Landships II

Capitan Print · Captain

The two questions about German & Austro-Hungarian 28 cm siege mortars

Roger Todd · Legend

Hi Capitan!

Well, I can't say anything about the Austrian 28cm howitzer, as I was always under the impression that they went from 24cm to 30.5cm, but I'm probably wrong.

About the German 28cm howitzer, I can say this (though I'm at work and so will post more information when I get home tonight):

There were two models of wheeled 28cm howitzer/mortar: an L/12 and an L/14. I can't remember offhand how many�were built. I suspect the L/12 was a one-off prototype. Photos of it appear in several places; in Curt Johnson's book Artillery (a sequence of photos showing the barrel being attached to the carriage); Gerhard Taube's German Cannons(?) has a photo of a Chinese overseas commission officer examing one; and various other places.

Herbert Jaeger's German Artillery of World War One has several photos of the L/14 model, photos of which otherwise appear only rarely. I think several were built.

Of all the great gunmaking nations, only Germany built superheavy howitzers/mortars with two-wheeled field-type carriages, for the following calibres:

- 28cm
- 30.5cm
- 42cm

Photos of the L/12 type:

The rest I'll do as links, to save bandwidth and for those with slow internet connections:
https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/GrandLunar/Artillery/28cmmortar6.jpg
https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/GrandLunar/Artillery/28cmmortar5.jpg
https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/GrandLunar/Artillery/28cmmortar7.jpg
https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/GrandLunar/Artillery/28cmmortarL-12imag1329.jpg

The L/14:

Links (as above):
https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/GrandLunar/Artillery/28cmmortar4.jpg
https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/GrandLunar/Artillery/28cmmortar3.jpg

-- Edited by Roger Todd at 19:04, 2008-04-17

28juni14 · Hero

In reference to the supposed 28cm morser in KuK service,� I believe�the site has made an error.�� In examing the Austro-Hungarian heavy artillerie batteries in service during 1914-1918, I find no reference to a 28cm weapons system.
As further information,� the Austro-Hungarians started the war with 9 batteries of 24cm M98�morser.� By the summer of 1918, attrition resulted in only 3 batteries remaining.

Roger Todd · Legend

Well, I'm home now, and I�haven't been able to find out much more about the 28-cm howitzers. As far as I can make out from Rudolf Lusar's book (Riesengesch�tze und schwere Brummer einst und jetzt), there was one each of the L/12 and L/14. No information as to their careers in action, though I have seen a photograph of the L/14 with a burst barrel.

As for the supposed Austrian 28-cm, I'm pretty sure that 28juni14 is correct - there wasn't one.

Capitan Print · Captain

Oh! Thank you for your information! I only can add, that in Germany there were two manufacturers of the heavy guns - Krupp & Erhardt (or Rheinmetall). So, it's interesting to me, were there Erhardt 28 cm mortars in operational use, or it were only experimental/export models?

Roger Todd · Legend

Krupp was the only German firm in the superheavy cannon game at this time.

Rheinmetall's largest weapon (before their 60-cm and 54-cm Karl mortars of WWII) was their experimental 21-cm mortar, which was, in any case, not put into production as it was rejected in favour of the Krupp 21-cm mortar. The unsucessful Rheinmetall weapon was developed in two versions, an L/12 and an L/15.

Capitan Print · Captain

It wasn't quite right indeed!

Just before the WWI there were tender in Russia for delivery of 28 cm heavy mortars to Russian Army. The Krupp & Erhardt companies participated in the tender with the models of the howitzers both manufactured.
It worse to say after the beginnig of WWI Erhardt model was included in separate battery of Russian heavy artillery together with one Schneider 280 mm heavy mortar.

But what about the operation of the Erhardt 28 cm howitzer(s) in German artillery?

The picts of 28 cm Erhardt howitzer are below:

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 09:27, 2008-04-18

Roger Todd · Legend

That's very interesting, Capitan Print!

Where did you get those photos of the Rheinmetall weapon? And what is the source of your information about the Russian tender?

28juni14 · Hero

I have wondered about the Rh 21cm, and thought it to have been part of the 1916 artillerie rearmament program.�� Are we certain it did not go into production concurently with the 21cm Lange(kp) ?�� Can we identify the attached, please ?� It appears to be the same carraige as the 28cm L/14 model pictured above.�

mad zeppelin · Commander in Chief

May this be the schwere K�stenm�rser L/17 (30,5 cm) in Radlafette? - The Ehrhardt 28 cm Haubitze L/12 in Radlafette is said to have been delivered to Russia in one single specimen only before the war started in 1914.

