British recoilless cannon

[Justo Miranda]

I am looking for information on 4.50" (114 mm) recoilless gun (RCL).
Can anyone help, please?

 

[Apophenia]

I'm assuming that you're referring to the larger of the two recoilless guns developed by the Royal Armament and Research Establishment (ARE) at Fort Halstead at Seven Oaks in Kent. These guns fired standard anti-aircraft artillery shells (3.7-inch/94 mm or 4.50-inch/114 mm) with proximity fuses. Rather than a Burney-style perforated shell, these RCLs fired a counter-weight to the rear.

Gloster adopted the 4.50-inch RCL for its original Javelin proposal. Most sources say that the guns could not be reloaded in flight so multiple (4-or-6) barrels were required. Others say that a 7-rd rotary magazine was developed for this 650 kg gun.

 

[Justo Miranda]

Many thanks