A Mark II 6-Inch QF Gun Barrel found in Beach Road in 1995. Beach Road was where the Headquarters of the Singapore Volunteer Artillery was. This barrel may have been from a training gun.
Fort Siloso
The 6-Inch QF Gun Battery
6-Inch BL Battery
The Mark II 6-Inch QF Battery on Mount Siloso was operational by September 1900. These guns were a huge improvement on the two 7-Inch RML Guns they replaced. The firepower of the fort took a significant step forward, and its rate of fire greatly speeded up. However, the battery would only remain atop Mount Siloso for a few years before being moved to replace the 9.2-Inch Gun further down the hill.
The photograph above right shows a 6-Inch QF Gun displayed in the QF Emplacement at Fort Pasir Panjang (Labrador Park). This is the same gun shown in the left hand panel.
Three 6-Inch QF Batteries were constructed to defend Keppel Harbour; Fort Siloso, Fort Connaught (The Guns were later removed to Fort Silingsing on Pulau Brani) and Fort Pasir Panjang (Tanjong Berlayar). The photograph on the right shows what is believed to be the Fort Silingsing 6-Inch QF Battery, It may however be a battery at Hong Kong. The 6-Inch QF Gun had a range of 12,000 yards (10,973 metres) and was capable of a rapid rate of fire when served by an experienced team of gunners. Seven Rounds per minute could be expected from a trained gun crew.
The 6 Inch Gun was destined to become the mainstay of coastal artillery batteries throughout the British Empire, seeing service world-wide until 1956.
The 6-Inch QF Emplacement before restoration.
Looking East along the Emplacement.
The steel doors on each side of the stairway down are hatches for Quick Return Hoists.
Looking West showing the 1930s Battery Observation Post (BOP).
The Observation Post for the QF Battery was in the same place, but was smaller.
LEFT: The entrance to an Observation Post between the Guns. The Battery Commander would be here.
RIGHT: The Observation Post.
By 1912, the 6-Inch QF Emplacement had been moved down hill to replace the 9.2-Inch BL Gun. The plan on the left is drawn from the Fort Record Plan dated 1912. The magazine below is shaded.
In the 1930s, this emplacement was rebuilt for two Mark VII 6-Inch BL Guns. Post WWII, there were some further modifications to enable the emplacement of two Mark 24 6-Inch BL Guns.