Ulolwe Vol 1 Issue 2A

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THE ULOLWE SOUTH AFRICA – SUID-AFRIKA A monthly railway research / historical publication ‘n Maandelikse spoorweg historiese en navorsing publikasie “Everything to do with the former South African Railways; i.e.

Railways, Stations, Harbours, Airways, RMT, Lighthouses, Pipelines, SAR Police, Armoured Trains, Staff, Models and Diagrams of Locomotives, Rolling Stock, etc”

Hennie Heymans, Pretoria, South Africa heymanshb@gmail.com A

Special Edition: Vol 1 No 2A Published May 2011

Armoured Trains during the Anglo-Boer War – A special Report by MC Heunis from OVSAC.

Patron: Les Pivnic Armoured Trains – Anglo Boer War 1899 - 1902

OVS

ZAR

Great Britian

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Contents RAIL MOUNTED GUNS OF THE ANGLO-BOER WAR ................................................................................ 3 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Background History ............................................................................................................................. 3 The British Armoured Trains ............................................................................................................... 4 The Big Rail Guns................................................................................................................................. 6 .303-inch and .450-inch Maxim-Nordenfelt/Vickers-Maxim MG ....................................................... 7 1-inch Nordenfelt MG ....................................................................................................................... 10 37mm Maxim-Nordenfelt / Vickers Maxim AG (Automatic Gun) ..................................................... 12 3-pr Hotchkiss QF .............................................................................................................................. 14 3-pr Nordenfelt QF ............................................................................................................................ 18 6-pr Hotchkiss QF .............................................................................................................................. 20 12-pr 12 cwt QF (“Long 12”) ............................................................................................................. 23 4.7-inch Naval QF Mark I to IV .......................................................................................................... 26 6-inch BL and QF ............................................................................................................................... 28 9.2-inch BL Mk IV .............................................................................................................................. 32 The Boer 155mm Creusot BL Rail Gun .................................................................................................. 33 Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................... 36 Sources .............................................................................................................................................. 36 Photo Collections Consulted ............................................................................................................. 37

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ORANJE VRIJSTAAT ARTILLERIE CORPS H I S T O R I C A L

S T U D Y

A N D

R E - E N A C T M E N T

O . V. S. A . C. ST U D Y N O. 17

G R O U P

J U L - SEP 20 06

RAIL MOUNTED GUNS OF THE ANGLO-BOER WAR Introduction After we received a request for information on rail mounted guns from the SA Railway History Group, we decided to compile a dedicated study piece on the subject. The result, our biggest issue to date!

Background History At the turn of the 19th century trains were the fastest and most efficient mode of land transport available to man. In South Africa’s vast open spaces, the railway systems of the British colonies and the Boer republics were to become one of the most strategic elements of the Anglo-Boer War. With the aid of a railway map, one can today easily follow most military operations of the war.

During the first year of the war both sides relied heavily on the railways to transport their troops, guns, horses, supplies, ammunition and countless other items of war material. For this reason the initial British offensive closely followed the rail system and most of the early battles were fought in proximity to the track. After Robert’s columns had captured the towns and railway infrastructure of the Boer republics the burghers that were left in their wake realised that the thousands of miles of unguarded track was the main artery of the British war effort and a weak point in their opponent’s armour.

Because most of their supplies were imported and had to be brought up to the interior from the colonial ports, the British Army was completely dependent upon the railways. As these supplies had to be transported on mostly a single track over many miles, every break in the line meant that much needed material would not reach the troops

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in the veldt. Many Boer commandoes became expert train wreckers and rail breakers, sometimes destroying several miles of track at a time. After seeing the havoc it caused in their communication and supply lines the British command realised their mistake and more effort was put into the safeguarding of the railways.

The effect of a Boer train wrecker

The British Armoured Trains One of the measures taken by the British to protect their railways was the use of armoured trains. Even before the outbreak of the war the Cape Government Railways (CGR), the Natal Government Railways (NGR) as well as the Rhodesian Railways embarked on the construction of armoured trains. The CGR and the NGR each built five trains, while three more were assembled by the Rhodesians at Bulawayo. These early armoured trains usually consisted of two or more trucks with steel plated sides with loop-holes, which were marshalled before and after a locomotive, which were sometimes also protected with armour plating.

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Two early “death trap” armoured trains with infantry on board.

Initially strategists only saw the armoured train as a means of giving small sections of troops more mobility and not as a means of safeguarding the track. For this reason armoured trains were usually only deployed in a reconnaissance role or in support of other troops during offensive operations. The disasters at Kraaipan and Frere however quickly identified their vulnerability to artillery and showed that they could not be sent out without a cavalry screen.

British troops soon came to refer to them as death traps and the presence of prominent war correspondent Winston Churchill at the Frere incident ensured a great deal of negative publicity which quickly turned to resentment against the armoured train.

It was only later in the war that the principle role of the armoured train shifted to the defensive role. By then almost twenty armoured trains were in use, some assembled from captured equipment formerly belonging to the Transvaal’s Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoormaatschappij (ZASM) and the Oranje Vrijstaat Spoorwegen (OVSS). In its new role the armoured train played an important part and was mainly used to patrol vulnerable parts of the lines and to stand guard over work parties performing maintenance tasks or repairs after Boer attacks.

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As the role of armoured trains developed, so did their armament.

Initially armoured trains only carried machine guns and in some cases light mountain or naval artillery, but experience showed that heavier guns with longer ranges were required to be effective.

Typically at the outbreak of the war only 3 or 6-pr guns were used, whereas later in the war 12-prs were also employed. Since armoured trains were usually constructed from existing equipment the guns mounted on them were not originally designed for armoured train use.

The guns were usually obtained from military depots, coastal defence batteries and even from ships of the Royal Navy’s Cape Squadron.

The Big Rail Guns Shortly after the outbreak of the Boer War British forces in the field realised they were fighting an enemy with better and heavier guns than their own. As it would be several weeks before the heavy field and siege ordnance of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) would arrive from England, the British had to take drastic measures to get more and heavier guns to the front. This precarious position, combined with the threat that the Boer forts around Pretoria and in Johannesburg posed, gave rise to the appearance of some of the heaviest rail guns ever seen in those days.

