Historical Specifics:

The 5.5 inch BL gun, serial number 1367, manufactured in 1943 by the Royal Ordnance Factory, Nottingham, England was obtained by the Griffith War Memorial Museum in mid-2023 from the Department of Defence Disposals. They had been chasing a gun for three years to place in front of the Museum to attract attention to the presence of the Museum. For this it has been successful. Prior to disposal the gun had been restored and was stored at Lavington, Albury, NSW. Arrangements had to be made for its collection, council permission to display and site preparation which took some eleven months. Jason and Sharyn Bourke at Norcliff Bulk Haulage in Leeton went down and picked the gun up at their own expense. The generous assistance provided by local authorities and tradies made it possible for the gun to be in position by mid-February 2024. No specific service history is known for this gun but they were last used in Australian service by 37 Battery, 10 Medium Regiment and 103 Battery, 8/12 Medium Regiment and the School of Artillery. This gun was last used by Army as a training aid at the School of Military Engineering at Moorebank. When the School was relocated to Holsworthy the gun was taken to the Military Police School where the RSM was keen to display it. The gun was restored but a change of RSMs saw the interest lost and the gun went to Disposals. Lithgow City Council received a request from the Lithgow RSL Sub-Branch to acquire the gun. They sought public comment on the proposal but it appears to have not received support and Disposals then made it available to the Griffith War Memorial Museum who of course accepted the offer.
The 5.5 inch medium gun was developed to replace the World War I vintage 60 pounder and 6 inch howitzer and was introduced into British service in 1942 and first saw service in North Africa with the Royal Artillery. Three pilot guns were sent to Australia for possible local production. Ultimately Australia decided to purchase the guns from Britain and an order for 72 guns was placed. By mid-1944 27 were delivered but the final purchase numbered only 40 guns. They did not see operational service with the Australian Army. 35 were still in service in 1982 when they were replaced by the US M198 155mm howitzer.

Characteristics

Thanks To Martin Gatto, Vice President Griffith War Memorial Museum for assistance with photos and local history.