QF 12-pounder 18 cwt naval gun
The QF 12 pounder 18 cwt gun was a 3-inch high-velocity naval gun used to equip larger British warships such as battleships for defence against torpedo boats. 18 cwt referred to the weight of gun and breech, to differentiate the gun from others that also fired the "12 pound" shell.
Service
Royal Navy service
Guns were mounted in:- commissioned 1906
- The last three s—,, and, commissioned 1906–1907
- s commissioned 1908
- Minotaur-class armoured cruisers commissioned 1908–1909
World War I land service
In World War I four guns were landed for service in the East Africa campaign, on 10 February 1916, and were used until September. They constituted the 9th Field Battery manned by Royal Marines. They were originally towed by oxen and later by Napier lorries.Fourteen of these guns were mounted in coast defence batteries in the 'Middle Line' of the defences of the Firth of Forth when it was established in 1915, Inchmickery and Cramond Island. During the general revision of the defences in 1916/17 two of the guns were removed to store, four moved to other batteries. The document setting out the armaments of the Forth differentiate clearly between the 12cwt and 18cwt types, both of which were in use in the fortress.