In Box Review of the Tamiya 1/35th Scale
British 25 PDR. Field Gun
Kit no. MM-146
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 1974
Kit is available at Kit Linx for $18.79 or at Sprue Bros for $18.99 or at Section 8 Hobbies for $18.80 and at one location overseas on the web.
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 1974
Kit is available at Kit Linx for $18.79 or at Sprue Bros for $18.99 or at Section 8 Hobbies for $18.80 and at one location overseas on the web.
HISTORY:
In the British Army the Royal Regiment of Artillery has a long and distinguished history. Its motto which is in Latin, is "Ubique quo fas et gloria ducunt" and means "Everywhere they lead with right and glory".
At all ceremonial parades the Royal Artillery takes the position of honour, "The right of the line". Although many types of weapons have been used by the Royal Artillery,k ranging from small 2 pdr. anti-tank guns right up to 5.5" howitzers and, in the Garrison Artillery, huge naval type guns, the main weapon which equipped all Field Artillery Regiments attached to Infantry Divisions during WWII was the ubiquitous 25 pdr.
This gun was a direct descendent of the famous 18 pdr, which was a breach loader that had been used from about the turn of the century. But the origins of the 18 pdr. go back to smooth bore muzzle loaders of the early 19th century.
The British Army still has some 18 pdrs, horse drawn, and these are the equipment of the famous "K" Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery. This famous Troop can be seen at Ceremonial Parades such as the Queen's Birthday, when they still fire a salute.
The 25 pdr, directly developed from the 18 pdr, appeared at the beginning of WWII. This 25 pdr gun/Howitzer was designed in 1935 and developed to replace the then standard 18 pdr. Field Gun.
The final stages of the development were hastened by the outbreak of war in 1939. Early deliveries were of a cross-bred equipment - the 18/25 pdr or 25 pdr. Mark 1, which consisted of a relined 18 pdr. piece on the old carriage. The final carriage design - a sturdy, riveted box trail with a turntable platform under the wheels - was adopted after trials with a heavy 2 legged split trail.
This design proved highly successful giving easy 360 degree traverse despite limited lateral movement of the piece itself. The latest British gun, the 105mm Light Gun, which comes into service in 1975, has the same carriage arrangement.
In both cases the platform travels under the trail and is lowered for firing. The platform digs in to give stability and the trail spade is rarely needed.A spade box normally covers it, and allows the trail to be lifted to traverse the gun.
The whole gun was extremely rugged in its design and in 34 years has had only one major modification, the adoption of a double baffle muzzle brake in 1943. Not only was the design sturdy, but the whole equipment was easy to operate and maintain.
The calibrating sights, with a large drum, were simple to use, and the associated command post drills were equally simple. The ammunition options available at the peak of development were very wide; HE, smoke, colored smoke, solid shot, cannister, HEAT and illuminating.
The smoke round was of the base ejection type. This takes longer to produce a screen than the currently fashionable White Phosphorus Smoke. However, it was more economic in some circumstances, and often provided a more effective screen one it was under way.
The shell type could be put to other uses, such as pamphlet propagation. Several fuses were developed; percusion, mechanical time, variable time (radar) and powder burning. The ammunition was separate.
The shell was rammed by hand before the brass cartridge was loaded. Loading was therefore a two man job. A high rate of fire could be achieved by a well-trained detachment - say 8 rounds per minute for several minutes, although the official rapid rate was 5 rounds per minute.
Three basic charges were provided, each represented by a colored bag in the cartridge case. Incremental charge bags were developed , but never widely adopted, to give an even better "charge overlap" in range. "Charge Super"was a special cartridge.
During the desert campaigns, the gun was used extensively in an anti-tank role. A super charge cartridge (with increment) was produced to increase the muzzle velocity of the solid shot anti-tank round to 2,000 feet per second.
Remarkably, the only modification needed to cope with the additional stresses was the muzzle brake already mentioned. This device added stability as much as it reduced recoil forces.
The 25 pdr. Gun Detachment consisted of six men, who were as follows - Gun Commander, Gun Layer, Loader, 2 Ammunition Numbers and a Driver. Several Self Propelled versions were produced. Only the Bishop (Valentin chassis) and Sexton (Canadian Ram chassis) saw service.
The gun's main weakness was its weight - 1,750 kg. For many years a two-wheeled limber/trailer between the gun and tractor enabled a ling towing vehicle to be used. This was the purpose built Quad. The device served the double purpose of carrying first line ammunition and reducing the weight on the tractor's towing eye and back axle.
