10 cm M. 14 Feldhaubitze

The 10 cm M. 14 Feldhaubitze was a dual-purpose field and mountain gun used by Austria-Hungary during World War I. Between the wars it was used by Austria, Italy, Russia and Poland. During World War II it served as the standard medium howitzer of the Royal Italian Army with the designation Obice da 100/17 modello 14 and after 1943 captured weapons were used by Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht under the designations 10 cm leFH 14(ö) and 10 cm leFH 315(i). An updated version was produced by Skoda, the Skoda houfnice vz 14/19, which was adopted by Poland, Greece, and others. After World War II an updated howitzer remained in service with the Italian Army until 1975.

10 cm M. 14 Feldhaubitze
Type	Howitzer
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1914–1945
Used by	Austria-Hungary Albania Austria Czechoslovakia Nazi Germany Greece Italy Hungary Poland Russia Yugoslavia
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Skoda
Manufacturer	Skoda
Produced	1914-1918.
No. built	6,458
Specifications
Mass	1,350 kg (2,970 lbs)
Barrel length	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) L/19
Crew	6
Shell	Separate loading, cased charge and projectile 100 x 183mm R 14 kg (31 lb)
Caliber	100 mm (3.93 in)
Breech	horizontal sliding-block
Recoil	hydro-spring variable recoil
Carriage	box trail
Elevation	-8° to +50°
Traverse	6°
Rate of fire	6-8 rpm
Muzzle velocity	407 m/s (1,335 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	8,400 m (9,100 yards)

Design

The Austro-Hungarian Army adopted the Skoda houfnice vz 14 as the 10 cm M. 14 Feldhaubitze. It was a conventional design, although the first versions used an obsolescent wrought bronze barrel liner and a cast bronze jacket. Later versions used a standard steel barrel. The spade was in two pieces, one designed for use in icy ground and the other in normal soil.

Two cannoneers sat in seats attached to the shield, as was normal for the period. It was pulled by three pairs of horses when attached to its limber. The Austro-Hungarian Army acquired 6,458 10 cm Mod. 14 howitzers for its Field Howitzer Regiments ("Feldhaubitze-Regiment") and 346 10 cm M. 16 howitzers for its mountain troops. The Mod. 16 could be broken down into three loads carried on small carts for transport in rough terrain.

Postwar some weapons were modernized for motor towing with new rubber-tired wheels and the seats on the shield removed. A more extensive postwar update by Czechoslovakia was designated as the Skoda houfnice vz 14|10 cm houfnice vz. 14/19] and was exported to Poland, Greece and Yugoslavia.

Statistics

Caliber: 100 mm

Length: 2.4 m [L/24 Calibres or 94.5 inches]

Weight: 2025 kg (When travelling); 1505 kg (In action)

Range: 9970 m

Traverse: 5.5°

Elevation: - 7.5° to + 48°

Weight of shell: 14 kg

Royal Italian Army

100/17 Lancia 3Ro anti-tank cannon during the North African Campaign

Spanish nationalists' artillery on march, probably Obice da 100/17 modelo 14

During World War I the Royal Italian Army had captured 1,222 10 cm Mod. 14/16 howitzers from the Austro-Hungarian Army. A further 1,472 were given to Italy as war reparations. In Italian service the guns were designated Obice da 100/17 Mod. 14 and Obice da 100/17 Mod. 16. The Royal Army Arsenal in Turin developed a new series of ammunition for the howitzers which were introduced in 1932 and included chemical warfare grenades. At the outbreak of World War II the Royal Army and the Guardia alla Frontiera were fielding 1,325 Mod. 14 in the original Austro-Hungarian configuration and 199 Mod 14, which had their wooden wheels replaced with tires for use in motorized divisions. The artillery of the Alpini mountain troops fielded 181 Mod. 16. howitzers. During the North African Campaign Italian forces mounted the 100/17 Mod. 14 onto Lancia 3Ro heavy trucks and employed the gun as mobile anti-tank cannon.

Italian Army

Italian Army 105/22 Mod. 14/61

105/22 Mod. 14/61 on Janiculum in Rome firing at noon

After World War II some of the howitzers were modified by the Military Arsenal of Naples for use as mountain artillery, with the denominations 100/17 Mod. 14 mont. and 100/17 Mod. 16 mont. In the second half of the fifties the howitzers were further modified for the service in the Italian Army with the versions 100/17 Mod. 14/50 for field artillery units and 100/17 Mod. 14/16/50 for mountain artillery units. The modification of the field artillery version included a circular shooting platform, pneumatic wheels and a gun shield taken from reserve Ordnance QF 25-pounder howitzers, while the mountain artillery version omitted the circular shooting platform.

In 1961 the weapon was again modified by lengthening the barrel and recalibrating it for NATO ammunition, resulting in a barrel to caliber ratio of 105/22. Accordingly the new version was named: 105/22 Mod. 14/61. This version equipped the field artillery groups of the army's motorized divisions.

With the Italian Army's 1975 reform the 105/22 Mod. 14/61 was taken out of service and stored as reserve until 1984. Today only one 105/22 Mod. 14/61 remains in service with the Italian Army: located in Rome on the Janiculum it is fired since 1991 at noon every day to indicate the time.

Skoda houfnice vz 14/19

Polish 100 mm wz.1914/19P howitzers

In Slovakian museum

In Greek museum

An improved version of the howitzer was created in 1919. The main improvement was a longer barrel offering greater range that which could be mounted in the old howitzer beds.

The improved howitzer was sold to Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece before 1938. Some versions had rubber tires so they could be pulled by trucks but most retained wooden spoked wheels so they could be pulled by mule teams. The howitzer was also manufactured in Poland in Starachowice as wz.1914/19P howitzer.

Germany captured a large number of Skoda houfnices when they conquered Poland and absorbed Czechoslovakia. They later seized additional guns while fighting in Italy, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece. Due to their age, the howitzers were relegated to second line service and incorporated into defensive lines and fortifications after 1942.

Statistics

Caliber: 100 mm

Length: 2.4 m [L/24 Calibres or 94.5 inches]

Weight: 2025 kg (When travelling); 1505 kg (In action)

Range: 9970 m

Traverse: 5.5°

Elevation: - 7.5° to + 48°

Weight of shell: 14 kg

Other Designations

• After 1943 captured weapons were used by Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht under the designations 10 cm leFH 14(ö) fro Austrian guns and 10 cm leFH 315(i) for Italian models.
• Poland adopted the 14/19, with minor modifications, as the haubica 100 mm wz. 1914/19A or wz. 1914/19P. Captured Polish models were designated 10 cm leFH 14/19(p) by the Wehrmacht in World War II.
• Czech 14/19 guns were given the designation 10 cm leichte Feld-Haubitze 14/19 (Tschechische) or 10 cm leFH 14/19(t) ("100m Light Field Howitzer 14/19 (Czechoslovakian)") in German service.
• Captured Yugoslavian models were designated 10 cm leFH 316(j) and Greek models were designated 10 cm leFH 318(g).

Notes

Note: The data for this howitzer differs between sources, also considering how often it was modified, and cannot be considered definitive. Data provided has generally been for a steel-tubed howitzer as given at the U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.

• Englemann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliderung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
• 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