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BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI–VIII

British field howitzer

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ796280 ↗
Source-derived summary

The BL 8-inch howitzer Marks VI, VII and VIII (6, 7 and 8) were a series of British artillery siege howitzers on mobile carriages of a new design introduced in World War I. They were designed by Vickers in Britain and produced by all four British artillery manufacturers, but were mainly produced by Armstrong and an American company. They were the equivalents of the German 21 cm Morser 16 and in British service were used similarly to the BL 9.2-inch howitzer but were quicker to manufacture and more mobile. They delivered a 200 lb (91 kg) shell to 12,300 yd (7.0 mi; 11.2 km). They had limited service in the British Army in World War II before being converted to the new 7.2 in (180 mm) calibre. They also equipped a small number of Australian and Canadian batteries in World War I and by the US Army in that war. They were used in small numbers by other European armies.

Design and variants

8-inch was a calibre adopted in the First World War by the British Army. The Marks VI, VII and VIII (6, 7 and 8) were a new design and not related to the stopgap early Marks I-V of 8-inch howitzer, which used shortened and bored-out naval 6-inch (150 mm) gun barrels.

Mark VI

The Vickers design, very similar to their 6-inch howitzer, was approved in August 1915 and first substantial order placed in March 1916 for 50 howitzers, with 30 more in the autumn. It was 4–5 tonnes lighter than the improvised 8-inch "howitzers" Mks I – V. The Mk VI barrel was of built-up construction and was 14.7 calibres (117.7 inches (2.99 m)) long, with a range of 10,745 yards (9,825 m).

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI–VIII” as british field howitzer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1915, 1916—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1915. The account is most persuasive where 8-inch, howitzer and VIII can be independently traced.
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Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as british field howitzer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q796280. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1915 and 1916.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI–VIII” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.