Battle of Honey Springs

The 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09 (10.5 cm FH 98/09), a short barreled (1625 mm) 105mm howitzer, also referred to as the 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze (light field howitzer) 98/09, was used by the German Empire, Kingdom of Romania as well as the Ottoman Empire in World War I and after. It had a maximum range of 6,300 metres (20,700 ft).[1]

History

It was originally built by Rheinmetall as the 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98, an old-fashioned, fixed-recoil weapon delivered to the German army in 1898; between 1902 and 1904, it was redesigned, by Krupp, with a new recoil mechanism and a new carriage.[2] However, it wasn't accepted for service until 1909, hence the ending designation 98/09. Existing weapons were rebuilt to the new standard. As usual, two seats were attached to the gun shield. There were 1,260 in service at the beginning of World War I.[3] Romania captured around 64 pieces from the German Army during World War I, and put them into service during the interwar years.[4]

The 10.5 cm leFH 16 was introduced in 1916 as a successor to 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09, featuring a longer barrel and hence longer range.

Ammunition

The 10.5 cm used three different types of ammunition and the aiming instruments were marked with three different meter scales and a dial sight for both direct and indirect fire. Originally, it used 7 charges of propellant, but this was increased during the war to 8 in an effort to extend its range.[5]

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Gallery

References

  • Jäger, Herbert. German Artillery of World War One. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001 ISBN 1-86126-403-8

Notes

  1. ^ 10.5 cm LIGHT FIELD HOWITZER MODEL 98/09- Retrieved 2012-02-29. Archived 2012-03-06.
  2. ^ Transformation of the 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09- Retrieved 2012-02-29. Archived 2012-03-06.
  3. ^ Jäger, p. 28
  4. ^ Stroea, Adrian; Băjenaru, Gheorghe (2010). Artileria româna în date si imagini [Romanian artillery in data and images] (in Romanian). Editura Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-606-524-080-3.
  5. ^ Ammunition- Retrieved 2012-02-29

External links