18 pdr Mark 1 Field Gun Barrel and Carriage (England)

18 pounder Mark 1 Field Gun Barrel and Carriage. The gun barrel is wire bound nickel-steel with a single-motion screw breech with a cartridge extractor. The lower carriage is comprised of a single hollow steel pole trail fixed to the centre of the axle-tree. The limited traverse saddle supported the cradle and barrel and a shield. Traverse controls were on the left and elevation on the right of the saddle. Recoil was by a hydraulic buffer with telescopic running-up springs to return the barrel to its firing position.

The 18 pdr was introduced in 1904 and was the backbone of British field artillery during and after the First World War. The original design was typical of the era, with a pole trail, shield and wooden wheels and more than 10,000 were produced. Australia received 116 18 pdr Mark 1 guns before the outbreak of the First World War. It is estimated that up to 500 may have been used by Australian military forces during the First World War though exact figures are unknown due to losses through enemy action, exchanges of equipment on relief between artillery units and organizational changes The Memorial's example was gifted by the British Government in the late 1940s. At the time it was gifted, the Royal Arsenal noted that the gun's history was unknown to them. It was painted in 2014 in a three colour camouflage scheme based on evidence of similar schemes seen in photographs and in artworks held in the AWM archives.