Roger Todd · Legend

mad zeppelin wrote:
May this be the schwere K�stenm�rser L/17 (30,5 cm) in Radlafette?

I don't think so - see attached photos of the�30.5cm�(note that one image is incorrectly labelled 42-cm Geschutz).

Roger Todd · Legend

28juni14 wrote:
I have wondered about the Rh 21cm, and thought it to have been part of the 1916 artillerie rearmament program.�� Are we certain it did not go into production concurently with the 21cm Lange(kp) ?��

No, not according to Herbert Jaeger (who may, of course, be wrong). The only photos I've seen of the Rheinmetall 21-cm mortars are from his book German Artillery of World War One (see attached). He is categorical that whilst both types were developed concurrently with Krupp's 21-cm mortar, neither Rheinmetall weapon was adopted.

Lafettenheini · Colonel

Hallo Capitan Print - and all the other Gentlemen

Sorry that i was so long away here (the reason is a sweet bombshell named Andrea wink

-� charged cannon ?)

I am very astonished to hear about a 28 cm siege howitzer as shown under moesslang.
Ihad a long look in Korsar�s heavy artillery of the world . I could only find -according
to Roger& Co. pictures and datas from Scoda 24 mortars in service of Italy (1 Picture )
and sorry i thought my eyes were playing tricks an early model from Scoda in service of
GREAT BRITAIN !!??? Cal. 9,45" MK I ordered for the Buren-War

hope i can find out more but all pictures and comments above are theme in Korsar ,Lusar ,
Linnenkohl and Co.

best regards
Gerd

Roger Todd · Legend

Lafettenheini wrote:
Sorry that i was so long away here (the reason is a sweet bombshell named Andrea -� charged cannon ?)

You old smoothie, Gerd! biggrin

The Austrians�never built a 28-cm mortar, as far as I can gather. Michal Prasil writes in Skoda Heavy Guns (p.10, slightly clumsily translated in my English-language edition):

Until 1911 the heaviest Austro-Hungarian Army's gun was the 24 cm (9.45 inch) mortar M.98. In that year two new weapons appeared, the 30.5 cm (12 inch) mortar and the 42 cm (16.5 inich) howitzer.

As for the British ordering a Skoda�24-cm mortar - yes, it's bizarre but true!

The British soldiers nicknamed it the 'Quarter-to-Ten Gun' (24-cm is 9.45-inches - typical squaddie humour!).

Ian Hogg says the following (The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Artillery):

Eight were ordered by Britain�in 1900 for use at the Siege of Pretoria, but they arrived too late, however,�and were never used in South Africa. Two were sent to China in 1902, but for what purpose is unknown. All were returned to England in due course and relegated to a training role. They were declared obsolete in 1920, never having been used in action.

Roger Todd · Legend

Capitan Print, I'd also like to know who is this character MiG on the Russian forum you got your images from.
On this thread...

http://talks.guns.ru/forum_light_message/42/311919.html

...he refers to the 'peasants on Landships' being in error about 28-cm Austrian mortars!

If the charming Mr MiG and his friend Onkel Gustav ever read this, maybe they could illuminate us with their infinite wisdom?

Oh, and�if MiG and Onkel Gustav do read this page, let me add this:

Yes, I'm well aware that Capitan Print showed a disputed 28 cm�Austro-Hungarian gun on a stationary siege carriage.

He also showed contemporary artists' drawings of wheeled siege guns (radlafette). That is why I posted photographs of 28 cm guns on wheeled carriages. And yes, I know that earlier, Krupp built 28 cm howitzers on stationary coastal carriages (bettunsgeschuetz), but we are not discussing those here.

So please read our posts properly before going on and insulting us on your own forum.

-- Edited by Roger Todd at 20:21, 2008-04-19

28juni14 · Hero

It is most disappointing if there are those who choose to "stand off" and heckle, rather than voice their dissenting views openly here; �supported with contrary evidence.
I shall state again (and welcome opposing views) that I can find no evidence of a 28cm�howitzer system in use with the Austro-Hungarian Army�heavy artillery units in 1914-1918.� If evidence does indeed exist, please, by all means, �bring it forward on this forum to enlighten me ( and perhaps others too�) !

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:

That's very interesting, Capitan Print!

Where did you get those photos of the Rheinmetall weapon? And what is the source of your information about the Russian tender?