The most accessible source of guns, in particular heavy guns, was the Royal Navy (RN) who came in the form of Capt. Percy Scott of the HMS Terrible. The Terrible and her sister vessels carried a selection of naval guns which were quickly removed and mounted on field and rail carriages. Initially Scott provided long 12-pr guns from HMS Powerful, mounted on wheeled field carriages, as well as two 4.7-inch guns, taken from stores, mounted on beamed platforms for the defence of Ladysmith. After this Scott employed the men and equipment of HMS Terrible and other ships at Durban to defend the approaches to the town; his naval force consisting of 450 men with 30 guns and an armoured train. The guns consisted of two “4,7s”, sixteen “Long 12s”, two 12-pr 8 cwt naval landing guns, one 9-pr, two 3-prs, two Nordenfelt guns and four Maxims. Most of these guns would have been mounted on wheeled field carriages, but it is suspected that some of the smaller 3-pr and Nordenfelt guns were fitted to the armoured train.

The first large gun to be mounted on a rail wagon appeared in January 1900 when a “4.7” on a railway truck was requested by the Natal Field Force. Scott supplied the required gun and mounting.

Three more mountings of this description were made later and these saw service against the Boer positions at Pieter’s Hill. Similarly two 6-inch guns were put on railway trucks by Capt. Paul and Mr. Beattie of the CGR, at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Simonstown.

Lastly, but certainly not the least, a 9.2-inch gun of the Cape Garrison Artillery (CGA), removed from the Cape’s fixed coastal

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defences, received the same treatment to become the largest gun of the Boer War. Although a heavy gun mounted on a rail truck and used from a normal straight track has a very limited field of fire, the heavy rail guns did prove useful to the British forces in the field during the early part of the war. This applied in particular to Buller’s forces in Natal where the Boers were holding relatively fixed positions. Later in the war, when more mobility was required, the large rail guns were only of use in cases where they could be moved rapidly to hot spots to assist field forces.

After being landed the naval guns were all manned by their “Jack Tar” naval crews. After the relief of Ladysmith these sailors were slowly returned to their ships. Many of the guns however stayed in service on land and were handed over to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), some remaining in service until the end of the war. As the naval guns were generally not new pieces when they were taken ashore (most had fired 200-300 rounds out of an average life of 700) the guns often lost most of their rifling during the first few months on land. As they became worn, they were usually replaced and for this reason very few RGA companies fought the entire war with the guns they had received from the Navy.

The following naval, coastal defence and army guns are known to have been mounted on rail carriages:

• • • • • • • • • •

.303-inch and .450-inch Maxim-Nordenfelt/Vickers-Maxim MG 1-inch Nordenfelt MG 37mm Maxim-Nordenfelt/Vickers-Maxim AG (Pom-pom) 3-pr Hotchkiss QF 3-pr Nordenfelt QF 6-pr Hotchkiss QF 12-pr 12 cwt QF 4.7-inch QF 6-inch BL and QF 9.2-inch BL

Following, each of the above types are discussed in more detail:

.303-inch and .450-inch Maxim-Nordenfelt/Vickers-Maxim

MG

The Maxim, the world’s first true machine gun (MG), was named after its American born inventor, Hiram Maxim. In 1884 Maxim moved his operations to Britain and by 1888 had merged with the Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited (NG&ACL) to form the Maxim

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Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited (MNG&ACL). Between 1887 and 1889 Maxim re-designed the breech lock and crank mechanism of his machine gun to fire newer progressive-burning powders and light bullets. In 1896 Vickers and sons bought MNG&ACL and in October 1897 the name was officially changed to Vickers, Sons & Maxim Limited (VSM).

A Maxim on a pedestal aboard a British naval vessel (left) and mounted to an armoured train (right).

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Although Britain bought Maxim’s first three water cooled “perfect guns” for testing purposes in 1887, the Crown only officially adopted the Maxim in 1891. After it was approved it saw service in the Navy and Army and was to become one of the most feared weapons ever invented.

One Boer War photograph shows Maxim’s “Extra Light” air cooled gun also being used on board an armoured train. It is unknown whether this gun was originally ordered by a British unit or if it was a captured Boer gun1.

The Maxim gun consisted of Maxim’s patented recoil operated mechanism firing through a water-cooled barrel; the mechanism being fed by a flexible belt filled with cartridges. The gun used the recoil, generated by the previous round, to actuate its mechanism, which loaded, fired and ejected the next round as long as the trigger was held back. Early Maxim guns weighed around 40 lb and had a theoretical rate of fire of 450 rounds per minute.

Ammunition for the first Maxim guns consisted of the .45 GatlingGardner round. It was also converted to fire other 10/11mm ammunition, the best known of these the 577/450 Martini-Henry round.

The round itself differed from standard rifle ammunition in having a cupro-nickel bullet, while the cartridge case was solid drawn with a special strengthened head. Known as the .450 Maxim, it had the word “MAXIM” stamped on its head to distinguish it from normal rifle ammunition. After the world-wide adoption of small calibre smokeless ammunition, Maxim guns were redesigned to fire .303-inch black powder and smokeless Cordite cartridges, all adopted by Britain between 1890 and 1893.

The Maxim saw service mounted on a large variety of wheeled cavalry and infantry carriages, tripods as well as fixed pedestal type naval and garrison mountings. A large number of guns were equipped with a shield to protect the operator. Guns mounted on armoured trains usually had naval or garrison type cone or pedestal mountings and possibly even wheeled carriages and tripods.

The Boer War saw the first wide spread use of Maxim guns by both sides. However, due to limited tactical knowledge of the weapon it did not come to its full right during this conflict and it was only during the Russo-Japanese and First World Wars that its full destructive power became evident. The use of black powder made the older Martini-Henry chambered guns unpopular in the veldt, but on board an armoured train this would not have been much of a drawback.

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See OVSAC Study No. 6 for further information on Boer Maxim guns.

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1-inch Nordenfelt MG In 1877 the Swedish engineer Thorsten Nordenfelt acquired the patent rights to a multi-barrelled, hand-cranked machine gun designed by a fellow countryman, Helge Palmcrantz. Under Nordenfelt’s name this gun was produced and marketed with great success from his Carlsvik plant near Stockholm. In 1886 Nordenfelt relocated to Britain where the Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited (NG&ACL) was formed. Exploiting his patents in Britain, the company prospered. In 1888 NG&ACL was officially merged with the Maxim Gun Company Limited to form Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited (MNG&ACL). Competing against Maxim’s automatic recoil operated machine gun; Nordenfelt’s hand cranked machine gun was soon rendered obsolete. Nordenfelt however refused to admit that the heyday of manual operated machine guns was over and in 1890 he resigned from MNG&ACL and sold his shares back to the company. Later Nordenfelt pursued another recoil-operated machine gun design, which resulted in MNG&ACL conducting a Restraint on Trade court case against him.

