| RBL 12 pounder 8 cwt gun | |
|---|---|
 At the Australian War Memorial, Canberra | |
| Type | Field gun |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1859–19?? |
| Used by | British Empire |
| Wars | New Zealand Wars Second Opium War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | W.G. Armstrong Co. |
| Manufacturer | Royal Gun Factory |
| Unit cost | £79 - £170[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Barrel length | First model: total 84-inch, bore 73.375-inch New model: total 72-inch, bore 61.375-inch (20.46 calibres)[2] |
| Crew | 9[3] |
| Shell | 10 lb 11 oz Shrapnel 11 lb 4 oz common shell 10 lb 8 oz Segment 10 lb 9 oz case |
| Calibre | 3-inch (76.2 mm) |
| Breech | Armstrong screw with vertical sliding vent-piece (block) |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,239 feet per second (378 m/s)[2] |
| Effective firing range | 3,400 yards (3,100 m) |
The Armstrong Breech Loading 12 pounder 8 cwt, later known as RBL 12 pounder 8 cwt, was an early modern 3-inch rifled breech-loading field gun of 1859.
- ^ £170 for guns made by Elswick Ordnance Company to March 1859, complete with sights and 2 vent-pieces; £83 14s 9d total unit cost for 364 guns made by Royal Gun Factory 1860–1861; £79 9s 7d total unit cost for 254 guns made by Royal Gun Factory 1859–1862. Report of the Select Committee on Ordnance 1862. These are total calculated costs of manufacture. Quoted in Holley 1865, pages 25-26
- ^ a b Text Book of Gunnery 1902, Page 336
- ^ Crew of 1 NCO (No. 1) and 8 gunners (Nos. 2 – 9). Numbers 1 – 4 loaded and fired the gun, Nos. 1 – 5 ran the gun up, Nos. 5 – 9 supplied ammunition from the limber and wagon. "An Artilleryman", "A Popular Introduction to Rifled Ordnance". Published by Boddy and Co., Woolwich, 1871. Pages 87 – 93