List of guns and mortars used by the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery
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Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery , is a corps of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation...
(RAA) since its formation in 1901. The corps is currently undergoing a period of change, acquiring a new light air-portable 155 mm gun, tracked self-propelled artillery
Self-propelled artillery
Self-propelled artillery vehicles are combat vehicles armed with artillery. Within the term are covered self-propelled guns and rocket artillery...
, precision guided munitions and a networked command and fire control system. Meanwhile, a number of Army Reserve
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
regiments are re-equipping with mortars as part of a process of rationalisation.
Guns and mortars used by the RAA
! style="text-align: left; "|Weapon! style="text-align: left; "|Calibre
! style="text-align: left; "|Origin
! style="text-align: left; "|Type
! style="text-align: left; "|In service
! style="text-align: left; "|Notes
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|colspan="6" style="text-align: left;"| Guns
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
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| 18-pounder QF Gun
Ordnance QF 18 pounder
The Ordnance QF 18 pounder, or simply 18-pounder Gun, was the standard British Army field gun of the World War I era. It formed the backbone of the Royal Field Artillery during the war, and was produced in large numbers. It was also used by British and Commonwealth Forces in all the main theatres,...
||3.3 inch (84 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1906–1945|||-----
| 4.5-inch QF Howitzer
QF 4.5 inch Howitzer
The Ordnance QF 4.5 inch Howitzer was the standard British Empire field howitzer of the First World War era. It replaced the BL 5 inch Howitzer and equipped some 25% of the field artillery. It entered service in 1910 and remained in service through the interwar period and was last used in...
||4.5 inch (114 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1916–1945|||-----
|8-inch BL Howitizer||8 inch (203 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1916–1918|||-----
|9.2-inch BL Howitzer
BL 9.2 inch Howitzer
The Ordnance BL 9.2 inch howitzer was the principal counter-battery equipment of British forces in France in World War I. It equipped a substantial number of siege batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery...
||9.2 inch (203 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1916–1918|||-----
|6-inch 26-cwt BL Howitzer||6 inch (152 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1920–1946|||-----
|60-pounder BL Gun||5 inch (127 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1920–1944|||-----
|18/25-pounder QF Gun||3.45 inch (87.6 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1940–1941|||-----
|25-pounder QF Gun
Ordnance QF 25 pounder
The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was introduced into service just before World War II, during which it served as the major British field gun/howitzer. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a...
||3.45 inch (87.6 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1943–1946|||-----
|M1917/M1918 Howitzer
Canon de 155mm GPF
The Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux mle.1917 was a 155 mm cannon used by the French Army during the first half of the 20th century.-History:The gun was designed during World War I by Colonel L.J.F...
||155 mm||
United States||Towed artillery||1941–1945|||-----
|Short 25-pounder QF Gun
Ordnance QF 25-pounder Short
The Ordnance QF 25-pounder Short was an Australian variant of the British Ordnance QF 25-pounder field gun/howitzer. The gun was developed by modifying the 25-pounder's design to improve its mobility during jungle warfare. Development began in 1942, and the weapon first entered service with the...
||3.45 inch (87.6 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1943–1946|||-----
|3.7-inch Mountain Howitzer
3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer
The Ordnance QF 3.7 Inch Mountain Howitzer was an artillery weapon, used by British and Commonwealth armies in World War I and World War II, and between the wars.-History:...
||3.7 inch (94 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1942–1943|||-----
|QF Pack Howitzer||75 mm||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1943–1955|||-----
|M1 'Long Tom' Gun
155 mm Long Tom
The 155 mm Gun M1 and M2 , widely known as Long Tom, were 155 millimeter calibre field guns used by the United States armed forces during World War II and Korean War. The Long Tom replaced the Canon de 155 mm GPF in United States service.-Development:Before entering World War I, the United...
||155 mm||
United States||Towed artillery||1943–?|||-----
|5.5-inch BL Gun
BL 5.5 inch Medium Gun
The BL 5.5 inch Gun was a British artillery gun introduced during the middle of the Second World War to equip medium batteries.-History:In January 1939 a specification was issued for a gun to replace the 6 inch 26 cwt howitzers in use with most medium batteries...