The court ruled in favour of MNG&ACL and the name Nordenfelt subsequently faded from the arms industry.

A two-barrelled 1-inch Nordenfelt mounted on a cone. Note the ammunition hopper on top of the gun.

The Nordenfelt gun’s principle role was to act as an anti-torpedo boat weapon and for this purpose it was mostly employed aboard naval vessels and by coastal defence installations. In Britain various models with two, four and five barrels, firing 1-inch and .450-inch projectiles were adopted in this role.

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The gun consisted of two or more barrels arranged horizontally.

Nordenfelt’s patented hand-cranked mechanism loaded, fired and ejected the rounds as long as the crank was actuated, causing the breech mechanism to go backwards and forwards. It could fire single rounds or volleys.

For its anti-torpedo boat role the gun fired an armour piercing round. This consisted of sharp pointed steel bullet surrounded by a brass envelope. The round was fixed to a brass cartridge case filled with black powder. Ammunition was fed into the gun by means of gravity from a top-loading hopper.

The guns were usually mounted to fixed conical mountings that gave all round fire for use on board ships and at fixed coastal defences.

Some guns appeared mounted on small wheeled carriages and were used as naval landing guns.

Mafeking’s 1-inch Nordenfelt machine gun in the extreme outpost trench. Note the tangent sights.

The best known use of Nordenfelt guns in the Boer War was during the Siege of Mafeking when the town’s garrison made use of a 2-barrelled 1-inch calibre gun. This gun was mounted on a naval cone and most probably originated from one of the armoured trains used in the town during the siege. A similar gun, or as a Boer source called it “a twin-barrelled maxim”, was captured by the Boers from Mafeking’s second armoured train when it came to grief at Kraaipan on 12 October 1899. It is not known whether the Boers also captured ammunition for it or if they ever used it. Official British lists on

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captured guns make no mention of its loss and it is not sure if it was ever re-captured. Mounted on an improvised wheeled carriage and moved close under the cover of darkness, the 1-inch Nordenfelt gun that remained in Mafeking was able to engage the mighty Long Tom in January and March 1900. A second source of Nordenfelt guns was Capt.

Scott’s naval force. In November 1899 his force had two “Nordenfelts” at Durban, but no further detail on their calibre and use are known.

The Nordenfelt was truly obsolete by the outbreak of the Boer War, but as a stop gap measure they did come in handy as armament on board armoured trains and in the defence of Mafeking.

37mm Maxim-Nordenfelt / Vickers Maxim AG (Automatic Gun) The “Pom-pom” was simply a large copy of the Maxim machine gun firing a larger calibre projectile at a reduced rate of about 300 rounds per minute.

In 1885, after the Royal Navy requested a quick firing (QF) gun to protect their warships from torpedo boats, Maxim up-scaled his rifle calibre gun to fire an existing 1-pr cartridge. The Pom-pom operated similar to the rifle calibre gun and also had a water jacket surrounding the barrel and a pistol grip style trigger. To enable the operator to elevate and traverse the heavier gun it was equipped with a shoulder-piece or yoke attached to the back of the gun housing.

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A Pom-pom aboard an American naval vessel (left) and mounted on an early pattern armoured rail truck (right). The truck was simply a 4-wheel goods wagon with additional side plating and a sun awning.

Ironically the British Army, against the advice of MNG&ACL’s military advisor, at first ignored the Pom-pom. Although it was originally designed as an anti-torpedo boat gun for static mounts on ships and at naval installations, the Boers imported 22 guns mounted on wheeled field carriages. Most Boer guns were also fitted with a shield, which proved extremely helpful against infantry and machine gun fire. After the Pom-pom’s effectiveness was appreciated, the British Army reversed their previous rejection of the weapon and fifty were ordered (some sources mention 57), of which 49 were shipped to South Africa. It could not be confirmed, but it is suspected that all the guns used in the Boer War were ordered mounted on wheeled carriages, while naval guns were generally mounted on fixed cone mountings.

The most common ammunition used on land were black powder filled cast iron shells fitted with nose percussion fuzes and fixed in brass cartridge cases. Looped cloth belts each containing 25 or 50 rounds were used to feed the gun. The original steel armour piercing rounds, developed for the gun’s intended naval use, were also used on land and were probably used by the Boers against armoured trains.

Pres. Kruger once said to Gen. Van Rensburg that he should have more faith in the Lord, and the big Maxim that can “…shoot an armoured train to pieces.” To propel its shells, smokeless powder was used which made the gun almost invisible to its enemies. The smoke from the bursting black powder projectiles on the other hand enabled gunners to determine range and guide their shots.

The fate of some of the captured Boer Pom-poms remains a mystery to this day. One possible clue is the revised numbering of a surviving

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British Pom-pom in the UK. Originally, this gun was No.2363, delivered in March 1900, but after the war it was re-numbered to No.55 and marked 1903. Could it be that captured Boer guns that were still serviceable were incorporated into the British Army and were re-numbered? If so, it is possible that captured Boer guns might have seen action mounted on British armoured trains.

3-pr Hotchkiss QF Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss was an American born inventor who became a skilled designer in the family’s engineering business with a passion for weapons. After failing to interest the US Government in his designs he moved to France where he set up the Hotchkiss Company in 1867. His first factory was located close to Paris where he began producing weapons and explosives for the French Government. By the late 1870s to 1880s his light quick firing (QF) guns were approved for naval service in a number of countries, including Britain and the US.

A 3-pr Hotchkiss QF on a recoil controlled embrasure mount.

Note the yoke and pistol grip trigger.

The 3-pr Hotchkiss was one of the first QF guns introduced into the Naval Service and was adopted in 1885 as auxiliary armament on board Royal Navy vessels for defence against torpedo boat attacks. The British Army in turn adopted it for Land Service to form part of the armament of forts and coastal defence positions.

Although some surviving guns are marked as “3-pr BL� (breech loader) these were true QF ordnance. The term quick fire is applied to guns,

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which are loaded at the breech, but which “constitute a different class because they use a brass cartridge case to carry the charge” and to create a gas tight seal. BL on the other hand came to describe guns where the charge was loaded in separate cloth bags and where obturation (gas seal) was achieved by means of a breech mechanism.

