It was designed for both horse draft and mechanical traction and served throughout the First World War in the main theatres.

After the capture of Pretoria in 1900 Lord Roberts, the commander-in-chief in South Africa (and an artillery officer), had stated the requirements of a heavy field gun: a range of 10,000 yards, weight behind the team of no more than 4 tons and the largest possible shell, accordingly the Ordnance Committee in London ordered experimental guns and three were trialled.

[5][page needed] In 1902 the Heavy Battery Committee was formed comprising officers experienced with heavy and siege artillery in South Africa and presided over by Colonel Perrott who had commanded the Siege Train there.

In early 1903 their first report dismissed the 4.7-inch (120 mm, used in South Africa) and the 30 pounder (used in India) from further consideration because they lacked firepower.

[6] In 1900 the Secretary of State for War had announced a plan to give "Volunteer Position Batteries 4.7 inch guns", he also extolled the merits of 4.7, (which the army knew to be misleading) and in 1902 and 1903 Parliament voted to equip 60 Volunteer batteries with a 4.7-inch,[7] despite the 60 pounder being in development.

However, in 1903 a heavy brigade RGA was formed by converting three siege companies and equipping them with 4.7-inch guns.

At the outbreak of war they equipped, with 4 guns, the heavy battery RGA in each infantry division.

[8][page needed] Armstrong were the main supplier, with Vickers and the Ordnance Factory Woolwich also producing complete equipments.

[11][page needed] Mk I carriage had the usual field artillery wooden spoked wheels with iron tyres.

[10] Wartime manufacturing of the carriage was simplified in Mk II by removing the provision to retract the gun for traveling.

[11] The increased weight with the traction engine wheels made maneuvering difficult in typical mud conditions.

In June 1916 the BEF commander General Haig requested a return to the lighter Mk I carriage.

The Mk II gun introduced from 1918 had a longer barrel, new box trail carriage giving increased elevation to 35 degrees and cut-off gear to automatically reduce the recoil length from 54 to 24-inches with increasing elevation,[13][page needed] hydro-pneumatic recoil system below the barrel, single-motion Asbury breech.

Subsequently, the No 14 carrier was issued, this was a Probert pattern calibrating sight, the range scale plate being double sided, 8 CRH shell full charge (13,700 yards) and reduced charge Mk IXC (8,300 yards) on one side.

From 30 June 1916 the War Office adopted Major-General Noel Birch's recommendations to increase heavy battery sizes to 6 guns,[19] as more guns with better concentration of firepower were required on the Western Front, while minimising the administrative overhead of more batteries.

Weighing 4.4 tonnes, the 60-pounder required a team of 8 horses to tow it, with a maximum of 12 possible in difficult conditions.

Mechanical towing by Holt Tractors and later motor lorries took over from horses towards the end of the First World War.

[22][page needed] During the Second World War they served with the BEF in France and North Africa in medium regiments, by the South African artillery in East Africa and by an Australian battery (1/12th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery) at Tobruk.

The weapons were primarily Mark I guns produced by the Elswick Ordnance Company.

[23] Their acquisition was reported in the US Army Ordnance Department's May 1920 Handbook of Artillery:[24] "The United States procured a number of batteries of 5-inch 60 pounder guns with the necessary accompanying vehicles from Great Britain.

Despite many going to scrap drives in World War II, over thirty weapons remained on display in the US in the 2010s.