The alternative (adapted toward the end of the gun's useful life) was a 3 ton vehicle. In both cases cross-country mobility was limited. For weight reasons an airborne version was never adopted. A special narrow platform was developed for use in the jungles of South East Asia.
By the time the gun was pensioned off in 1967, its range of 13,500 yards and the lethality of its 25 pound shell had been overtaken by technological progress.
Its descendant, the Light Gun, has 50% more range and shell weight for the same weight of gun. More than 12,000 25 pdrs. were produced and used throughout the world by Commonwealth, Middle Eastern and other allied armies.
It is still active in some parts today, but in the British Army it is now used only for training purposes. Perhaps its last major campaign was the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
Despite its long history of service the 25 pdr. is best remembered for its part in the campaign in the Western Desert, and then for its anti-tank performance. In fact it was the basic close support artillery weapon of half of the western world for 30 years.
In WWII. an Infantry Division had three Royal Artillery Regiments, each one attached to its Brigade. The marking on their vehicles was 42, 43 and 44 on a red over blue background, the Senior Regiment having the number 42 and the Junior number 44.
Each Regiment had 24 guns divided into three Batteries of 8 guns each, and each Battery was divided into two Troops of 4 guns each.
The 25 pdr. was renowned for its extreme accuracy when used in its conventional role. This was due to a very cleverly designed gun sight which was known as a Dial Sight. This allowed for wind temperature of air and other factors.
Rarely were more than three shots required to hit a target. The first two bracketed and on instructions from the O.P. (Observer Post) the order would be given to the gun to either "Up 100" or "Down 100" and the third shot was the one that mattered.
Although it was usual for the guns to be dug into gun pits, and camouflaged, they were able to go into emergency action from the march within about 45 seconds. So rapid was their firing rate that German prisoners of war taken in Normandy asked to see the "Belt Fed" 25 pdr. Gun, as they could not believe that the gun was hand loaded such was the rapidity of fire.
In the British Army the Royal Regiment of Artillery has a long and distinguished history. Its motto which is in Latin, is "Ubique quo fas et gloria ducunt" and means "Everywhere they lead with right and glory".
At all ceremonial parades the Royal Artillery takes the position of honour, "The right of the line". Although many types of weapons have been used by the Royal Artillery,k ranging from small 2 pdr. anti-tank guns right up to 5.5" howitzers and, in the Garrison Artillery, huge naval type guns, the main weapon which equipped all Field Artillery Regiments attached to Infantry Divisions during WWII was the ubiquitous 25 pdr.
This gun was a direct descendent of the famous 18 pdr, which was a breach loader that had been used from about the turn of the century. But the origins of the 18 pdr. go back to smooth bore muzzle loaders of the early 19th century.
The British Army still has some 18 pdrs, horse drawn, and these are the equipment of the famous "K" Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery. This famous Troop can be seen at Ceremonial Parades such as the Queen's Birthday, when they still fire a salute.
The 25 pdr, directly developed from the 18 pdr, appeared at the beginning of WWII. This 25 pdr gun/Howitzer was designed in 1935 and developed to replace the then standard 18 pdr. Field Gun.
The final stages of the development were hastened by the outbreak of war in 1939. Early deliveries were of a cross-bred equipment - the 18/25 pdr or 25 pdr. Mark 1, which consisted of a relined 18 pdr. piece on the old carriage. The final carriage design - a sturdy, riveted box trail with a turntable platform under the wheels - was adopted after trials with a heavy 2 legged split trail.
This design proved highly successful giving easy 360 degree traverse despite limited lateral movement of the piece itself. The latest British gun, the 105mm Light Gun, which comes into service in 1975, has the same carriage arrangement.
In both cases the platform travels under the trail and is lowered for firing. The platform digs in to give stability and the trail spade is rarely needed.A spade box normally covers it, and allows the trail to be lifted to traverse the gun.
The whole gun was extremely rugged in its design and in 34 years has had only one major modification, the adoption of a double baffle muzzle brake in 1943. Not only was the design sturdy, but the whole equipment was easy to operate and maintain.
The calibrating sights, with a large drum, were simple to use, and the associated command post drills were equally simple. The ammunition options available at the peak of development were very wide; HE, smoke, colored smoke, solid shot, cannister, HEAT and illuminating.
