In Southern Africa, 1889-1899.
"The 2,5-in RML had first seen service in Afghanistan in 1879 and, although still useful enough against irregulars who did not have artillery, it was obsolete by 1890. Nonetheless, its replacement, the 10 pr Breech-Loading Mountain Gun, was only adopted for service in 1901. The particulars of the 2,5-in RML are as follows:
• Barrel overall length: 70,45 in (1,789 m) mass of breech: 201 1b (Mk I); 200 lb 8 oz (Mk II) mass of chase: 199 1b(Mk I); 2041b (Mk II) calibre: 2,5 inches (63,S mm) • rifling grooves: 8 • Maximum range (with common and ring shells) 4 000 yards (3 656 m).
The jointed steel barrel, which had originally been proposed by Col le Mesurier, RA, was developed at Sir G W Armstrong and Mitchell's Elswick Ordnance Works in Newcastle. It consisted of a separate breech portion and a chase with the junction nut. The junction nut, which was fixed to the chase whilst revolving free on it, also served as a trunnion ring and was used to screw the chase onto the threads cut in the open end of the breech portion. The chase included a feather, which fitted into a slot on the breech portion to ensure that the rifling of both portions would be properly aligned. Arrows with the wording, 'TIGHTEN' and 'SLACKEN', were stamped in appropriate positions on the shoulders of the trunnions, both above and below them in the case of the Mk II gun. The junction nut was also engraved with the crown, garter and the Queen's 'VR' cipher. The junction nut had to be tightened and slackened by striking the left trunnion with a dismounting hammer, but only after a thick, circular steel trunnion block had been placed on it. For this operation, the whole barrel was up-ended, breech first, in a cylindrical dismounting block fitted on top of the carriage trail shoe, where it was held in position by an iron shifting bar which was passed through a hole in the cascable button and fitted into slots in the block…"
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