Date: 1942                          

Visible Markings: Material:  Steel                                            

Mounting: pedestal mounting

Remarks: Ordnance QF 6 Pounder (7 cwt) anti-tank gun

Breech Type - vertical sliding block

Sight Type – No. 22c

Ammunition Type – Fixed

Calibre - 2.244 in (57 mm)

Max Range – 5,000 yards

Effective Range – 1650 yards

The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt, was a British 57 mm gun, serving during the Second World War primarily as an anti-tank gun.

The 6 pounder was designed to replace the rather limited 2 pounder, but the loss of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) heavy equipment in France made re-equipping the army with anti-tank weapons an urgent task so the production of the 6 pounder was delayed until November 1941 and its entry into service until May 1942.

By the end of 1941 only 201 6 pounders had been produced. However, by the end of 1942 a further 17,854 had been assembled. In 1943, production decreased slightly to 16,586 before waning off to 1,964 by the end of 1944 when production of this type of gun ceased.

The 6 pounders were distributed to both the Royal Artillery and Infantry units the latter of which used these guns as part of the moveable armament. Some, however, were more strategically placed within concealed positions inside the Rock and these were usually mounted on a concrete plinth about 30 inches high on top of which was secured a mounting plate with bolts corresponding to the bolt ring on the gun. The 6 pounder at Parson’s Lodge is one such piece fixed to a static mount. However, the actual gun is not original to Parson’s Lodge being relocated to an existing WWII machine-gun bunker at this site sometime during the late 1980’s.

This gun had been removed from one of its deployment sites after WWII and re-located to Buena Vista. These guns were declared obsolete in 1951 but this piece continued to be used as a practice gun for the artillery section of the Gibraltar Regiment until it was removed, first to Harding’s battery in the early 1970’s and later to Parson’s Lodge. Evidence to show that the gun was never used at Parson’s Lodge can be seen by the fact that the pedestal mounting is placed back to front.

This gun is protected under the Heritage & Antiquities Act 2018.

Link to: One 6pdr Coast Defence on pivot mount

6-pdr BL 7 cwt MkII Anti Tank/ORD122 when at Buena Vista Barracks.