This 47mm calibre gun was made entirely of steel and consisted of a tube, around which was shrunk a jacket prolonged at the breech to receive the breech mechanism. The length of the bore was 40 calibres (40x47mm=1880mm). Closure was by means of a vertical sliding wedge breech block, operated by a crank handle. Obturation was achieved by the brass cartridges which expanded into the chamber when fired, thus making a gas tight seal. The shell was fired by means of a hammer firing pin built into the hollow breech block; the hammer being cocked on closing the breech and released by means of a trigger mechanism. For Naval Service guns this mechanism consisted of a finger trigger in a brass pistol type guard. On opening the breech the used cartridge case was automatically extracted and thrown clear to the rear. On Naval Service guns elevation and training were achieved by means of a shoulder-piece attached to the left side of the breech or the cradle of the carriage, while Land Service guns were fitted with an elevating screw and socket.

The gun fired a projectile of 3¼ lb that could penetrate the vitals of a torpedo boat, which were in those days already protected by coalbunkers. Ammunition loading was by hand, being made easy by the rigid case. The cases were either turned or solid drawn. The principle of fixed ammunition (where the cartridge case and projectile were fixed together), combined with the rapid action breech mechanism, enabled a trained crew of three men to maintain a rate of 20 to 30 rounds per minute. The propellant was originally gunpowder, but this was soon replaced by smokeless cordite. For their naval role the guns were sighted with a ‘speed’ tangent sight on the right hand side of the breech and a speed fore-sight which fitted into a socket on the gun. The vertical bar of the speed tangent sight was graduated up to 3,400 yards, while the crosshead was marked with a ‘knots per hour’ and a ‘degrees deflection’ scale.

On land normal tangent and conical fore-sights would have been used, if available. Although only sighted to 3,400 yards, the gun had a maximum range of approximately 4,000 yards, but its engagement range against torpedo boats was more in the order of 1,000 yards.

Early examples had no recoil control and were mounted on pedestal mountings and later on elastic mountings. Improvements in hydraulics then led to pistons being used to control recoil. On these models the barrel had a piston on either side of the barrel and moved in a cylindrical sleeve. The two stationary mountings in use with British forces were officially denoted as:

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Ordnance QF 3-pr Hotchkiss gun – 5 cwt 1885, Mark I (NS) on carriage, garrison, QF recoil, 3-pr Mark I Ordnance QF 3-pr Hotchkiss gun - 5 cwt, Mark I* (NS) on naval mounting

Muzzle end (top) and breech end (back) of a 3-pr Hotchkiss QF mounted on a recoil control cone mounting, preserved in the collection of Fort Nelson in Hampshire. Note the pistons and cradle.

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A Hotchkiss pricelist of ‘Rapid firing guns’ stationary carriages of the 3-pr or “47 mm high follows: • •

described the power” gun as

Pivot carriage with elastic stand and shield.

Recoil carriage with automatic return action, with shield and accessories.

A number of guns, denoted as Mark II (LS), were fitted to travelling carriages for use by coastal artillery as movable armament for landwards defence.

Although torpedo boat development had made the 3-pr Hotchkiss QF semi-obsolete by the time of the Boer War, a number of Royal Navy ships serving in South African waters were still equipped with these guns. On 8 November 1899 Capt. Scott marched out of Durban with two 3-prs, but only one of these was a naval gun. By 10 April 1901 the naval 3-pr had fired 1,120 rounds. Later, as the Naval Brigades were withdrawn and their places filled by men of the RGA, two 3-pr Hotchkiss QF guns were taken over by the Army.

A

3-pr Hotchkiss QF with recoil cylinders mounted on an early pattern armoured train truck (as described under the Pom-pom section). Note the shield and the shoulder yoke attached to the cradle.

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A second source of 3-pr QF guns in South Africa was the Natal and the Cape colonies. By June 1899 there were seven 3-pr Hotchkiss QF guns in the colonies, but a number of these were on wheeled carriages as used by the Natal Naval Volunteer Hotchkiss Detachment (Walker's Maritzburg Battery). A further seven “3-pr QF” guns were taken from the Cape’s fixed defences, but it is not certain whether these were Hotchkiss or Nordenfelt-made guns or what type of carriages they were mounted on. Seeing that they originated from the Cape’s fixed defences, they probably were mounted on rigid, elastic and recoil controlled cone or embrasure mountings.

A Royal Navy’s 3-pr Hotchkiss QF gun with its naval crew.

This gun is also equipped with a shield and recoil cylinders.

The 3-pr QF still saw action until well after World War I after which the remaining guns went into armament stores or were used as saluting guns or field guns for landing parties. When World War II broke out a good number were installed as main armament on small ships for coastal forces. These included torpedo and gun boats as well as harbour defence motor launches. Today a number of guns of this design are still being used for ceremonial and training purposes.

3-pr Nordenfelt QF Hotchkiss’ main rival in the manufacture of light QF guns for the British Government was the Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited. After NG&ACL’s amalgamation the guns were supplied by MNG&ACL (1888-1896) and thereafter by VSM (1897 onwards). Although differing quite a bit in detail, the Hotchkiss and Nordenfelt guns appeared similar. Since Hotchkiss and Nordenfelt guns had performed equally well during trials, both were accepted into Naval and Land Service. Some sources say the Navy preferred the Hotchkiss, while the Army preferred the Nordenfelt.

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A 3-pr Nordenfelt QF on an elastic cone mounting fitted to an armoured 4-wheeled goods wagon truck.

The 3-pr version of Nordenfelt’s QF guns was introduced for Land Service in 1889 as a coastal defence gun and as moveable armament for forts. According to one source a number of guns also saw service aboard naval vessels. Officially the gun and it mounting was denoted as:

Ordnance QF 3-pr Nordenfelt - 4 cwt 1889 - Mark I (LS) on carriage, garrison, QF recoil, 3-pr Mark I In construction the 3-pr Nordenfelt gun was similar to the 3-pr Hotchkiss and had the same calibre of 47mm. Visually it differed in having a longer bore, 45.4 calibres long, while its sighting brackets and slots were carried on the left hand side of the gun.

The breech mechanism, although similar in operation, differed somewhat in construction and function. To fire the gun a lanyard was used which connected to a trigger in a trigger bracket. Elevation was by means of an elevating mechanism which attached to the trigger bracket, no shoulder yokes being used. •

Ammunition was the same fixed brass cartridge rounds as used by the Hotchkiss gun. The sighting arrangement of the gun consisted of a steel tangent sight fitted with a removable range strip graduated in yards and a crosshead furnished with a screw deflection leaf with two degrees of deflection to either side. To further compensate for

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deflection, the socket for the tangent site on the breech of the gun was set at an angle of two degrees. The fore-sight consisted of a steel acorn point and a steel pillar which fitted into a socket on the left hand side of the gun.

