13/18 pr Shrapnel Ammunition issued to units in the early years of the World War 1 [1914/15] was the same type of ammunition except for the calibre and the weight of the lead shot used within the shell, there was no high explosive shells [H.E.] issued for these guns. Shrapnel was very effective when used against troops in the open and against troops in the trenches where it caused many casualties, but experience showed that it was not effective on hard targets such as Pill Box's, Machine Gun Posts or any defense that had good solid overhead cover also the practice at the time of using it to destroy the wire defences in front of the enemy's trenches to allow attacking troops a clear way forward was not very successful and was very expensive in ammunition for a very small return. H.E. was finally issued in late 1915.
During the early part of the war the ammunition allowance for one day was three/four rounds per gun and it proved a mammoth task for the Adjutant of the Brigade to get accurate ammunition expenditure figures, as any over expenditure meant large amounts of paper work [see diaries for example]
Exploded view of a 13pr Shrapnel shell Exploded view of a Star shell
Number of shot in a 18pr Shrapnel was 375 mixed metal balls at 41 to the lb. Brown paper tubes contain 10 'Stars, in two tiers of five.
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