||5.5 inch (140 mm)||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1942–1983|||-----
|Yeramba SP 25-pounder Gun
Yeramba (artillery)
The Yeramba was an Australian self-propelled howitzer built after the end of the Second World War in the late-1940s. They were produced by mounting the 25 pounder gun howitzer on an American M3A5 Grant tank hull, and were converted by the Ordnance Factory in Bendigo from 1950 to 1952...
||3.45 inch (87.6 mm)||
Australia||Self-propelled artillery||1949–1957|||-----
|M2A2 Howitzer
M101 howitzer
The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...
||105 mm||
United States||Towed artillery||1959–Present|||-----
|L5 Pack Howitzer
OTO Melara Mod 56
The OTO-Melara Mod 56 is an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer built and developed by OTO-Melara. It fires the standard US type M1 ammunition.-History:...
||105 mm||
Italy||Towed artillery||1963–Present|||-----
|M198 Howitzer
M198 howitzer
The M198 howitzer is a medium-sized, towed artillery piece, developed for service with the United States Army and Marine Corps. It was commissioned to be a lightweight replacement for the WWII era M114 155mm howitzer. It was designed and prototyped at the Rock Island Arsenal in 1969 with firing...
||155 mm||
United States||Towed artillery||1983–Present|||-----
|L118/L119 Hamel Light Gun
L118 Light Gun
The L118 Light Gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer, originally produced for the British Army in the 1970s and widely exported since, including to the United States, where a modified version is known as the M119A1...
||105 mm||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||1988–Present|||-----
|M777 Howitzer
M777 howitzer
The M777 howitzer is a towed 155 mm artillery piece, successor to the M198 howitzer in the United States Marine Corps and United States Army. The M777 is also used by the Canadian Army, and has been in action in Afghanistan since February 2006 along with the associated GPS-guided Excalibur...
||155 mm||
United Kingdom||Towed artillery||2010–Present|||-----
|colspan="6" style="text-align: left;"|Mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
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|2-inch Trench Mortar
2 inch Medium Mortar
The 2 inch Medium Trench Mortar, also known as the 2-inch Howitzer, and nicknamed the "Toffee Apple" or "Plum Pudding" mortar, was a British SBML medium trench mortar in use in World War I from mid 1915 to mid 1917...
||2 inch (50.8 mm)||
United Kingdom||Mortar||1916–1918|||-----
|6-inch Trench Mortar
Newton 6 inch Mortar
The Newton 6 inch Mortar was the standard British medium mortar in World War I from early 1917 onwards.-Description:The Newton 6 inch replaced the 2 inch Medium Mortar beginning in February 1917....
||6 inch (152 mm)||
United Kingdom||Mortar||1917–1918|||-----
|9.45-inch Trench Mortar
9.45 inch Heavy Mortar
The ML 9.45 inch Heavy Trench Mortar, nicknamed the Flying Pig, was a large calibre mortar of World War I and the standard British heavy mortar from Autumn 1916 onwards. It was a modification of an original French design, the Mortier de 240 mm developed by Batignolles Company of Paris and...
||9.45 inch (240 mm)||
Early Modern France||Mortar||1916–1918|||-----
|3-inch Trench Mortar
Stokes Mortar
The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar invented by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE which was issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies during the latter half of the First World War.-History:...
||3.209 inch (81.5 mm)||
United Kingdom||Mortar||1940–1942|||-----
|4.2-inch Mortar
M2 4.2 inch mortar
-External links:* early detailed article on 4.2 mortar...
||4.2 inch (107 mm)||
United States||Mortar||1942–?|||-----
|F2 Mortar
L16 81mm Mortar
The United Kingdom's L16 81 mm mortar is the standard mortar used by the British armed forces. It originated as a joint design by UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar, whilst the version used by the U.S...
||81 mm||
United Kingdom||Mortar||2010–Present|||-----