer was used by British and Commonwealth forces in most theatres, by Russia and by British troops in Russia in 1919. Its calibre (114 mm) and hence shell weight were greater than those of the equivalent German field howitzer (105 mm); France did not have an equivalent. In the Second World War it equipped some units of the British Expeditionary Force in France and British, Australian, New Zealand and South African batteries in East Africa and the Middle East and Far East.