When was a 25 Pdr last fired in anger.

Discussion in 'Weapons, Technology & Equipment' started by redtop, Oct 26, 2014.

  1. redtop

    redtop Well-Known Member

    From Sky news on line

    Etched on the breach of the field gun is “1941” - the year of manufacture of this 25-pounder,
    the best British artillery piece of the Second World War.
    They were shelling Islamic State (IS) positions on the outskirts of city of Mosul.
    Most of the surviving ones are in museums or appear ceremonially,
    but this weapon was being fired in anger by Kurdish Peshmerga.
    That a WWII 25-pounder is being used by the Kurds underscores both Britain’s historical
    ties with this part of the world and the Kurdish need to be supplied with modern weaponry.
    All the Kurdish fighters we spoke to expressed their appreciation that the RAF has now joined them in this fight.
    The old British gun is part of a Kurdish garrison on top of Mount Zartac,
    a strategically important vantage point which overlooks Mosul and the surrounding villages
    If the Kurdish Peshmerga are going to do it, they will need modern guns. British relics will not suffice.
     
  2. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    Wow - where did they find the ammunition?

    Is this the only 25-pounder or are there others still in use?

    The last use of a 25 pounder I am aware of was the SAS at Mirbat in Oman about 1972.
     
  3. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    My dad did his National Service in Germany with the 25pdr............if you wanted to see one fire then up until recently you could go to Edinburgh Castle at 1.00pm every day!. Its now been replaced with the L118 I think.

    The finest example that I have ever seen was in the "keep" museum in Dorset - absolute mint condition!.
     
  4. Thunderbox

    Thunderbox Member

    There are tens of thousands of rounds of 25lber ammo still in the region. The Iraqis in particular seem to have collected and hoarded every type of ammo they came across. After the 2003 war, the ammo depots I inspected were full of all types of WW2 British and US arty ammo and land mines. We came across several 25lb guns in barracks and workshops, although for the war itself they seem only to have deployed soviet-era weapons (which they then abandoned).



    [​IMG]
     
  5. rockape252

    rockape252 Senior Member

  6. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    Thanks for that Mick, I wonder if the Kurdish ammo was of Pakistani origin?

    I knew The Mirbat gun was on display in UK somewhere but didn't realise it is in Firepower in Woolwich. I will be going to the Brass Foundry in Woolwich again next month (it is the National Maritime Photos and Plans Dept) to sort through some more Landing Craft drawings. I might pop in to Firepower and have a shufti.
     
  7. ceolredmonger

    ceolredmonger Member

    When John Simpson of the BBC first went into Kurdish Northern Iraq in 2003 there was an abandoned 25pdr deployed in the open. It was remarkable as being a pre-muzzle brake model.
     

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