Menu

Object of the Month - June 2022

30 June, 2022

The Light Gun

Calibre: 105mm (4.3 inc)          Weight 1,800kgs (3,970 Ibs)

Elevation -7 to +65 degrees       Rate of Fire 10 rounds per min.

 

The Light Gun is a 105mm towed howitzer which replaced the 105 mm Pack Howitzer. It first entered service with the British Army in 1976. It was used during the 1982 Falklands War with five batteries of thirty guns. During the final phases of the battles around Port Stanley, they fired up to 400 rounds per gun daily. They were a significant factor in the British victory.

Currently, the British Army has four Light Gun regiments: 3 Regiment RHA, 4 Regiment RA, 7 (Parachute) Regiment RHA, and 29 Commando Regiment RA. Other regiments were temporarily equipped with it for service in Afghanistan and 14 Regiment RA currently uses it for training at the Royal School of Artillery.

On 30 November 2001, a Light Gun replaced a 25-pounder as the One O’clock Gun in Edinburgh Castle, firing most days by the District Gunner of 105 Regiment RA.