Obice da 105/14

Obice da 105/14 modello 18
Type howitzer
Place of origin Italy
Service history
In service 1918?-1945
Used by  Italy
 Nazi Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer Ansaldo
Manufacturer Ansaldo
Specifications
Weight 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb)
Barrel length 1.47 metres (4 ft 10 in) L/14

Shell 16.3 kilograms (36 lb)
Caliber 105 mm (4.134 in)
Carriage box trail
Elevation −5° to +70°
Traverse
Rate of fire 4–6 rpm
Muzzle velocity 330 m/s (1,083 ft/s)
Maximum firing range 8,160 metres (8,920 yd)

The Obice da 105/14 modello 18 was a howitzer used by Italy during World War II. It appears to have been designed at the end of World War I, but that remains to be confirmed. It was originally designed to be towed by horses with wooden-spoked wheels. Some weapons may have been modernized for tractor-towing with steel-spoked wheels and pneumatic tires. For transport the box trail was supported by a small limber. Howitzers captured by the Germans after the Italian surrender in 1943 were given the designation of 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze 326(i), although it is unknown to what extent they were actually used.

Both references listed below believe this gun was developed in the 1930s, but this seems unlikely given the photographic evidence of the designation as modello 18. The box trail would also be very old-fashioned for a gun designed that late.

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