BL 12-inch railway howitzer

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	Weapon: BL 12-inch railway howitzer Type: Howitzer Country of Origin: United Kingdom Year Adopted: 1916 Overall Length (mm): 5260.0 Overall Length (in): 207.09 Weight (kg): 85000.00 Weight (pounds): 187392.92

The BL 12-inch Railway Howitzer was a British heavy artillery piece designed for use during World War I and later modernized for World War II. Mounted on a railway carriage to allow mobility despite its massive weight and size, the weapon was based on the 12-inch naval gun and adapted for land warfare. It fired a 750-pound (340 kg) shell and had a maximum range of approximately 18,000 yards (16,460 meters). The howitzer used cordite charges and employed a hydro-pneumatic recoil system to absorb the tremendous force generated upon firing.

First introduced in 1916, the BL 12-inch railway howitzer was primarily used in the static trench warfare of the Western Front, where its ability to bombard enemy fortifications and infrastructure from long distances proved invaluable. In the interwar years, several units were kept in reserve or converted for coastal defense roles. By the outbreak of World War II, the surviving howitzers were brought back into service for coastal defense and potential use against invasion forces, especially during the early stages of the war when Britain faced threats of German invasion.

A total of 12-15 railway howitzers of this type were produced, seeing action in both world wars. Though they were eventually rendered obsolete by advances in mobile artillery and air-delivered ordnance, the BL 12-inch railway howitzers earned a reputation for sheer destructive power and engineering ingenuity. They stand today as symbols of the era's fascination with massive artillery and are preserved in military museums and historical displays as a testament to early 20th-century firepower.