Historical Specifics:

The 25 Pounder Short gun at Cargo is missing a number of parts including the axle and wheels.

The nature of the terrain experienced in New Guinea in 1942 highlighted the need for a light pack gun that could be broken down into manageable parts capable of being man-handled into position. The Short 25 pounder was designed and built in Australia to meet this requirement. Simply stated every thing on the standard 25 gun was reduced in size to achieve a weight saving of some 500 kg.

The gun could be broken down into 14 parts, the heaviest being just over 180 kg. The removal of the shield and shorten barrel had an adverse effect on the crew when the gun fired and it also suffered from extreme bounce. It was not popular with the gun detachments. In all 212 guns were made by Ruwolt, the first order for 112 and the second for a further 100. Guns in the second order came with a modified carriage with ‘stands’ designed to reduce the amount of bounce on firing. This latter was designated the Mk 2 carriage.