Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna has taken delivery of an original World War One British 18-pounder quick-firing field gun.

The foundation said that this gun was obtained from private sources in the UK for eventual display at the new planned museum extension of the Saluting Battery in Valletta which is to feature a state of the art museum space. Work on this project will be starting in earnest next year.

The purchase and transportation of this gun was made possible through a huge common effort between a number of local and foreign public bodies and commercial companies.

It was funded through direct sponsorship received from the Finance Ministry’s Good Causes Fund, Bank of Valletta plc and other donations received from visitors to FWA heritage sites.

The transportation to Malta was undertaken by the Royal Air Force on a C130 Hercules military transport plane through the intervention of the British High Commission. Other assistance was received from Malta International Airport, Airmalta, the Armed Forces of Malta, and E.L. Attard Ltd of Kalkara. The gun was flown from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, UK on a training flight.

The gun weighs just over a ton. It fired high-explosive shells of between 4.6 and 8.4 kilogrammes. In WWI British 18 pounder guns fired over 100 million rounds. It had a range of 5,966 metres.

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