15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16

15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16

A 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16
Type Heavy field gun
Place of origin Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service 1916—1945
Used by  Austria-Hungary
 Austria
 Czechoslovakia
 Nazi Germany
 Italy
Wars World War I
World War II
Production history
Designer Skoda
Designed 1913—16
Manufacturer Skoda
Produced 1916—18
Number built 44
Variants 15 cm Autokanone M. 15
Specifications
Weight 11,900 kilograms (26,200 lb)
Barrel length 6.0 metres (19 ft 8 in) L/39.5
Crew 13

Shell separate-loading, cased charge
Caliber 152.4 mm (6 in)
Carriage box trail
Elevation -6° to +45°
Traverse
Rate of fire 1 rpm
Muzzle velocity 692 m/s (2,270 ft/s)
Effective firing range 16,000 metres (17,000 yd) (M. 15)
Maximum firing range 21,840 metres (23,880 yd) (M. 15/16)

The 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16 was a heavy field gun used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. Guns turned over to Italy as reparations after World War I were taken into Italian service as the Cannone da 152/37. Austrian and Czech guns were taken into Wehrmacht service after the Anschluss and the occupation of Czechoslovakia as the 15.2 cm K 15/16(t). Italian guns captured after the surrender of Italy in 1943 were known by the Wehrmacht as the 15.2 cm K 410(i). They weren't used much by the Germans, probably because of their unique ammunition, and generally served on coast-defense duties during World War II.

Design

The M. 15 was a thoroughly conventional design for its day with a box trail, iron wheels and a curved gunshield. It was notable as being the first Austro-Hungarian gun to be designed for motor transport, hence the Autokanone designation. For transport the barrel was generally detached from the recoil system and moved on its own trailer. The original M. 15 weapons had a maximum elevation of only 30°, but an elevation of 45° was demanded early in the gun's production run, mainly to engage high-altitude targets in the mountains. 27 M. 15 guns were completed before production switched to the improved M. 15/16 with greater elevation in the first half of 1917. A total of 44 barrels and 43 carriages were completed by the end of the war.[1]

It seems likely that surviving M. 15 guns were rebuilt after the war to M. 15/16 standards. During the Twenties, guns in Italian service had been refurbished by Vicker-Terni and given new wheels.

Notes

  1. Ortner, p. 518-519

References

External links

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