Hi Kevin,

Many thanks.

Hi Paul,

The MkI had a sliding frame that carried the saddle and cradle. When being towed, the whole assembly, cradle/saddle and barrel was moved back, thus shifting the centre of gravity. As to the actual workings I don't have a handbook but I know someone who could probably answer your question (Mr Moore if you're about)

Cheers

Al

Bob Smith Industries CA never fails...try it.

Hi, I hope I can answer your questions.
The front attachment is actually a towing hitch, nothing to do with the barrel.
The barrel was pulled back by ropes attached to a pulley either side of the cradle....Al, I note you have only one on the kit, there should be one either side.
Once pulled back, the barrel was secured by the a hold down clip, this went over the breech, and was adjustable....this can be seen on the photo I sent to show the rear lifting bar. The barrel was hauled back into firing position, there being hold down bolts to secure the cradle onto the carriage. The MkI gun is distinctive as the rails on top of the carriage sides are smooth.....later guns had the rivets showing. The manufacturing method was complicated, expensive and time consuming....so the MkII had tractor wheels fitted....this did not require the barrel to be moved back....later still, at the request of higher authorities, the tractor wheels were replaced with the standard wooden spoked wheels....the barrel still needed to be slid back, but in this case, the recuperator rods were disconnected, so the barrel could move back, the cradle remained in the original position. The MkII gun had a different method of securing the barrel, this was a frame, hinged just below the breech, again a curved frame was fitted that went over the breech....the barrel being secured that way. A redesigned carriage was also produced, the MkIV, this was a similar shape to that used on the 6" howitzer...though bigger....again, here the barrel was slid back for travelling. There was one other modification, the MkIII, the rear of the trail was widened, so about halfway down the carriage, the side plates angled out slightly. Those guns with tractor wheels had a different type of brake....basically the same as the 8" howitzer, with brake shoes acting on the inner rim of the wheel. Later guns were also fitted with a revised towing bar....this was a cranked bar that pivoted on side brackets and could be positioned in one of two positions.....we hope to bring out a later version of the gun, fitted with the tractor wheels at a later date. At the moment I am working on this.
If you need extra info, or I can help in any other way, contact me through AL.

Happy modelling.
George.

Thanks George, I have the part, just missed it.

Al

Dear George,

Thank you so much for the extensive answer.
It made things very clear,

P.

The State Library of Victoria has some of the handbooks for various guns of the era available for download, here is one for the 60 pdr. It may be of some use.

Thanks,
I was able to obtain a reprint of this manual, very useful, coupled with a visit to the Firepower museum at Woolwich...their library was very helpful, as it had a copy of an illustrated parts list for the guns, plus a load of detailed drawings of the MkIV. (One day perhaps !!!)
Their is one gun (MkI) in the IWM collection plus a great series of walk-round photo's of a MkII in a US museum collection.
I managed to get some extra photo's of the IWM gun when it was at Duxford...it was being prepared to be shipped to Australia for a WW1 exhibition....they did not realize at the time that the barrel could be moved back for transport...hopefully this bit of knowledge may have made shipping a bit simpler (??)
One thing missing from most of these manuals however, is the size of wooden boxes that were used to transport ammunition....that would be of use. It does give sizes etc of things like rammers and other bits......a drawing of the limber is included, but a drawing of the ammunition wagon would have been good to have as well......one problem with some of these downloadable manuals, the fold out pages are not copied in full....however this one has those illustrations in full.....very useful. One last point, I do not think the MkII with tractor wheels lasted long in service...I think it was Haig (???) that insisted that they revert to the original wheels....

George.

Thanks for the link Michael.

Al