The 25-pounder cannon (Royal Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or 25-pdr for short) is a British howitzer developed after World War I, which was introduced to the British Army in the late 1930s. It was intended to replace 84mm (18-pounder) cannons and 114mm howitzers. (4.5 inches), used on the fronts of World War I It is considered one of the best guns ever built - it remained in British service until the end of the 1950s, and its small amounts were used for training purposes until 1967. The Haubicoarmata QF-25 was one of the first in the British Army to use a semi-combined missile. This type of ammunition combines the advantages of composite ammunition (high rate of fire) and collapsible ammunition (the possibility of changing the mass of the propelling charge). Additionally, a special charge was developed to increase the maximum range of the gun to more than 12 km, which, however, necessitated the addition of a muzzle brake. The QF-25 fired a wide range of ammunition: from high-explosive, smoke, anti-tank shells to illuminating and incendiary shells. The QF-25 was used on all fronts of the Second World War, and each British infantry division had 3 artillery regiments equipped with 72 guns of this type. The Morris C8 artillery tractor was used very often for transport. Several gun variants were created, the most important of which are: Mark I, Mark II and Mark III AND Short, Mark I, built under license in Australia, designed specifically for activities in the jungle. Technical data: range: 12,250m, caliber: 87.2mm, combat weight: 1288kg, rate of fire: 4 shots / min.
In the British Army at the beginning of World II, virtually all artillery was part of the Royal Artillery and only relatively small units belonged to the Royal Horse Artillery, but their equipment and structure were very similar to those in the Royal Artillery. At the outbreak of World War II, British artillery was equipped with a very successful howitzer Ordnance QF 25-pounder, but in September 1939 it was relatively small and still based on the 18-pounder cannon that remembers the years of the First World War. It should be added, however, that the state of affairs was changing rapidly. In 1941, the 114 mm BL 4.5 inch Medium Gun was introduced into service, and in 1942 the very successful BL 5.5 inch Gun cal. 140 mm. The backbone of the heavy artillery, on the other hand, was a modified 183 mm BL 7.2-inch howitzer howitzer. It is worth adding that the British artillery was fully motorized from the beginning of World War II, which positively distinguished it from the German artillery, which was still largely based on horse traction. It is worth adding that from 1940, the basic unit of British field artillery was a battery consisting of 6 guns, and late 8 guns. Another advantage was the introduction of forward artillery observers (English abbreviation FOO), who could request artillery support not only from their own battery, but also from regimental or divisional artillery. This element, as well as many others (e.g. high mobility, good training, good communication, good equipment) meant that the British field artillery during World War II (especially in the period 1943-1945) was characterized by high flexibility of operation and was able to effectively support your own infantry or mechanized units.