Her Majesty’s Armoured Train No.21 during the Boer War. Was this a Hotchkiss or a Nordenfelt gun?

The long barrel points to a Nordenfelt. Note the blockhouse style corrugated iron armour plating!

As mentioned under the previous section on 3-pr Hotchkiss guns, seven “3-pr QF” guns were removed from the Cape’s fixed defences, but it could not be confirmed how many of these were Nordenfelt and how many were Hotchkiss guns. However, photographic evidence indicates that some 3-pr Nordenfelt QF guns were used during the war, probably originating from the Cape’s fixed coastal defences.

6-pr Hotchkiss QF The 6-pr Hotchkiss QF gun came into service shortly before the 3-pr Hotchkiss QF. Like its smaller compatriot the 6-pr was used by both the Navy and Army.

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A 6-pr Hotchkiss QF on a recoil controlled cone mount. Note the piston and spring arrangement.

The 6-pr gun was simply a larger (57mm calibre) version of the 3-pr and had the same quick action breech mechanism which fired a 6 lb projectile with the charge contained in a brass cartridge case fixed to the shell. Like the 3-pr, the gun was made entirely of steel and consisted of a tube, around which a prolonged jacket was shrunk. The jacket was secured to the tube by a locking ring screwed to the front of the jacket, while the prolonged rear section of the tube carried the breech mechanism. The calibre of the bore was 57mm, with a length of 40 calibres. The breech wedge and sights were of the same design as that of the lighter 3-pr, some parts being interchangeable between the two calibres. A Mark I* with a different re-cocking lever existed, but in 1890 all guns were altered to this standard and subsequently all guns were re-designated as Mark I. The Mark II was an Army gun which could also be converted to fit naval mountings. Officially they were denoted as:

• •

Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6-pr gun - 8 cwt 1885 - Mark I (NS) on carriage, garrison, 6-pr Hotchkiss, non-recoil Mark I Mark II (LS) on carriage, garrison QF recoil, cone Mark I & II or Recoil, saddle Mark I & II

The Royal Navy supplied one gun of this design during the Boer War. By 10 April 1901 it had fired 1,100 shells. No further detail is known, but it was probably fitted to an armoured train. It was taken over by the Army when naval personnel were withdrawn from the field.

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During World War I 6-prs were still in use on light cruisers. After 1919 many were used as saluting guns until the outbreak of World War II when they were again hurriedly installed on small ships and at coastal defence positions.

Was this the Royal Navy’s single 6-pr QF gun?

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Although the quality of this photo is not very good, the recoil cylinders and bore of a gun can be identified protruding from the armoured truck in the centre of the photo.

Was this the Navy’s 6-pr?

Also note the wheeled and tripod mounted Maxim guns which belonged to this armoured train.

In the Ottawa War Museum in Canada a Hotchkiss QF gun, which is said to originate from the Boer War, can be seen mounted on a Krupp style field carriage. The origin of this gun and its history could however not be confirmed.

12-pr 12 cwt QF (“Long 12”) As torpedo boats evolved and their striking ranges increased, defence guns also had to be improved. For this reason a 12-pr gun, manufactured by Sir WG Armstrong’s Elswick Ordnance Company (EOC), was introduced in 1894. It was used by the Royal Navy as an anti-torpedo boat gun and was also adopted by the Army as a coastal defence gun.

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The 12-pr 12 cwt QF Mark I gun on a garrison Mark I mounting without a shield, Tilbury Fort, Essex.

This 3-inch (76.2mm) calibre, 40 calibres long gun was of a built-up construction consisting of steel tubes and a jacket with Elswick section polygroove rifling. Closure was achieved by means of a single motion screw breech mechanism that fitted into the jacket, but without extractors. Obturation was achieved by the use of a brass cartridge case which expanded into the chamber when fired. To extract the spent cartridge a member of the detachment was provided with a hook-like implement with which the case was jerked from the chamber. This worked reasonably well as extractors were only fitted near the outbreak of World War II. Firing was by means of a firing pin mounted axially through the breech.

Ammunition consisted of common, shrapnel and case shell weighing between 12 an 14 lb. Its common shell had a range of 9,000 yards, while the time fuzed shrapnel shell could be fired 4,500 yards.

Although a cartridge case was used, the projectile and case were not fixed and were loaded separately; the cartridge case filled with 2 lb of cordite propellant.

The 12-pr 12 cwt was mounted on a recoil control pillar mounting with an oil and spring (hydro-spring) buffer with a 12-inch recoil length. The majority of naval guns had shoulder yokes to assist in elevation and training of the gun. The official nomenclature for this gun and mounting was: •

Ordnance Quick Firing 12-pr QF 12 cwt. Calibre 3-inch. Common to both services 1894 on pedestal mounting QF Mark I, II & III for coastal defence.

Up to 10 April 1901 the Royal Navy had landed 30 guns of this type, by which time they had fired 23,594 shells. Between June 1899 and June 1902 a further 18 guns were dispatched to South Africa and these fired 6,143 rounds. When the Navy crews were withdrawn form the field, 33 guns were handed over to the Army. A large number of these were converted for field gun use by mounting them on improvised wheeled carriages, but the rest were mounted on armoured train wagons to act as gun trucks. With a longer barrel (and range) than the Army’s 12-pr 6 cwt field guns, they were soon referred to as the “Long 12s”.

The 12-pr still saw service in the naval and anti-aircraft role during World War I, while some were resurrected during World War II for use on merchant ships.

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T he “Old Pattern” 12-pr gun truck. This standard bogie wagon carried two shielded 12-pr 12 cwt guns casemate style in opposite corners of the truck. Other variants also had a shrapnelproof roof.

The “New Pattern” 12-pr gun truck. Between 11 and 13 Boer War armoured trains were provided with gun trucks of this pattern. Mounted in this turret arrangement on a bogie wagon, the 12-pr 12 cwt

26

gun had a horseshoe shaped shield and all-round traverse. It also had two blast-proof magazines, each holding 100 rounds of ammunition, at either end of the truck as well as a quick collapsing sun awning.

