Miscellaneous

Foleshill Railway: miscfr007b

Close up of image 'miscfr007' with the short train carrying the 15 inch gun barrel which shows breech end of the gun barrel and the the length of these giant guns. The weight of the breech end of the barrel was considerable due to the barrel needing to be able to withstand the explosive force to project the shell several miles. Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns, particularly naval artillery. The company was set up in 1905 by a consortium of British shipbuilding firms John Brown, Cammell Laird and Fairfield in order to compete with the duopoly of Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth. Initially H.H. Mulliner was the managing director, but after a series of altercations with the Admiralty he was replaced by a retired admiral Sir Reginald Bacon. The company also had a factory in Scotstoun, Glasgow which made heavy gun mountings. The C.O.W. 37mm gun was the first modern autocannon developed in 1917. The firm also designed the 5.5 inch Naval gun, the highly successful QF 4.5 inch Howitzer, and a 15 inch siege howitzer for the British Army.

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