Gulf News | Thursday, June 18, 2015 | gulfnews.com
A17
ramadan special
Cannon
behind the
iftar tradition
beginning in the sixties, dubai police’s
efforts have kept alive ancient practice
that sounds the end of the day’s fast
Dubai
By Noorhan Bar ak at
Staff Reporter
A
loud boom signals the
start of Ramadan across
Dubai. The Ramadan
cannons heard in Dubai
throughout
Ramadan
keep the tradition alive.
The firing of the cannon is an old
tradition that is believed to have
originated in Egypt to announce iftar
and the end of the day’s fast.
Since then the practice has spread
to most Arab countries. Dubai Police’s Weapons and Ammunition
Department of the General Department of Services and Supplies is responsible for the Ramadan cannon
firing programme. which it started
to announce iftar during the 1960s.
Major Abdullah Mubarak Bin
Musabah, head of the Weapons and
Ammunition Department gives Gulf
News the complete picture of the
working of Dubai Police’s Ramadan
cannon firing programme.
Barrel
45 degrees
is maximum
elevation and
5 degrees is
maximum
depression
QF-25* Pounder Mark I
Better known as 25pdr,
the cannon was the major British field gun during the Second
World War.
■■
■■
■■
Designed in the 1930s, it has
been in service since the 1940s.
The original manufacturer was
Royal Ordnance in UK. Now
there are several factories in
Commonwealth nations.
In combat, the cannon needed
a six-man crew to operate it as
it fires 6 to 8 rounds per minute.
Specifications:
Muzzle brake or
recoil compensator
redirects propellant
gases to counter
recoil and unwanted
rising of the barrel
during rapid fire.
The shells
■■
Weight: 1,633kg
■■
Length: 4.6 metres
■■
Barrel length: 2.47 metres
■■
Width: 2.13 metres at wheel hubs
■■
Height: 1.16 metres trunnion
■■
Shell: High explosive
anti-tank smoke
■■
Shell weight 11.5kg
(including fuse)
■■
Calibre 87.6mm
*Quick Firing 25
■■
25lb is the weight of a shell, including the projectile part (not in
the drawing) that fits on the top of a blank shell
■■
Propelling charge
inside its brass cartridge case with its
integral primer loaded
separately.
■■
Dubai Police fire around
175 shells during Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr.
■■
Each shell costs
between Dh1,000Dh1,700, and are
bought from Pakistan.
The name QF*(quick firing) originated
because the cannon’s cartridge case provided
rapid loading, and was automatically
expelled when the breech was opened.
■■
Twice in a row to announce Eid
Al Fitr
■■
Twice in the morning of Eid Al Fitr,
after Eid prayers.
■■
Twice in a row after Eid Al Adha
prayers)
■■
Primer
88mm
Loud noises can damage your ears
and cause hearing loss
Numbers in decibels(dB)
The strobe light and the red flag are not
original features of the cannon. These were attached by Dubai Police’s Weapons and Ammunition Department for reasons of traffic safety
170
125 dB. physical pain
Front cap
110
127
140
80
Recoil system
Sealing collar
30
Shield
Sight port
Allows a
periscope to
be attached
In the
library
Breech
opening
lever
Dial tone
Chainsaw
Vuvuzela
Handgun
Cannon
QF-25
■■
The cannon produces sound and heat. A safe listening
distance is around 20 metres.
■■
The 170-decibel sound of the cannon fire can be heard
around 10km away.
The cannon’s core
Fire lever
Placed on the side because
of the recoil when fired.
The gunner only needs his
right hand to pull the lever
down and fire.
Breech ring
Breech block
Firing mechanism
To Sha
rjah
Once every day to announce iftar
Black
gunpowder
Keep a safe distance
Few minutes before Magrib
prayers is time for iftar, marking
the end of the day’s fast.
■■
■■
h e a r i ng
Firing programme
schedule
Each cannon is fired once to announce Ramadan.
Chamber
couples with
the projectile
●
locations
■■
■■
Deira
Traverse
Elevation
handwheel handwheel
4 degrees
right and
left from the
centre line
Al Karama
Downtown
Burj Khalifa
Gunner’s
seat
Trail
91cm recoil
Also known as kickback,
it is the backward momentum of a gun when
fired. That’s why this area
needs to be clear.
Fire!
■■
*Al Safa Park
Variants
According to the Royal
Ordnance history, there
were several variants of the
original QF-25 PDR — Mark
I, II, III, IV — each with its
improvements and modified
features.
Jumeirah Beach
Residence
*With construction work around Al Safa Park,
the cannon firing programme will be moved to a
gate where there is no construction.
The officers
manning
the cannon
receive the
signal to
fire from Dubai Police’s
Operations Room.
Towing eye
Spade
To be fixed in the
ground for stablity
when firing.
You can admire these
pieces of artillery history
this Ramadan.
d u ba i p o l i c e
Crew of three operate the cannon
Dubai Police’s Weapons and Ammunition Department of the General Department of Services
and Supplies is responsible for the cannons.
Dubai Police have six cannons, five are in use and
one is kept as backup.
Infographic and research: Jose Luis Barros/©Gulf News | 3D model illustration Hugo A. Sanchez
■■
A SUV vehicle with a
5.3-litre - V8 engine is
capable of safely towing the cannon, which
weighs 1.6 tonnes.
■■
■■
In previous years, four officers
were in charge of the cannon;
this has changed to three this
year after it was found that
three were sufficient for the job.
Once the cannon is fired,
the officers enjoy their Iftar.
■■
One sergeant
■■
Two soldiers