4.7-inch Naval QF Mark I to IV The first 4.7-inch QF gun was a 40-pr “Pattern M" gun invented by Armstrong’s Elswick Ordnance Company (EOC) in 1886. It was submitted to the Admiralty and after going through exhaustive trial, resulted in the development of a 45-pr version with the same calibre. The 45pr version was adopted in 1888 as main armament for small vessels and merchant cruisers and as secondary armament on board larger Royal Navy vessels. Later the Army also used the 4.7-inch for coastal defence batteries and also as field armament.

A 4.7-inch QF gun mounted on a central pivot pedestal carriage in a coastal defence enclosure.

Various Marks followed, but all of these were similar and of a built up construction. The Mark I was an Elswick Pattern "P", Mark II was Pattern "Q" and Mark III was Pattern "T". The Mark I was constructed of an A tube, a jacket, five B hoops, a screwed securing ring and a breech ring. The interrupted screw breech block had a conical fore part and was taken up by the jacket. The Mark II differed principally in having three B hoops and a short C hoop screwed onto the jacket. The Mark III differed by having a B hoop, two B tubes and a shorter C hoop. The Mark IV was partially wire wound with a B tube, jacket, a very short C hoop and a breech ring. The breech block was taken by a breech bush screwed into the A tube.

All Marks originally used a three-motion screw breech. Weapons designated with the letter "A" indicated a modification to the three-motion breech mechanism while the letter "B" indicated a conversion to a single motion breech mechanism. British naval guns that had the breech ring altered to suit Army field mountings were given a single star in the designation. In all 154 Mark I, 91 Mark II, 338 Mark III and 584 Mark IV were manufactured. Several transfers of guns took place between the two Naval and Land

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services. A grand total of 776 guns were built specifically for the Navy, while an additional 110 were transferred to the Navy from the Army.

Ammunition consisted of common and shrapnel shells weighing around 45 lb each. The common shell was filled with Lyddite. Fitted with a percussion fuze shells had a range of 9,800 yards, while the time fuze had a range of 6,500 yards. As with the 12-pr 12 cwt a cartridge case was used to achieve obturation, but the projectile and case were not fixed. Firing was by means of electric fuse.

The guns were mounted on central pivot pedestal mountings with cradle and hydro-spring recoil assistance. The mounting was a combined pivot and clip racer, called a pivot plate. Some were mounted on land protected with a 3-inch plate and a bullet proof hood. The Mark III guns had a special carriage for high parapets.

Many attempts were also made to fit 4.7-inch guns on field carriages for use by the Army’s Siege Train. The gun was usually referred to as: •

Ordnance Quick Firing 4.7-inch Mark I to III 41 cwt (Mark IV 42 cwt) on central pivot pedestal mounting Mark I, I*, II, III and IV with cradle and hydro-spring recoil.

On l6 January 1900, while Gen. Buller’s forces were engaged at Spion Kop, Gen. Barton requested a naval “4.7”, mounted on a railway truck to shell a Boer position. The Natal Government Railways provided a truck and Capt. Scott had it strengthened with timber before mounting a gun on a beam platform similar to those provided for the Ladysmith guns. The platforms of the Ladysmith guns consisted of timber beams, 3.7 meters in length, in the shape of a cross to give it equal stability all round. On the rail mounted version the cross members were cut shorter for movement through railway tunnels and was secured to the truck by chains. Lady Randolph Churchill fired the first round from this gun and it was subsequently named after her.

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“Lady Randolph Churchill”, the first of four rail mounted 4.7inch QF gun used at Pieter’s Hill.

Because of the amount of energy absorbed by the gun’s hydraulic cylinders, very little recoil energy was transmitted to the truck.

Consequently the gun was stable enough to be fired at right angles to the railway line. Extra stability had to be given to the gun if it was used off the railway truck. This was done by supplying a movable beam which could be bolted on the mounting. Gen. Buller preferred the rail mounted gun to the wheeled version as the gun’s recoil system absorbed the firing stresses, and being rigidly mounted, the gun mounting did not move on firing, which allowed a rapid rate of fire. The wheeled gun was also more cumbersome to displace, on occasion as many as 32 oxen being required.

By 10 April 1901 21 guns of this design had been landed by the Navy and had fired 11,299 shells. Two more guns were taken from Cape defences, while a further 24 were sent to South Africa between June 1899 and June 1902. Of these numbers only four 4.7-inch guns are said to have been mounted on rail trucks, the majority doing service on wheeled carriages as improvised field guns. With the arrival of the Army Corps, 19 guns were handed over to the Army while some were apparently returned to the Navy to see action in China.

In 1900 a heavier 4.7-inch model “B” was introduced to replace the guns extemporised by the Navy during the Boer War. The Army also introduced a new coastal defence gun, the Mark V, during the same time. During the early part of World War I ten guns were removed from minelayers and were adapted for anti-aircraft fire to be used during the London defences. Numerous guns of this calibre were also manufactured for export by Elswick and Vickers and these armed the ships of nations like Italy, Spain, Japan and the US; a few Italians guns still being employed on capital ships as late as World War II to fire star-shells.

6-inch BL and QF

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The 6-inch QF was the largest QF gun in British service. It started of as an Elswick 100-pr gun in 1890. After trials it was adopted by the Royal Navy as the Mark I and was the first gun in British service to make use of Armstrong’s wire wound construction. The Mark II, manufactured at the Royal Gun Factory (RGF), followed in 1891 and the Mark III, another EOC gun, soon thereafter. Mark I & II guns saw service on Cape Fleet vessels like the HMS Doris, Terrible, Powerful and Forte.

An Elswick 6-inch QF gun on an armoured pedestal mounting.

In 1895 another class of QF gun, the QF Converted (QFC) was introduced. These guns were converted from existing 6-inch Mark III, IV and VI BL guns which had been in service since the 1880s and consisted of the following: •

•

•

•

•

6-inch QFC Mark III/IV and III/VI. EOC guns converted from 6inch BL Mark IV and VI guns. Used to replace 6-inch BL Mark III, IV and VI guns.

6-inch QFC Mark II/IV and II/VI. RGF guns converted from 6inch BL Mark IV and VI guns. Used to replace 6-inch BL Mark III, IV, and VI guns.

6-inch QFC Mark I/IV and I/VI. EOC guns converted from 6-inch BL Mark IV and VI guns. Used to replace 6-inch BL Mark III, IV, and VI guns.

