OQF 95mm Howitzer

The Ordnance QF 95 mm Howitzer was built up from a section of a 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun barrel, the breech mechanism of the Ordnance QF 25 pounder field gun/howitzer and the recoil mechanism of the Ordnance QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun.

The Ordnance QF 95-mm Howitzer was a British Howitzer built in two versions during the Second World War. The Tank Howitzer version was accepted for service use, but the Infantry Howitzer version was not accepted for service use. The Ordnance QF 95-mm Infantry Howitzer was a version built as a conventional towed artillery piece. Perhaps in response to the success of the German sIG 33, a proposal was circulated in the summer of 1942 by the British Army for an Infantry Howitzer to be used in a direct-fire role against hardened concrete targets, like pillboxes.[3] The 95 mm Tank Howitzer already under development was considered to be a logical starting point for the design of the new howitzer. The Infantry Howitzer version was similar to the Tank Howitzer, except the Infantry Howitzer lacked the barrel counterweight and was placed on a box-trail carriage and given a gun shield. Testing in 1943 showed that both the recoil system and the carriage were over stressed and redesign was needed, which delayed testing and introduction of the Infantry Howitzer until 1944. However the problems with the recoil mechanism and carriage were never fully ironed out and the weapon was refused by the infantry and declared obsolete in April 1945, but not before several hundred examples were produced.