The 25-pounder field gun was a major British field gun during World War 2 that was introduced into service just before war broke out.
WW1-era Ordnance QF 18-pounders were upgraded to the 18/25-pounder field gun after Dunkirk and the newly formed Field Squadrons were equipped with both 2- and 25-pounders as their primary heavy weapon in North Africa and as such went ashore with Operation Torch in Algeria in November 1942..
The Tunisian campaign saw all of these new squadrons in the line with the Guards Division and on a number of occasions took on the Afrika Korps Panzers. The 25pdr was replaced in time for the Italy and Greek Campaigns with a 6pdr which lasted until the end of the war.
Combining high-angle and relatively high rates of direct fire with a reasonably lethal shell this highly mobile piece remained the British Army’s primary artillery field gun well into the 1960s.
Oman and Dhofar was a prime example of the RAF Regiment’s use of the 25-pounder in a conflict zone. A Battery of 25-pounders were on constant readiness at RAF Salalah to provide support to troops on the ground.
