Breech ring - painted or unpainted?

[Jiri Vosoust]

I search help... I need info about painting British guns, especially 6Pr. and 25Pr.

Is it possible find some regulation about painting guns? On restored guns are possible see many different styles. As example Breach rings, some guns have them sprayed, some are pure steel. Same situation on various handles, grease niples and etc.

Can anyone help me please?

Many thanks

George

[rob love]

There is a section on painting in the 25 pdr drill manual. There is also a section about care of the breech ring and block. another covers lubrication fittings. Here are a couple relevant snippets.

Guns and carriages of regular units were to be painted once a year. The piece would be removed from the carriage for painting. There is fair detail on the preparation, although not detailed to each piece.

From the breech section, it talks about lubrication of all surfaces, and preservation. (One consideration about painting breeches is that the gunners must report cracks as soon as possible for inspection. Paint could hide those flaws, with potentially disastrous results. I would suggest breeches are not painted, although they may be chemically stained (Blued) from factory, depending on what gun system you are talking about).

Lubricators are to be kept bright so as to be readily seen.

Not in this manual, but generally on a lot of Canadian Artillery, lubricating fittings were painted red, and a circle of red surrounded the fitting. I know Canada continued this practice with it's guns (and supposed to be on the vehicles as well) right into the 70s, but I cannot speak to how the British did it.

I think the reason you see so many variations in the paint these days is because the guns are not seeing regular use, and do not have a troop of guys to maintain them throughout the year. A rusty breech does not reflect well on anybody. I know when I pulled out my 105 for a display this summer, while unpacking the accessories, my spare firing lock had developed more than a bit of rust. An artillery M-Bdr who was there made minor issue of it to me. I took it home that night, polished it on a buffer (also likely a no-no) and the next day I displayed it and asked him what the issue was. He could not believe it was the same firing lock. However, the buffing would result in some loss of material, which is frowned upon in active artillery.

[tankbarrell]

Period pictures seem to show both situations, painted and natural.