2 pounder airborne field gun.

[Mike Cecil]

Agreed, Paul, the 25-pdr Short was a heavier gun, but delivered a much heavier weight in projectile, had a much wider range of projectile types to choose from, much greater range, and very importantly in New Guinea etc, a much greater crest clearance. It was designed to be towed by a light vehicle such as a jeep, and could be man-handled in pieces by sledding or jungle cart. It was not practical to man-carry the parts for long distances - the buffer and recuperator group was too heavy. But it could be (and was) 'air-droppable', as demonstrated in Sept 1943.

The 2-pdr was essentially an anti-tank gun which fired fixed ammunition. There was, in 1942-43, a very limited range of projectile types and it didn't have the versatility of the 25-pdr Short. Australia's war had also changed by that stage - from the relatively open areas of North Africa and Syria to the closed jungles of New Guinea and the islands. The towed 2-pdr A/T had been effective in Malaya along roads when used in the anti-tank role, and would be again in the SWPA as the main armament of the Matilda, but a 'field gun' in the true sense of the name, it was not. Indeed, most documents refer to it as an airborne anti-tank gun rather than a field gun.

Mike