The British Army has been convinced since the beginning of the XIXth century that a heavier howitzer should be added to the 6 inches howitzer. Both seduced and decieved by the performances of a Austrian Skoda 9.45 inches howitzer, it decided to develop a specific equipment, using the calibre of 9.2 inches that was yet in use in coastal defence units.

The 'Coventry Ordnance Works' recieved the contract, and a first prototype was delivered in the summer of 1914 for trials that proved satisfacory as soon as July 1914. While the industrial production was starting, that prototype nicknamed 'Mother' (it survived and is exposed in the London Imperial War Museum), was sent to France in August 1914, and shoot its first shells at Neuve Chapelle in the beginning of 1915.

The 'BL 9.2 inches Mk I Howitzer' was a robust and modern weapon equipped with the very first British hydro-pneumatic recoil system that was later on adopted as the standard system of this Army. It had to be transported in two separate loads. Because of a relative unstability during the fire, it had to be attached to an 'earth box' that the soldiers had to fill with 9 tons of earth with shovels. Needless to say, that operation did not created a lot of enthusiasm for this weapon in the soldiers hearts...

A model 'BL 9.2 inches Mk II Howitzer' was introduced by Vickers in 1916, with a longer tube to compensate the relatively low range of the Mk I. This second version never entirely replaced the existing Mk I. 512 items were produced as a total of the MkI and MkII, and a lot of them were still in service at the beginning of WW1.

Main characteristics :

Weight in firing position : 13577 kg (Mk I) - 16460kg (Mk II) plus 9 - 11 tonnes of earth
Calibre : 234 mm (9.2 in.)
Tube length : 14.5 (Mk I) - 19 (Mk II) calibres
Projectile weight : 131.5 kg
Initial velocity : 362 m/s (Mk I) - 483 m/s (Mk II)
Maximum range : 9200 m (Mk I) - 12740 m (Mk II)
Elevation range : +15 / +55 degrees (Mk I) - +15 / +50 degrees (Mk II)
Direction range : 60 degrees