6-inch QFC Mark III/III. EOC guns converted from 6-inch BL Mark III guns. Used to replace 6-inch BL Mark III, IV and VI guns.

6-inch QFC Mark II/III. RGF guns converted from 6-inch BL Mark III guns. Used to replace 6-inch BL Mark III, IV and VI Guns.

As mentioned before the 6-inch QF was of a wire wound built-up construction, while the older 6-inch BL guns were still of a normal built-up construction consisting of hoops and a jacket shrunk onto an A tube. Closure was affected by means of a single motion parallel screw breech.

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The gun’s ammunition consisted of common and shrapnel shell weighing approximately 100 lb. Fitted with percussion fuze, shells had a range of 12,000 yards, while the time fuze allowed a maximum range of 6,500 yards. The QF gun used a cartridge case, but the projectile and case were not fixed and were loaded separately. The BL guns employed a separate cartridge bag. In both cases cordite propellant was used.

The 6-inch guns were mounted on a central pivot pedestal type mounting, similar to that found on the 4.7-inch gun, but with twin recoil cylinders mounted underneath the barrel.

In February 1900 Gen. Buller requested a naval gun with a greater range than the 4.7-inch for his final attack on Pieter’s Hill. Capt.

Scott removed a 6-inch QF (Mark I or II) from the HMS Terrible and mounted it on an improvised wheeled field carriage. This gun proved to be too heavy for its field carriage and was subsequently remounted on a rail truck. By 10 April 1901 it had fired approximately 200 shells. No further detail is known.

Similarly two 6-inch guns were put on rail mountings by Capt. Paul and Mr. Beattie, Locomotive Superintendent of the Cape Government Railways at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Simonstown. The guns were installed on their pedestal mountings and fixed to strengthened bogie wagons. In this arrangement they could however only be fired fore-and-aft at an angle of no more than 16-20 degrees from the railway line. Improved traverse could be obtained by the use of specially laid curved sidings. In this form the two guns fired at the Boer positions at Magersfontein, while one gun also saw action at Fourteen Streams before Mafeking was relieved. Some sources state that they were also in action in the Transvaal during April and May 1900 and that four guns were at the invasion of Pretoria.

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The first two 6-inch guns on rail mountings photographed at Kimberley after the siege was lifted.

Later one 6-inch gun mounting was converted to be fired broadside to the line. The modification consisted of two pivoted girders at each side which could be swung out to act as stabilisers to allow the gun a 360 degree field of fire. The engineers in charge claimed that the gun could be brought into action within five minutes. Attached to No.2 armoured train, it was used on several occasions in the Orange Free State up to the end of the war; either with the armoured train or as a surprise addition to strengthen strategic points likely to come under Boer attack. In the latter case the conspicuous gun was brought up into position under cover of darkness and left there.

A total of four 6-inch guns were taken from the Cape Coastal Armaments and these fired 317 rounds during the war. Originally 6inch BL Mark IV, VI, VII or VIII guns were used for coastal defence, but some of these were replaced with QFC ordnance. The 6-inch BL Mark IV and VI, introduced in 1889, for instance, were replaced with a QFC gun. The heavier Vickers-made 6-inch BL Mark VII and VIII, introduced in 1898, however stayed in service as a BL gun, making it difficult to determine exactly which type of gun was used in South Africa. Some sources described the Cape guns as QF ordnance, while other refer to them as BL. If they were QF guns these probably would have been QFC pieces.

On its rail mounting the 6-inch gun could be fired at ranges up to 12000 yards, but larger angles of elevation could be achieved by using firing sidings which were inclined upwards towards the front.

In the words of a contemporary report: “the burst of a 100 pound shrapnel appeared to leave little to be desired�.

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The converted 6-inch mounting showing the stabilising girders.

9.2-inch BL Mk IV The 9.2-inch BL gun was developed from 1879 and the Mark I first introduced by the Army as a coastal defence gun in 1881. Several Marks following thereafter which were used by both the Army and the Navy.

The gun was of a typical built-up construction and was equipped with a single motion interrupted screw breech. Coastal defence guns were mounted on various Barbette sliding (Mark I, IA, IB, II, III and IV), high angle (Mark V) or disappearing (Mark I and II) mountings.

Ammunition consisted of common shell weighing approximately 380 lb, equipped with percussion fuzes with a rage of around 14000 yards.

The propellant charge was supplied in bags and the sealing of gases at the breech was affected by pads fixed to the face of the breech screw.

According to a list of British Victorian artillery the British Army used the 23-ton 9.2-inch Mark IV gun as a coastal defence gun at Table Bay and the 22-ton Mark VI at Simons Town. During the Boer War one gun of this calibre was taken from a fort at Cape Town (Fort Wynyard?) and mounted on a Type U7 well wagon by the Cape Government Railways at their Salt River workshops. Being the forerunner of future rail guns used in both World Wars, this was the heaviest weapon mounted on a railway wagon up to that date. The gun was mounted fore and aft with only limited traverse. To bring it into action its crew had to lower heavy screw jacks on either side of the truck. The wagon was further equipped with a built-in ammunition hoist to lift the 380 pound shells into the breech. After completion the gun was test fired successfully over False Bay from the beach below Elsie’s Peak running on a spur off the main line between Sunny Cove and Glencairn. Considering that South Africa’s rail gauge was only 3 ft 6-inches, this was a remarkable achievement.

Originally the name “Sir Redvers”, after Gen. Sir Redvers Buller, was painted on the gun’s sliding cradle, but this was later changed to “Kandahar”, after Lord Roberts of Kandahar. The gun was intended to be used against the Pretoria fortifications, but when Pretoria was not defended by the Boers the 9.2-inch travelled as far as Belfast in the Eastern Transvaal where it arrived too late for the action at Bergendal/Dalmanhuta on 27/28 August 1900. Lt Col Sir EPC Girouard, Director of Railways for the SA Field Force, wrote: “This gun unfortunately never succeeded in getting an opportunity to fire on the enemy.” The gun was manned by gunners of the Cape Garrison Artillery.

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Guns of this design remained the standard coast defence armament up to 1951.

The massive “Sir Redvers” 9.2-inch BL gun mounted on a Type U7 well wagon photographed at Naauwpoort.

The Boer 155mm Creusot BL Rail Gun This was probably the most famous gun of the Anglo Boer War. Its official French name was Canon Lang de 155 m/m sur Affut de Siege, but during the war it became known as the “Long Tom”. Commonly referred to as Creusot guns, the four pieces were actually manufactured by Schneider & Co. at Le Creusot in France.

