10.4 cm Feldkanone M. 15

10.4 cm Feldkanone M. 15
10.4 cm Feldkanone M. 15 at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien.
Type	Field gun
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1916-1945
Used by	Austria-Hungary Nazi Germany Italy
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Skoda
Designed	1909-1914
Manufacturer	Skoda
Produced	1914-1918
Number built	577?
Variants	Cannone da 105/32
Specifications
Weight	3,030 kg (6,680 lb)
Barrel length	3.64 m (11 ft 11 in) L/35

Shell	16.1 kilograms (35 lb 8 oz)
Caliber	105 mm (4.13 in)
Carriage	box trail
Elevation	-10° to +30°
Traverse	6°
Rate of fire	3-4 rpm
Muzzle velocity	668 m/s (2,191 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	16,200 m (17,700 yd)

The 10.4 cm Feldkanone M. 15 was a heavy field gun used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. Guns captured or turned over to Italy as reparations after World War I were taken into Italian service as the Cannone da 105/32 and were bored out to 105 mm to fit Italian ammunition. It was one of the principal Italian long-range guns in World War II and saw service in North Africa and Russia. Those few guns that were captured from the Italians by the Germans after the Italian surrender in 1943 were designated as 10.5 cm Kanone 320(i). It doesn't seem to have seen service with any of the Austro-Hungarian successor states after World War I.

For transport it broke down into the customary two loads. And it carried the customary two seats on the gun shield for crewmen. All data given herein is for the Italian version of the gun.

A rusting 10.4 cm Skoda was found in the Presanella mountains in the year 2000, where it supposed it was dueling an Italian 149/23 during the First World War.^[1]^[2] Found at 3171 meters altitude, the gun came completely out of the glacier in the very warm summer of 2003. Because it was located on a 45 degree slope, the risk of it sliding down was considered too great, so the gun was relocated by lifting it with a Superpuma helicopter.^[3]

References

↑ Il grande cannone della Presanella - di Mauro Zattera
↑ Restauro Cannone Skoda 10.4, Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra, Provincia autonoma di Trento
↑ Il recupero del cannone 10.4 Skoda, Museo della Guerra Bianca in Adamello

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
Ortner, M. Christian. The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics. Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007 ISBN 978-3-902526-13-7

External links

Austro-Hungarian artillery of World War I

Infantry and mountain	7 cm Gebirgsgeschütz M 99 7.5 cm Gebirgsgeschütz 15 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 99 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 8 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 16

Mortars	8 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14 9 cm Minenwerfer M 17 10.5 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 12 cm Minenwerfer M 15 12 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16 14 cm Minenwerfer M 15 15 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 M. E. 20 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16 22.5 cm Minenwerfer M 15 26 cm Minenwerfer M 17

Field, medium and heavy	8 cm FK M 99 8 cm FK M. 5 8 cm FK M. 17 8 cm FK M 18 9 cm FK M 75/96 10 cm FH M 99 10 cm Feldhaubitze M. 14 10.4 cm Feldkanone M. 15 15 cm sFH M 94 15 cm sFH M 14 15 cm sFH M.15 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16

Superheavy and siege	12 cm Kanone M 80 15 cm Mörser M 80 15 cm Kanone M 80 18 cm kurze Kanone M 80 21 cm Mörser M. 16/18 24 cm Mörser M 98 24 cm Kanone M. 16 30.5 cm Mörser M. 11 30.5 cm Mörser M. 16 35 cm Marinekanone L/45 M. 16 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 42 cm Haubitze M. 14/16

Italian artillery of World War II

Tank guns	Breda Model 35 Cannone da 37/40 Cannone da 47/32 M35 Cannone da 47/40 Cannone da 75/34

Anti-tank guns	Solothurn S-18/1000 Cannone da 47/32 M35 Obice da 75/18 modello 35 Cannone da 75/32 modello 37 Cannone da 75/34 Cannone da 75/46 C.A. modello 34 Cannone da 90/53 Cannone da 105/25

Infantry and Mountain guns	Cannone da 47/32 M35 Cannone da 65/17 modello 13 Cannone da 70/15 Obice da 75/18 modello 34

Field, Medium and Heavy guns	Cannone da 75/27 modello 06 Cannone da 75/27 modello 12 Cannone da 75/27 modello 11 Obice da 75/18 modello 35 Cannone da 105/28 Cannone da 105/32 Cannone da 149/35 A Cannone da 149/40 modello 35 Obice da 149/19 modello 37 Obice da 210/22

Railroad artillery	Cannone navale da 381/40

Anti-aircraft guns	Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/77 (Scotti) Breda Model 35 Cannone da 75/46 C.A. modello 34 Cannone da 90/53