Modified 25-pounder guns

[Godwin Hampton]

Hanno,

according to the 1957 user handbook, there were 3 types of carriage in service;

Mk.1, the original WW2 carriage

Mk.2, converted from Mk.1 by narrowing the trail, the shield, and the firing platform, to enable the gun to be towed by a light vehicle ( probably LWB Land Rover). The trail eye was fitted into a bracket which could be swung up or down, up to avoid the ground on firing, and down to raise the spade for towing (the L.Rover towhook is much lower than the limber's).
The two hinged flaps at the lower corners of the shield enabled drag ropes to be attached to the drag washers on the hubs. Even the traversing gear handwheel was made smaller and lost the handle to avoid fouling the tyres.

Mk.3, similar to the Mk.2, but with the addition of a 'knee joint' to lower the carriage to enable the gun to fire at higher angles of elevation ( 55 vs. 40 degrees ).
A dial sight carrier adapter was used to bring the dial sight back to horizontal when the carriage was lowered for high angle firing.

Amendment No.3 of May 1960 instructs users to delete references to the Mk.2 and Mk.3 carriages, indicating that they had been withdrawn from British Army service.