Question about the Krupp 77mm.

Do we have any WWI artillery gurus here?

There are two WWI Krupp 77mm field guns as war memorial trophies in our area. One appears to be a standard issue, that matches all the pictures in books, but the other is a maverick.

Instead of a long barrel, this one has it cut off short of the end of the recoil slide. It’s not accidental because the attachment and cover was clearly designed to accommodate the short barrel. Since it’s on a memorial at the village of Frank in the Rocky Mountains, I first assumed it must be a mountain gun version, but I’ve never seen a reference to such a thing in a Krupp 77. Is it possible that this is a trench gun – the short barrel necessary to fit in a confined space? I’ve never heard of one of those either.

When I post this, I’ll look to see if I can send images with a post, but I think these would be too large and I don’t have the software to thin the files.

Kester.
 

MrP

Banned
Hm, according to my favourite little book* there were at least three types of 77mm gun. One was the 7.7 cm M96nA; weight in action of 925 kg; gun was 2,102 mm long. The second was the 7.7cm M1916; 1, 397 kg; 2,695mm. The third it mentions was the 7.7cm L/35 AA variant, and neither weight nor gun length are known to the compilers of the book. Said list isn't comprehensive, btw, so there might well be yet more variants of it out there to find!:cool:

* The WWI Databook
 
Krupp 77

Hi MrP

I think the barrel length is less than L\35. I'd compare it with the Pzkw IV 75 mm of L\24. And it's on a field gun mount not an AA.

I tried to upload the picture but it didn't go -- probably too large (and selecting less pixels in the viewer software didn't reduce the file size).

I could send it via your own ISP if you'd like a look. The background is cluttered and it looks very gussied-up because the Legion repainted it a couple of years ago. I believe the date stamped on the breech is 1914, but I can check it next time I go past.

Kester.
 

MrP

Banned
Hi MrP

I think the barrel length is less than L\35. I'd compare it with the Pzkw IV 75 mm of L\24. And it's on a field gun mount not an AA.

I tried to upload the picture but it didn't go -- probably too large (and selecting less pixels in the viewer software didn't reduce the file size).

I could send it via your own ISP if you'd like a look. The background is cluttered and it looks very gussied-up because the Legion repainted it a couple of years ago. I believe the date stamped on the breech is 1914, but I can check it next time I go past.

Kester.

Sure, old man. I'll drop you a PM with my email addy.
 
Short barrel I almost want to say mountain gun, but that cause the WWII museum out here has a bunch of Japanese weapons, and I learned that Japanese mountain artillery was made with a short barrel for carrying. But it may not be the norm for everyone.
 

MrP

Banned
Here we are:

77mm.JPG
 
Thanks MrP -- it certainly looks the same. However, unless I was on something stronger than tea, I read Krupp 77mm 1914 stamped into the breech end. I will take another look when I go that way.

I take it by the swelling in the barrel and the wrecked shield that the one in your photo blew up in firing.

Kester (Chris)
 
"German Artillery of WW1" by Jaeger doesn't seem to mention this one.

There's a 7.7cm L/17 mountain gun, but that's by Rheinmetall and didn't come out until 1915 (it's designated M15).

There are also three infantry guns of this calibre: IG L/20 and IG L/27 by Krupp, and IG L/19.5 by Rheinmetall, but these are all supposed to be later developments (1916+).
 

MrP

Banned
Aha! I'm now almost convinced it's a 10.5 cm howitzer!

See this site for a bit more info.

Hm, no linking, eh? Well, I'll attach it below then.

EDIT: WTF? First, it appears. Then it vanishes, so I attach it instead. Then it comes back! :rolleyes:

"German Artillery of WW1" by Jaeger doesn't seem to mention this one.

There's a 7.7cm L/17 mountain gun, but that's by Rheinmetall and didn't come out until 1915 (it's designated M15).

There are also three infantry guns of this calibre: IG L/20 and IG L/27 by Krupp, and IG L/19.5 by Rheinmetall, but these are all supposed to be later developments (1916+).

It seems to me to be the 10.5 cm howitzer, old boy.

105mm_germanhowitzer_bw1.JPG
 
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