18 Pdr Limber ( Aust )

[Mike Cecil]

Metro = Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Ltd, later became Metro-Cammell.

BRC&W = Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company.

The 18-pdr was issued with two aiming posts which were normally carried on the front of the shield on the carriage, not on the ammunition limber.

Aiming Posts, as far as I can ascertain, were 4 feet long with alternating 1.5 inch bands of white and black.The head was any one of: a rectangle, a diamond or a round.

The Australian Army converted only the Ammunition Wagons to pneumatic tyres and wheels for towing by a mechanised tractor, to become the ammunition limber of the 18-pdrs converted to pneumatic tyres and wheels. Horse-drawn ammunition limbers were unsuitable as they were fitted with a timber perch pole and had a different under-structure to support the ammunition box.

Live ammunition carried in the limber and wagon was always fitted with cartridge clips, a brass, four-armed clip with a woven canvas loop for extracting the cartridge from the rattan & leather basket. One arm was painted red and shaped so the clip could be easily unclipped from the base of the cartridge by hand.

The Fuze Indicator was 34.5 inches in overall length and was carried in a leather or canvas and leather cover. It was operated by the No.6 gun number when in action.

Lynn is right about the 'L' - it stands for Land Service.

Mike