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Long Tom as it appeared in its intended role, mounted on a shooting platform inside Fort Schanskop. Note the recoil cylinder and ramps used to reduce recoil and return it to its firing position.

The gun was of 1877 design equipped with a De Bange type interrupted screw breech system with asbestos pads for obturation. Although the guns were ordered with the intention of using them in the fixed defences of Pretoria, the Long Tom was mounted on a siege carriage, which made it ideal for use against a besieged enemy. For its siege role it was mounted on a rigid travelling carriage. Due to its weight the gun had to be mounted on a fixed wooden platform before use, but was later sometimes used without the platform with less efficiency. To reduce recoil a cylinder was mounted to the platform, while the gun was returned to its firing position after each shot by ramps placed behind the wheels.

Being an older model it still used black powder in bagged charges to fire its projectiles. Ammunition consisted of 94 lb common shells with percussion fuze, 90 lb shrapnel with time fuze and case shot.

Although the gun’s sight was only marked to 7,500m, its maximum range was around 9,000m. Under certain ideal conditions and firing from elevated positions, it achieved ranges of up to 11,000m. After the outbreak of the Boer War a problem with the time fuzes was discovered which were only successfully overcome around May 1900.

The use of black powder necessitated thorough cleaning at regular intervals.

Shortly before the fall of Pretoria two Long Toms were mounted on train trucks by Mr. Uggla, a Norwegian engineer, at the ZASM workshops in Pretoria. At least one of these was carried on a captured Natal Government Railways truck. The front of the trucks were armoured with 1-inch thick steel plates with sand bags stacked in front of it to provide added protection. Although this limited the gun’s traverse to approximately 30 degrees, it simplified the transport of the heavy piece and made the use of the cumbersome firing platform unnecessary. The gun truck was complimented with further trucks that housed the crew and carried ammunition and other stores, making it a true gun train.

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A Long Tom mounted to a captured N.G.R. rail wagon.

One gun was sent to Volksrust, but did not see action on its rail mounting and was removed from the truck. After being tested the second gun truck saw action at Rhenoster River in the Northern Free State (25 May 1900), at Elansfontein during the Battle of Kliprivierberg (29-30 May 1900) and at Irene outside Pretoria (2-4 June 1900). Its truck was the last to leave Pretoria before the British occupation of the capital. During the Boer retreat along the eastern railway line the gun truck was used extensively during the Battle of Diamond Hill/Donkerhoek (10-12 June 1900), at Wilger River Bridge (14 June 1900), around Middelburg (July 1900) and the Battle of Bergendal/Dalmanutha (21-27 August 1900). After Bergendal the gun was removed to Godwan River and from there to Baberton for repairs at a mine workshop. After the repairs were completed it was towed to Nelspruit and from there to Hector Spruit where it was unloaded before being towed to Komati Poort by road.

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The second rail mounted Long Tom, without sand bags. Note the recoil cylinder and ramps.

After the Long Toms ran out of ammunition or became useless during the guerrilla war, the Boer crews destroyed all four guns at: • • • •

Komati Poort near Mozambican border, 22 September (armoured train gun) Letabadrift near Haenertsburg, 18 October 1900 Rietfontein near Lydenburg, 16 April 1901 Feeskop outside Haenertsburg, 30 April 1901

1900

After their destruction most of the remains of the four guns were collected and shipped to Britain.

MC Heunis Onderofficier, Corps der Artillerie

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following people for his assistance: • Brig. Hennie Heymans of the South African Railway History Group.

• Col. Koos Erasmus

Sources • Breytenbach, JH: Die Geskiedenis van die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, Vol. 1, Die Staatsdrukker, Pretoria, 1969 • Changuion, L: Silence of the Guns, The History of the Long Toms of the Anglo-Boer War, Protea Book House, Pretoria, 2001

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• Cloete, PG: The Anglo-Boer War A Chronology, JP van der Walt, Pretoria, 2000 • Cordery, RG: Victorian Artillery Data - Later Breech Loading Artillery, Colonial Wargaming Website, www.colonialwargames.org.uk • Cordery, RG: Victorian Artillery Data - Quick Firing Artillery, Colonial Wargaming Website, www.colonialwargames.org.uk • Commandant General & Government-Secretary: Incoming Letters, Transvaal Archives, 1890 to 1899 • Comparato, FE: Age of Great Guns, The Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, 1965 • Erasmus, K: Staatsartillerie der ZAR Long Tom-kanonne, Private, 2005 • Goldsmith, DL: The Devil’s Paintbrush: Sir Hiram Maxim’s Gun, Toronto, 1989 • Hall, DD: Artillery at Mafeking, Unpublished manuscript, SA National Military Museum Library, Johannesburg • Hall, DD: Guns in South Africa 1899-1902, Part 2 to 5, SA Military History Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1 to 3 • Hall, DD: The Hall Handbook of the Anglo-Boer War, University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg, 1999 • Moore, D: List of Artillery in Use During the Victorian Period, Palmerston Forts Society Website, www.argonet.co.uk/education/dmoore/index.htm Ploeger, J: The Fortifications of Pretoria, Military Historical and Archival Services Publication No. 1, Government Printers, Pretoria, 1968 • Wilson, HW: With the Flag to Pretoria, 2 Volumes, Harmsworth Brothers Ltd, London, 1900-1902 • Unknown: In Memoriam N.Z.A.S.M., Dutch South African Railway Company, De Bussy, Amsterdam, 1909 • Unknown: The Organisation and Use of Armoured Trains, Bulletin of the Railway History Group, No.81, October 2005 • War Office Documents, Public Records Office - Kew London and Pretoria National Archives • Lombard, PS: Uit die Dagboek van ‘n Wildeboer, Bienedell Uitgewers, Pretoria, 2002

Photo Collections Consulted • • • •

South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg Voortrekker Monument Research Centre, Pretoria War Museum of the Boer Republics, Bloemfontein CannonRest Collection, United States

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks to “MC” Heunis!

Next Issue In the pipeline: •

A special edition on special trains used by the SAR Police during the Revolutionary period – please send your information and photographs on this interesting section of

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our SAR-history. We have received very interesting feedback on South African Armoured Trains during 1914 -1918. Initially these trains were employed to quell the Boer Rebellion and then against the German Forces in German South West Africa.

•

Any feedback on this special issue will be appreciated!

Until next month!

Hennie Heymans © 2010 © 2011