15 cm field howitzer 13

15 cm field howitzer 13
General Information
Military designation:	15 cm field howitzer 13
Manufacturer country:	German Empire
Developer / Manufacturer:	Krupp / Krupp,  Rheinmetall
Development year:	1913
Production time:	1913 to 1918
Number of pieces:	3409
Technical specifications
Pipe length:	2.266 m
Caliber :	14.97 cm
Caliber length :	L / 17
Cadence :	3 rounds / min
Elevation range:	0 ° to +45 degrees
Side straightening area:	7 °

The 15 cm heavy field howitzer 13 was a heavy field howitzer that was used by the German Army in World War I , adopted by the Reichswehr and used by the German Wehrmacht in World War II .

history

The field howitzer introduced in 1913 was a further development of the 15 cm heavy field howitzer 02 . By increasing the caliber length by two, a fifteen percent increase in range could be achieved with the same ammunition. After the end of the First World War, she was taken over by the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic . According to the Versailles Treaty , some had to be given to Belgium (local designation Obusier de 150 L / 17 ) and the Netherlands ( 15 cm sFH ) as reparations .

Until the introduction of the 15 cm field howitzer 18 in 1933, the 15 cm field howitzer 13 was the standard gun of the heavy field howitzer batteries. After that she was transferred to reserve and training units.

After the beginning of the Second World War and the successful course of the western campaign , it was used in the Atlantic Wall on the French Channel coast for coastal defense. The former reparations guns, which were captured by the Belgians and the Dutch, were also positioned there. These guns continued to be used in the Wehrmacht under the designation 15 cm sFH 409 (b) and 406 (h) .

In the summer of 1942, 40 field howitzers were placed on captured French Lorraine tugs (f) (Sd.Kfz.135/1) . The resulting self-propelled artillery guns (Sfl.) Were shipped to North Africa in July / August. Then a further 72 Sfl., Also using captured British tank chassis, were produced and assigned to the Fast Brigade West. This later became the newly established 21st Panzer Division , which fought on the invasion front with these guns .

The 2270 kilogram howitzer fired 39.17 kilogram HE shells up to 8900 meters.

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  15 cm sFH 13 at the US Army Field Artillery Museum, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma

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  Battle of Arras 1917

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  Self-propelled artillery gun Lorraine (f) with 15 cm heavy field howitzer 13

literature

• Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945 . 2nd Edition. Special edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .
• Wolfgang Fleischer, Richard Eiermann: The motorized artillery and tank artillery of the German army 1935-1945 , Podzun-Pallas Verlag, ISBN 3-7909-0721-9 .

Web links

Commons : 15 cm Field Howitzer 13  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• DATABASE OF THE WW1 SURVIVING ARTILLERY
• Photo gallery from the Army Reserve Depot, Gladstone
• Photo gallery from W. O'Sullivan Memorial Park, Wandoan
• Photo gallery from the War Memorial, Mount Morgan, Queensland
• Photo gallery from the Memorial Swimming Pool, Rockhampton
• Photo gallery from Memorial Hall, Mill St, Rosewood

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain, p. 194.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain, p. 198.
3. ↑ Wolfgang Fleischer, Richard Eiermann, pp. 74, 75.