10 cm schwere Kanone 18
10 cm schwere Kanone 18 at the National Museum of Military History, Bulgaria, Sofia.
TypeField gun
Place of originGermany
Service history
Used byNazi Germany
Albania
Bulgaria
WarsWorld War II
Production history
Produced1934–1944
No. built1,433
Specifications
Mass5,642 kg (12,438 lbs)
Barrel length5.46 m (18 ft) L/52
Shellseparate-loading, cased charge (3 charges)
Shell weight15.14 kg (33.4 lb)[1]
Caliber105 mm (4.13 in)
Breechhorizontal sliding-block
CarriageSplit trail
Elevation0° to +48°
Traverse64°
Rate of fire6 rpm
Muzzle velocity835 m/s (2,739 ft/s)
Effective firing range19 km (12 mi)

The 10 cm schwere Kanone 18 (10 cm sK 18) was a field gun used by Germany in World War II. The German army wanted a new 10.5 cm gun as well as 15 cm howitzer which were to share the same carriage. Guns are heavier than howitzers due to the longer barrel. This also led to the 15 cm sFH 18. As such both weapons had a similar weight and could be carried by a similar carriage. By 1926 Krupp and Rheinmetall had specimen designs, and prototypes were ready by 1930, but was not fielded until 1933–34. Both Krupp and Rheinmetall competed for the development contract, but the Wehrmacht compromised and selected Krupp's carriage to be mated with Rheinmetall's gun.

It sometimes equipped the medium artillery battalion (with the 15 cm sFH 18) of German divisions, but generally was used by independent artillery battalions and on coast defense duties. Some were used as anti-tank guns during the early stages of war on the Eastern Front, as well as on the prototype self propelled gun "Dicker Max". Around 1,500 guns were produced until 1945. After the war it served with the Albanian and Bulgarian armies.

References

  1. ↑ Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Light and medium field artillery. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco. p. 30. ISBN 0668038209. OCLC 2067331.

Sources

  • Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934–1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
  • Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939–1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
  • Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X
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