Coastal howitzer 42 cm
| Coastal howitzer 42 cm | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | 42 cm howitzer M 14 42 cm houfnice vz. 17 42 cm howitzer (t) |
| Manufacturer country: | Austria-Hungary |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Škoda , Plzeň |
| Development year: | 1909 to 1914 |
| Production time: | 1914 to 1918 |
| Number of pieces: | 8th |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 6.29 m |
| Caliber : |
42 cm |
| Caliber length : | L / 15 |
| Cadence : | 0.2 rounds / min |
| Elevation range: | + 40 ° to +71 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 360 ° |
The 42 cm M 14 / M 16 / M 17 coastal howitzer was a super-heavy artillery used by the Austro-Hungarian fortress artillery during the First World War . After that it was used by the Czechoslovak Army in the interwar period and by the German Wehrmacht in World War II .
history
At the beginning of the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian fortress artillery already had some of these howitzers . They were only intended for coastal defense and were deployed accordingly. In Fort Gomila of the naval base Pola two of these guns were set up, one of them was not to make technical reasons mobile. The other was expanded and deployed in Gorlice - Tarnów in January 1915 , then in Krakow , then on the Serbian front and then in front of Modlin . This gun was then set up for the May offensive in 1916 in the immediate vicinity of the 38 cm M.16 “Gudrun” siege howitzer near Calliano and fired at targets on the plateau of the seven municipalities . At the same time, another gun was posted on the Malga Larghetto south of Monte Rover and supported the second 38 cm M.16 siege howitzer (gun "Barbara") in the bombardment of Forte Monte Verena .
The relocation of these howitzers proved to be extremely difficult because they had been designed as stationary coastal guns. The pipes and mounts were housed in shatterproof steel towers that were open at the top and, for technical reasons, could not be dispensed with at first. A large sliding gantry crane was required for assembly; likewise the rails required for the crane's movement sequence. The transport took place with a not inconsiderable number of trucks.
A total of eight turrets (No. 1 to 8) and a spare barrel were made of the M 14 type .
At the end of the war, a total of eight guns were still in service: one M 14 in the coastal fort Gomila, two M 14 , four M 16 and one M 17 on the various front sections.
At least one gun was transported away by the Italian army after the end of the war and exhibited in Rome .
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In the interwar period, the cannons were handed over to the newly founded Czechoslovakia .
After the occupation by the German Wehrmacht in March 1939, all guns were taken over under the designation 42 cm howitzer (t) and used in the siege of Leningrad in 1942.
An M 16 howitzer is located in the Army Museum in the Romanian capital Bucharest .
variants
M 16
Due to the immense difficulties involved in transporting the device, they were forced to make improvements and modify the bedding. The gun barrel M 14 was retained, but a mount was constructed that was similar to the mount of the 38 cm M 16 howitzer and significantly reduced the transport volume of the gun. Nevertheless, four partial loads were required to transport the bedding and the gear rim. A total of six partial loads were required for the gun. Handling and maneuverability were satisfactory and roughly corresponded to the M 16 siege mortar . Four copies of the 42 cm M 16 howitzer were ordered.
The guns were given the numbers 9-12.
M 17
Further improvements to the carriage for the purpose of weight reduction as well as some detail changes led to the M 17 model . Here the carriage was reduced again so that the partial loads could ultimately be reduced to four. Four of this sample were also ordered; however, only one was used.
Technical specifications
| Coastal howitzer 42 cm M 17 | |
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| Technical specifications | |
| First use: | 1914 |
| Designation: | heavy thrown barrel recoil gun |
| Weight of the ready-to-fire gun: | 100 tons |
| Transport: | |
| Road transport: | a pipe wagon, a carriage wagon, two bed wagons, four generator wagons |
| Rail transport over short distances: | after exchanging road tires for rail tires with your own generator car up to about 50 km |
| Long-haul rail transport: | after exchanging road and rail tires in the normal train formation |
| construction | |
| Carriage: | Center pivot mount |
| Bedding: | Iron box bedding with turntable |
| Dimensions of the box bedding: | Length 7.50 m / width 6.20 m / height 1.75 m |
| Installation time box bedding: | 20 hours to 10 days depending on the nature of the terrain |
| Assembling the gun: | about 6 hours |
| Gun data | |
| Caliber: | 420 mm above the fields / 424.5 mm in the trains |
| Muzzle velocity: | 415-470 m / s |
| Impact speed: | about 370 m / s |
| Firing range min .: | 4.8 km |
| Firing range max .: | 14.6 km |
| Elevation: | + 40 ° to + 70 ° |
| Side straightening area: | 360 ° |
| ammunition | |
| Grenade: | Tank shell M 14/9 with or without delay detonator |
| Grenade weight: | 1000 kg |
| Explosive charge: | 89.6 to 104.4 kg Tritol or Ammonal |
| Propellant charge: | Brass case with 1st to 4th charge - max. 51 kg of nitrocellulose |
See also
Literature and Sources
- Teaching material and service regulations of the Austro-Hungarian Army in the war archive in Vienna
- Erwin Anton Grestenberger: Imperial and Royal fortifications in Tyrol and Carinthia 1860 - 1918. Verlag Österreich ua, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-7046-1558-7 .
- Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945. 2nd Edition. Special edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .
