Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

10.5cm leFH 16

1916 WORLD WAR 1 WORLD WAR 2

10. 5cm leFH 16 layers

As the once mobile front lines of World War I fell into trench warfare, all parties were looking for ways to drive out entrenched enemies. Artillery is one such weapon that has proven extremely important for all types of targets - infantry, fortifications, tanks.

As a result, field guns and howitzers enhanced the various fronts that began to appear in early 1915. Field guns provide a direct angle of attack from the line of fire, while howitzers fire ammunition to treat target areas with indirect fire.

In 1916, the German Imperial Army adopted the "10.5 cm Lecce Feldhaubitze 16" series of new guns (the 105 mm light field howitzer model of 1916). These guns served the German Empire until the battle ended in November 1918. They are made by Krupp.

It has a very classic design with large spoked wheels on either side of the van layout. The gun and recoil mechanism are placed on mounting hardware that provides an inherent elevation range of -10 to +40 degrees. Lateral is limited to 4 degrees from the centerline.

The gun is loaded with a standard 105mm projectile and is loaded via a horizontally sliding breech block. Grenades are individually loaded using jacketed loading elements. Each projectile weighs 33 pounds and comes in either HE (High Explosive) or AP (Armor Piercing) flavors. A typical rifle crew consists of six people, each assigned a specific task during the firing and loading phases, and ammunition supplies are limited to those provided by artillery tractors or similar shops. A curved gun shield provides minimal protection to the crew.

A cutout on the left side of the shield allows a protected view beyond the shield.

As a complete battlefield component, the leFH 16 weighs 3,360 pounds and requires a porter or animal to transport. The crew can move the gun over short distances with great force. A well-trained rifle crew can fire 4 to 5 rounds per minute to maintain a range of up to 10,100 yards.

The muzzle velocity is 1,300 feet per second.

With the armistice of 1918, the guns fell into the hands of the Belgian army as war reparation for the German invasion. These were in place until Germany's second invasion of Belgium at the start of World War II. After the reconquest of Belgium, these guns fell back into German stockpiles and were renamed "10.5 cm leFH 327(b)".

These guns then again fought under the German flag until the end of World War II in 1945, usually in areas where the Bundeswehr's howitzer stockpile was limited.