17cm Kanone 18 (17cm K18)

History

Adolf Hitler and his Germany have always liked big, powerful guns, and the heavy howitzer was no exception. A military-grade artillery gun was needed as a counter-artillery weapon capable of knocking down enemy battalion emplacements at long distances. From the 16th century until World War II, Europe's leading arms manufacturer was Krupp Industries of Essen, Germany. The Krupp 21cm howitzer Madame 16 from WW1 is now an obsolete system and a new gun is being developed for the overhauled German army. The first new German heavy howitzer produced for World War II was the Krupp 21cm Moser 18, a 211mm field gun released in 1939.

The gun is fired with a hydropneumatic dual recoil mechanism to minimize recoil while increasing target acquisition range, capable of firing 250 lb HE (High Explosive) shells to a range of approximately 15,857 yards (14,500 meters).

By 1941, however, the German Army was looking for a heavy "Morser" system with an inherently longer range (howitzers were called "Morser" by the German military because of their use in fire engagement and purely anti-battery combat). Krupp produced a smaller version of the 21 cm Morser 18, which became the 17 cm Kanone 18 in 172.5 mm (6.79 in) caliber. The 17cm rounds impressed the German artillery, who fired 150lb high-explosive rounds with a range of 30,621 yards (27,432 m), effectively doubling the previous 21cm range and increasing speed 1,000 ft/sec.

What's really surprising is the explosiveness of the 150 pounder, which is almost indistinguishable from the 21cm 250 pounder. Production of the 21cm gun was stopped for almost two years in order to increase the production of the 17cm gun.

The 17cm gun of the Kanone 18 series has a combat weight of 38,600 lbs. She moved ?51,500 while travelling. Its overall length is 28 feet, which makes it a bulky weapon that can maneuver in tight spaces like city streets. While officially listed as a 172.5mm gun, the unofficial caliber is shown as 173mm.

Its breech consists of a horizontal breech block system. Height ranges from -6 to +50 degrees, with a base lateral of 16 degrees when placed on wheels. The muzzle velocity is rated at 3,035 feet per second, and the maximum range is 18.4 miles.

It fired two types of high-explosive roundsa 138-pound and a 150-pound projectile, each with a different muzzle velocity and range.

The 17cm uses a dual recoil system, making it an inherently sturdy fire platform. Mounted on Mrs Love's 21" cart, the gun assembly has four hard rubber tire wheels for maneuvering and transport. To prepare for firing, the platform had to be lowered onto the two bases of the carriage. Three large steel rollers - mounted on vertical legs - will support the weight of the gun. The rearmost roller is attached to a large helical lifting leg.

The design did not require a shovel for stability, as the track rested on a slender metal float connected to a gearbox that allowed the gun to rotate 16 degrees, controlled by turning a wishbone handwheel. If additional traversal is required, the screw lift legs can be bolted to the side of the wagon with handwheels, and this action then lifts the float off the ground, allowing soldiers to launch the 19.25-ton wagon using the tow pins.

A 360-degree arc allows you to change firing positions fairly quickly in the heat of battle.

When the gun fires, the barrel bounces back into its cradle, while the lower part of the carriage (fixed barrel) moves forward over the body of the carriage. This "dual recoil" system reduces the overall recoil force and effectively improves the stability of the platform during launch. Uses a manually operated breech block and is a horizontal sliding wedge.

The firing mechanism and extractor are traditional Krupp heavy artillery designs.

Today, modern heavy howitzers are usually self-propelled, designed for the gun and crew to ensure speed, safety and avoid detection and fire by enemy forces in the air and on the ground. Field guns such as the WWII 17cm Kanone 18 did not have this "shoot and slide" capability built in.

Howitzers of this size are still deployed as they were in World War I, basically in fixed positions. In the new "blitzkrieg" mentality introduced when Hitler's forces invaded Poland, armies on both sides were now expected to cover more ground than ever before.

Compared to the large experimental self-propelled gun (SPG) Krupp Karl-Gerat 041 which took more than a day to assemble, the 17cm howitzer Kanone 18 is easier to move, deploy and disassemble for transport. However, the series was described as a bulky piece compared to other similar artillery pieces that were widely used in combat during the war.

The barrel is usually shipped separately from the rest of the gun and the carriage, and is equipped with a locking ring, breech sheath, and breech ring for faster separation. For short-haul transport, the SdKfz 8 half-track will tow the gun to the undamaged gun mount. The barrel can be managed with a winch and ramp, allowing the assembly to switch to a second tractor.

The day is fast, but still includes a few hours. For longer transport maneuvers, the barrel (or "barrel") has been completely removed.

Occasionally, Kanone 18 guns were loaded onto special railway flatbeds for transport, and these guns could also be fired from orbit as conventional mobile "rail guns", as in the First World War.

The 17cm Kanone 18 field gun had a recoil system that was technologically advanced for its time and proved to be an excellent long-range howitzer for Wehrmacht operations. If the weapon retained any inherent flaws, the series became quite expensive to produce in wartime Germany. Additionally, the series requires great care to maintain its quality standards, requires a lot of hands and setup time to prepare for shooting and teardown, and it's slow to transport off-road. Many Kanone 18 guns were thus captured by the Allies when German positions were occupied, as the German gunners did not have time to pack their larger guns and retreat.

In these cases, the Allies did not shy away from throwing their new guns to their former owners when the 18th Cannon's ammunition was also recovered intact.

The 17cm Series 18 guns were in service from 1941 until the end of the war in 1945. Production was taken over by Krupp until 1942 and then by Hanomag. However, overall production is rather limited, with only a handful of 338 systems in circulation reported.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

Depends on the ammunition carrier. 138lb and 150lb HE rounds with different speeds and ranges.

Changes