The smoke round was of the base ejection type. This takes longer to produce a screen than the currently fashionable White Phosphorus Smoke. However, it was more economic in some circumstances, and often provided a more effective screen one it was under way.
The shell type could be put to other uses, such as pamphlet propagation. Several fuses were developed; percusion, mechanical time, variable time (radar) and powder burning. The ammunition was separate.
The shell was rammed by hand before the brass cartridge was loaded. Loading was therefore a two man job. A high rate of fire could be achieved by a well-trained detachment - say 8 rounds per minute for several minutes, although the official rapid rate was 5 rounds per minute.
Three basic charges were provided, each represented by a colored bag in the cartridge case. Incremental charge bags were developed , but never widely adopted, to give an even better "charge overlap" in range. "Charge Super"was a special cartridge.
During the desert campaigns, the gun was used extensively in an anti-tank role. A super charge cartridge (with increment) was produced to increase the muzzle velocity of the solid shot anti-tank round to 2,000 feet per second.
Remarkably, the only modification needed to cope with the additional stresses was the muzzle brake already mentioned. This device added stability as much as it reduced recoil forces.
The 25 pdr. Gun Detachment consisted of six men, who were as follows - Gun Commander, Gun Layer, Loader, 2 Ammunition Numbers and a Driver. Several Self Propelled versions were produced. Only the Bishop (Valentin chassis) and Sexton (Canadian Ram chassis) saw service.
The gun's main weakness was its weight - 1,750 kg. For many years a two-wheeled limber/trailer between the gun and tractor enabled a ling towing vehicle to be used. This was the purpose built Quad. The device served the double purpose of carrying first line ammunition and reducing the weight on the tractor's towing eye and back axle.
The alternative (adapted toward the end of the gun's useful life) was a 3 ton vehicle. In both cases cross-country mobility was limited. For weight reasons an airborne version was never adopted. A special narrow platform was developed for use in the jungles of South East Asia.
By the time the gun was pensioned off in 1967, its range of 13,500 yards and the lethality of its 25 pound shell had been overtaken by technological progress.
Its descendant, the Light Gun, has 50% more range and shell weight for the same weight of gun. More than 12,000 25 pdrs. were produced and used throughout the world by Commonwealth, Middle Eastern and other allied armies.
It is still active in some parts today, but in the British Army it is now used only for training purposes. Perhaps its last major campaign was the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
Despite its long history of service the 25 pdr. is best remembered for its part in the campaign in the Western Desert, and then for its anti-tank performance. In fact it was the basic close support artillery weapon of half of the western world for 30 years.
In WWII. an Infantry Division had three Royal Artillery Regiments, each one attached to its Brigade. The marking on their vehicles was 42, 43 and 44 on a red over blue background, the Senior Regiment having the number 42 and the Junior number 44.
Each Regiment had 24 guns divided into three Batteries of 8 guns each, and each Battery was divided into two Troops of 4 guns each.
The 25 pdr. was renowned for its extreme accuracy when used in its conventional role. This was due to a very cleverly designed gun sight which was known as a Dial Sight. This allowed for wind temperature of air and other factors.
Rarely were more than three shots required to hit a target. The first two bracketed and on instructions from the O.P. (Observer Post) the order would be given to the gun to either "Up 100" or "Down 100" and the third shot was the one that mattered.
Although it was usual for the guns to be dug into gun pits, and camouflaged, they were able to go into emergency action from the march within about 45 seconds. So rapid was their firing rate that German prisoners of war taken in Normandy asked to see the "Belt Fed" 25 pdr. Gun, as they could not believe that the gun was hand loaded such was the rapidity of fire.
THE KIT:
Tamiya is an old prolific model company based in Shizuoka City, Japan.
They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a 25 pdr., its limber and crew posed against one of Tamiya's signature all-white backgrounds, that they use for the majority of their box arts.
All the men wear buff uniforms with shorts and black shoes. The 4 infantrymen all wear steel helmets.
Reading left to right, the first man is standing. He is an officer wearing long buff stockings and his shirt sleeves rolled up. He has an officer's peaked hat on his head and he is looking through a pair of binoculars.
The 2nd man to the right is kneeling on one knee and holding a spent round in his hands. He is bare chested.
The 3rd man to the right is bent over and loading a live shell into the 25 pdr. He too is bare chested.
The 4th man to the right is bent over and operating a leven on the gun. He also is bare chested.
