Why are British cannons called pounders?

QF is short for “Quick Firing”, indicating the weapon is breech-loaded with the propellant in a cartridge case which also made the breech seal, allowing faster loading and firing.

What caliber is a 20 pounder?

Ordnance QF 20-pounder

What does pounder gun mean?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 12-pounder gun or 12-pdr, usually denotes a gun which fired a projectile of approximately 12 pounds. Guns of this type include: 12-pounder long gun, the naval muzzle-loader of the Age of Sail. Canon de 12 de Vallière, French cannon of 1732.

What is a British 2 pounder gun?

The Ordnance QF 2-pounder (QF denoting “quick firing”), or simply “2 pounder gun”, was a 40 mm (1.575 in) British anti-tank and vehicle-mounted gun employed in the Second World War. It was used in the Battle of France and during the North African Campaign.

What kind of tank gun was the QF 20 pounder?

The Ordnance QF 20 pounder (known as 20 pounder, 20 pdr or simply 20-pr) was a British 84 mm (3.307 inch) tank gun.

What was the replacement for the QF 17 pounder?

The 20 pounder was designed to replace the effective Ordnance QF 17 pounder, which had proven itself in World War II. However, once the gun was found to have inadequate performance against the Soviet T-54, the gun was mostly replaced in service by the larger calibre 105 mm L7 gun .

What kind of gun is a 20 pounder?

This gun is a later model which is fitted with a bore evacuator The Ordnance QF 20 pounder (known as 20 pounder, 20 pdr or simply 20-pr) was a British 84 mm (3.307 inch) tank gun. It was introduced in 1948 and used in the Centurion main battle tank, Charioteer medium tank, and Caernarvon Mark II heavy tank.

What kind of cartridges are in a QF 25 pounder?

Typically for a quick-firing gun, the cartridge case provided obturation . There were two types of cartridge. The normal cartridge contained three cloth charge bags (coloured red, white and blue).