Royal Ordnance L9
Centurion AVRE 165
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Production history
Manufacturer	Royal Ordnance Factories
Specifications
Shell weight	29 kg (64 lb)
Calibre	165 mm (6.5 in)

Royal Ordnance L9 is a British short-barrelled 165 mm (6.5 in) gun used for combat engineering, particularly the demolition of defences.

Initially called Ordnance BL 6.5" Mk I, it was later renamed 165mm L9 Demolition Gun.

The gun is capable of firing a 29 kg (64 lb) High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) demolition projectile distances up to 2,400 m (2,600 yd).^[1] The HESH shell contains 18 kg (40 lb) of C-4 explosive.^[2]

The L9 gun was mounted on Royal Engineers AVRE versions of the Churchill and Centurion tanks after the Second World War.

The gun's primary purpose is the clearing of obstacles such as walls, fences, roadblocks or bunkers, and the destruction of buildings.^[3]

• L9A1: improved version
• M135: American version, used on M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle, variant of the M60 tank.^[4]

• US Army Field Manual FM 5-103 Survivability, Appendix A, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C., 10 June 1985
• Hunnicutt, R. P. Patton: A History of the American Main Battle Tank. 1984; Presidio Press. ISBN 0-89141-230-1.