Behind the 3rd and 4th men is seen the back of the seated 5th man aiming the gun. He wears a shirt with his sleeves rolled up.
The 6th last man on the far right is standing and just watching the activities. He wears a buff jacket.
One side panel has a color illustration of a Quad Gun Tractor (not included in this kit) that is pulling a trailer and the gun, with English and Japanese captions and followed by a paragraph in Japanese and kit made in Japan.
Tamiya is an old prolific model company based in Shizuoka City, Japan.
They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a 25 pdr., its limber and crew posed against one of Tamiya's signature all-white backgrounds, that they use for the majority of their box arts.
All the men wear buff uniforms with shorts and black shoes. The 4 infantrymen all wear steel helmets.
Reading left to right, the first man is standing. He is an officer wearing long buff stockings and his shirt sleeves rolled up. He has an officer's peaked hat on his head and he is looking through a pair of binoculars.
The 2nd man to the right is kneeling on one knee and holding a spent round in his hands. He is bare chested.
The 3rd man to the right is bent over and loading a live shell into the 25 pdr. He too is bare chested.
The 4th man to the right is bent over and operating a leven on the gun. He also is bare chested.
Behind the 3rd and 4th men is seen the back of the seated 5th man aiming the gun. He wears a shirt with his sleeves rolled up.
The 6th last man on the far right is standing and just watching the activities. He wears a buff jacket.
One side panel has a color illustration of a Quad Gun Tractor (not included in this kit) that is pulling a trailer and the gun, with English and Japanese captions and followed by a paragraph in Japanese and kit made in Japan.
The other side panel has 3 color art works of other 1/35th scale artillery kits that Tamiya manufactures: a German 37mm Anti Tank Gun, a German 88mm Flak 36/37 Gun and a British 6 Pounder Anti-tank Gun.
No kit numbers are supplied for these 3 kits.
No kit numbers are supplied for these 3 kits.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
This kit contains 3 light-tan trees and a light-tan trail part in 2 stapled-shut clear cello bags, the instructions and a color kit catalog.
The instructions consists of a single-sheet that is accordion-folded into 6 pages in 6 3/4" x 10 1/4" page format.
Page 1 has a black and white repeat of the box art at the top, over the history of the 25 pdr.
Page 2 has PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE COMMENCING ASSEMBLY instructions, followed by the first 4 assembly steps.
Page 3 through 5 gives a balance of a total of 13 assembly steps.
Page 6 is the painting and decal application instructions. Showing a black and white photo of the model made up, over a two view of the gun and a two view of the ammo limber trailer. Instructions printed in Japan and Tamiya's street address in Shizuoka City, Japan is provided.
Trees are alphabetized, but not illustrated in the instructions. They have part number tabs next to the parts on the trees.
Light tan letter X tree holds: the shield, round traverse base wheel, main gun barrel etc. (56 parts) Some parts have been removed from this tree and assembled.
This kit contains 3 light-tan trees and a light-tan trail part in 2 stapled-shut clear cello bags, the instructions and a color kit catalog.
The instructions consists of a single-sheet that is accordion-folded into 6 pages in 6 3/4" x 10 1/4" page format.
Page 1 has a black and white repeat of the box art at the top, over the history of the 25 pdr.
Page 2 has PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE COMMENCING ASSEMBLY instructions, followed by the first 4 assembly steps.
Page 3 through 5 gives a balance of a total of 13 assembly steps.
Page 6 is the painting and decal application instructions. Showing a black and white photo of the model made up, over a two view of the gun and a two view of the ammo limber trailer. Instructions printed in Japan and Tamiya's street address in Shizuoka City, Japan is provided.
Trees are alphabetized, but not illustrated in the instructions. They have part number tabs next to the parts on the trees.
Light tan letter X tree holds: the shield, round traverse base wheel, main gun barrel etc. (56 parts) Some parts have been removed from this tree and assembled.
Light tan letter Y tree holds: the wheels and parts for the ammo limber trailer etc. (51 parts)
Light tan letter Z tree holds: crew figures (4 figures divided into separate torsos, arms and legs. The other 2 figures full bodied with separate arms and legs). Also on the tree is 6 ammo rounds, 2 mess kits, ammo boxes, rear wall hand hatches of the ammo limber, 5 steel helmets, a shovel, large rolled canvas, pair of binoculars, pistol holster etc. (64 parts)
The detail is excellent. Highly recommended.