Bergamo. Parco delle Rimembranze

Massimo_Foti · Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:53 pm Post subject: Bergamo. Parco delle Rimembranze

Austro-Hungarian gun, designed by Skoda. The best pack-howitzer of WW I. Heavily used by the Italians during WW II as well:

7.5 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 15 by Massimo Foti, on Flickr

CharlieC · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Oct 24, 2012 Posts: 58

Nice looking M15 - the wheels could do with a bit of TLC and the lower shield is missing.

Also used by Ottoman Army and the German Army in WW1. The Germans used them as infantry guns but found they were underpowered since they were fairly ineffective against tanks.

There was an upgraded version produced by Skoda between the wars with a longer barrel.

Regards,

Charlie

Massimo_Foti

Some pictures of such guns in Italian Army during WW II show them without the lower shield.

Here is the updated version, from Belgrade Museum:

7.5 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 28 by Massimo Foti, on Flickr

Massimo_Foti

Another original Austro-Hungarian gun, used by the Italian Army after WW I:

10 cm Feldhaubitze M 14 by Massimo Foti, on Flickr

Massimo_Foti

The Italians upgraded it to use it with motorized tractors:

100 mm mod. 1914 by Massimo Foti, on Flickr

Massimo_Foti

Pretty much at the very same time, Skoda updated the design, with a longer barrel (22 calibers instead of 17); and sold it, among others, to Poland and Yugoslavia. The gun below is the mountain version, but you get the idea:

10 cm Gebirgshaubitze vz 16/19 Skoda by Massimo Foti, on Flickr

Massimo_Foti

During WWII Italian Army got some 100/22 captured in Yugoslavia, plus others from Poland and used them.

After WW II the gun got another upgrade, a rotating platform just like 25 pdr, muzzle brake and rebored to use 105 mm NATO ammo. Here it its final incarnation:

105 mm mod. 1961 by Massimo Foti, on Flickr

Massimo_Foti

75 mm mod. 1911 by Massimo Foti, on Flickr

Massimo_Foti

47 mm mod. 35 by Massimo Foti, on Flickr

CharlieC · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Oct 24, 2012 Posts: 58

The 10cm Skoda M14 was also used by the Ottoman Army in WW1 - there is a captured 10cm Skoda at Oakey, Qld.

The 75mm Mod 1911 is the Deport gun - very unusual gun:
- split trails, may have been the first field gun with these.
- high elevation angles achievable by a two part recoil absorption system.
Deport was one of the developers of the French 75mm Mle 1897 gun.

Regards,

Charlie

Massimo_Foti

Yes, the Deport was pretty advanced for its time. I've posted other pictures of the same model in the past on this very same forum.

Massimo