Zeroing the telescopic sight on a British Ordnance QF 6-pounder at 800 yards
Posted by Sad-Commission2027@reddit | ForgottenWeapons | View on Reddit | 22 comments
InitialLandscape@reddit
Why not use spotting rifles on these guns? They had them on WW2 era recoilless rifles?
Activision19@reddit
Muzzle velocity on these was anywhere from 2700-4000fps depending on the type of ammo. That’s at rifle velocity on these low end or way above rifle velocity on the high end. The British recoil less rifle used at the time was all of 600fps, so they were a lot harder to aim and would benefit from a spotting cartridge.
JMHSrowing@reddit
I will add that iirc the maximum range of the 6 pounder was something like 15000 yards (though most ammunition and mounts couldn't do that) so it would be way over what basically any rifle caliber could do. Also that difference in ammunition would of course mean you'd need different spotting rifle ammunition only adding to the problems
Banh_mi@reddit
You mean 1500?
JMHSrowing@reddit
I do not.
https://archive.org/details/FM23-75_1944/page/n40/mode/1up
I’m not sure this is the same one as I was thinking up before, but if you scroll down to the range table you will see that it states that the M86 round out of the 57mm gun M1 (the American version) can go over 13500 yards at 800 mils (45 degrees).
Maybe I was off due to memory, maybe before I was able to find the British ammunition in a manual. In any case a gun like this with a heavy for caliber aerodynamic shell going at high velocity can shoot really quite far.
Banh_mi@reddit
Thanks. Just really surprised at those numbers!
JMHSrowing@reddit
Yeah there’s a big difference between effective range and maximum range
Gustav55@reddit
some times those can be used but it would really only get the gun "on paper" you need to use the actual round you plan on using to get it fully zeroed
I_Automate@reddit
Why use spotting rifles on these guns?
Plump_Apparatus@reddit
What WW2-era recoilless rifle had a spotting gun?
Towards the end of the war the US produced the M18 and M20, neither had a spotting rifle. The Germans produced multiple models of leichtgeschütz, none of which I'm aware of had a spotting rifle. The Soviets experimented only.
Regardless you aren't going to easily match the ballistics of the 6 pounder without a very powerful round. It's a 57mm anti-tank gun with a half dozen types of ammunition with muzzle velocities of up to 4,000 fps.
InitialLandscape@reddit
Yeah my bad... The one i was thinking about was 1950's era, whoopsie.
GeneralBisV@reddit
The 6pdr is quite a bit higher velocity than a recoilless rifle. And it would add quite a bit of weight and complexity for what’s supposed to be a light cheap air droppable weapon platform
_-NIXON-_@reddit
After the recoil, how to do they zero in?
RizzOreo@reddit
imagine how bad the scope kiss from that would be if it wasn't properly dug in, damn
86gwrhino@reddit
That things not dug in well at all. Look how the front bounces and lands to the right. A properly set gun won't do that.
Large-Welder304@reddit
The Canadians used that gun on their Ram tanks.
Good anti-tank weapon. The Americans used it too. That was the 57mm M1 anti-tank gun.
BrasshatTaxman@reddit
Doesnt look to dissimilar to me zeroing my scopes.
I_Automate@reddit
Because its the exact same process. They just get to use more entertaining calibers
reznov-where-are-you@reddit
this is the obscure shit i come to this sub for. what date is this from do you know?
Nonions@reddit
Probably 1942 or after because that's when it started being used on the front line.
The design had been finalised before the war but with the British Army losing most of its heavy equipment at Dunkirk the decision was made to delay introduction of the 6lb gun, because to start making it would mean taking factories making the existing 2lb gun offline for a while, and the British Army was so desperate for weapons that having enough inadequate weapons was better than having zero great weapons.
Sad-Commission2027@reddit (OP)
The exact date, no unfortunately, if some here knows then they can comment it.
But it's WW2 period.
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