First Picture Of British 7. 2. Howitzers: Officers checking miscellaneous shells stacked in one of the bays of an underground quarry. 7.2 shells in the foreground. First picture just released (Sept. 30th. 194.) of the 7.2. Howitzer. The gun weight 10 tons and fires a 200 1b. shell. It is mounted on a twin wheel carriage fitted with pneumatic typres. It has hand controlled brakes. but when the gun is fired, even with its brakes on, the recoil is so heavy that the wheels run up the steel ramps designed to take the shock. January 22, 1945. (Photo by British Official Photograph).