5.5" guns in North Africa

World War II British Military
#1

Do we know which were the first unit to receive 5.5" guns in North Africa?
And when?

#2

Some sites claim 1941, but more trustworthy sources say 1942. I know of one mention of May 1942.

#3

I would be suprised if it was much before October 1942. But let’s get some facts!

#4

There are several sources that claim May 1942. There’s one in a book by Jonathan B. A. Bailey.

Here’s the link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=4M_Q6vWMshgC&pg=RA1-PA303&lpg=RA1-PA303&dq="5.5+inch"+may+1942&source=bl&ots=5gxK4z-Dyu&sig=BxCzkC7KvQXPtIC7sWafzMOPMUc&hl=en&ei=oPvkSdK4K6nslQeuoZHgDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7

As for units. They would be Royal Artillery, Medium Regiments, that were in North Africa. If that helps narrow your research.

#5

Certainly the 4.5" guns had started to arrive by mid 1942.
I have even seen one claim for 5.5" guns in the 64th Medium Regiment at that time also, but it was unsubstantiated.

#6

The 4.5 inch guns were definately in North Africa in 1941. Here’s a photo:

http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/WH2Arti-fig-WH2Art022b.html

Here’s an excerpt from a now unclassified US Military Intelligence document regarding Artillery in the Desert, with a focus on British artillery. It’s dated Nov 1942

[i]pg. 34 ARTILLERY IN THE DESERT

d. 4.5-inch Gun and 5.5-inch Gun-Howitzer

(1) General.-The 60-pounder has been replaced by the
4.5-inch gun; the 6-inch howitzer is being replaced by the
5.5-inch gun-howitzer as the latter becomes available.[/i]

I would think the replacement process would be a long affair. In Nov 42 this process was clearly complete, as far as the 4.5 inch is concerned. And was ongoing for the 5.5 inch. According to US Intelligence. :smiley:

#7

I came across an article that quotes a Lt Col who served in North Africa. He says his regiment received 5.5 inch guns in February 1942. However, later he says the regiment wasn’t “in action until Feb 1943”

I remembered this thread, so thought I’d post the relevant portion.

The article was written by Capt Ernest Watkins of the RA.

](http://www.4shared.com/file/109291513/28bbf78f/55_inch_gun_3_and_4.html)
[/IMG]

If you have trouble reading it, or want the rest of the article, let me know and I’ll post it.

cheers,
Saxon

#8

Hi.

Thanks.

Can’t read it. So if you could find the time to re-post I would be grateful.:slight_smile:

#9

http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=GET_RECORD&XC=/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwmcollections.org.uk%2FqryMain.php&TN=Uncat&SN=AUTO20093&SE=3109&RN=0&MR=25&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=1&XP=&RF=allResults&EF=&DF=allDetails&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=1&ID=&MF=WPENGMSG.INI&MQ=&TI=0&DT=&ST=0&IR=165000&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&BG=0&FG=0&QS=

This is the first official photograph to be taken of the new 5.5-inch medium gun, which due to teething problems did not see action until May 1942, in the Western Desert.

#10

Click on the image and a new window should appear. The picture will still be too small to read. Click on the ‘Download Now’ button, then Open, or Save.

It should then be big enough to read. I just tried it, and can read most words.

I then went to ‘Image’, ‘Sharpen’ in my IrfanView image viewer, and was able to read every word. Should have done that - and saved - before I uploaded it. Try again, and if still no good, I’ll try to upload a better copy.

Amrit,

The May 1942 date is the one I’ve seen a few times.

cheers,
Saxon

#11

I found a few minutes, so here’s the whole article with the docs sharpened for easier reading. But you will still need to ‘download/open’ it to see the full size version.

](http://www.4shared.com/file/109463559/520267d2/55_inch_gun_1_sharp.html)
[/img]

](http://www.4shared.com/file/109463607/ca8b00c9/55_inch_gun_2_sharp.html)
[/IMG]

](http://www.4shared.com/file/109463661/75b2027a/55_inch_gun_3_and_4_sharp.html)[/IMG]

#12

Thanks.