Well, Roger! The source of my information is the Russian book "Enciklopediya otechestvennoi artillerii" (Encyclopedia of the fatherland artillery) by Alexander Shirokorad.
And the first photo I got from the "Technika i voorozhenie" ("Weaponry") # 9|1998, p. 16 magazine.
The other photo I got from the Russian forum Gun's.ru.

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 20:39, 2008-04-20

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:

Capitan Print, I'd also like to know who is this character MiG on the Russian forum you got your images from.
On this thread...
-- Edited by Roger Todd at 20:21, 2008-04-19

Well, Roger! MiG on the Gun's.ru is me. And you aren,t quite correct in your translation of the word "mouzhiki" in my post! It should be translated simply as "men" without any irony! If you've thought that, please, excuse me!

Let's return to our mortars!
Please, don't mix my two questions!
It was the 1st about german 28 cm heavy mortars on wheels only. I'd like to know about its number, performance and operation...
The other question was about KuK 28 cm mortars/howitzers in general, so to say, because the photo of this gun on the "KuK" site was IMHO incorrect, and depicted 24 cm.�M.98.

Finally we found the information about austro-hungarian 28 cm mortar. It was 28 cm Kustenmortar M.1880.
http://rapidshare.com/files/108498658/s576-580.rar
So, I have one another question about this gun - did they survive in austro-hungarian arsenals till the time of the WWI?

Excuse me, please! ashamed

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 20:25, 2008-04-20

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 21:27, 2008-04-20

Roger Todd · Legend

Capitan Print wrote:
Roger Todd wrote:

Capitan Print, I'd also like to know who is this character MiG on the Russian forum you got your images from.
On this thread...
-- Edited by Roger Todd at 20:21, 2008-04-19
Well, Roger! MiG on the Gun's.ru is me. And you aren,t quite correct in your translation of the word "mouzhiki" in my post! It should be translated simply as "men" without any irony! If you've thought that, please, excuse me!
-- Edited by Capitan Print at 19:06, 2008-04-20

Oh dear... Thank you for clearing the matter up, Capitan Print, and...

...I APOLOGISE UNRESERVEDLY TO YOU�FOR JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS!

I am so very sorry to have assumed what I did and to have criticised your posts on your website - I should have PMed you and checked first.

That's the last time I rely on bloody Babelfish...

Back to business...

I can't answer your questions, but�I'm rather hoping that one of our German or Austrian members can chip in at some point.

Interesting attachment about the Austrian 28-cm from 1880. My suspicion is that the Austrians would have stopped using them well before 1914, but that is only a suspicion.

-- Edited by Roger Todd at 19:37, 2008-04-20

28juni14 · Hero

Gentlemen -

I have reviewed the KuK artillery park available in July 1914, and the only coastal artillery piece close to that elusive 28cm is the 21cm M80 fortress morser.� I've attached a drawing pulled from the manual.

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:

I can't answer your questions, but I'm rather hoping that one of our German or Austrian members can chip in at some point.

Interesting attachment about the Austrian 28-cm from 1880. My suspicion is that the Austrians would have stopped using them well before 1914, but that is only a suspicion.

-- Edited by Roger Todd at 19:37, 2008-04-20

Thank you, Roger for your attention to my questions! So one hope is on the help of our German or Austrian members!
But I raised my archives and found some notes wich I did from several old books on the WWI artillery history (Kulman, Barsukov ets). There were mentions about several models of the German 28 cm howitzers both Krupp and Erhardt. It reads:
28 cm H. L/12 Kp for tracktor towing
28 cm H. L/12 Kp�for coast defence (also tractor towing)
28 cm H. L/14�for tracktor towing
28 cm H. L/16�for tracktor towing

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 19:40, 2008-04-21

Roger Todd · Legend

Fascinating - and baffling!

I'm very surprised that the Germans would have considered towing such large guns with horses.

I don't have much data about the wheeled 28-cm mortars, but Rudolf Lasar states that the Krupp L/12 weighed 13.7 tons in firing position. The Journal of the United States Artillery (Vol 42, 1914) estimated, on p.342, the weight as 14.8 tons, not too far off. It further stated that the heaviest load for towing, including the transporting wagon, was 9.27 tons (presumably the barrel wagon).

Now, I did a google, and found that during the American Civil War, the heaviest load a horse could pull was 700 kg. Assuming that that hadn't changed much by 1914, that makes 3 horses per ton. So the heaviest load, at 9.27 tons,�for a 28-cm howitzer would have taken around 28 horses to pull!

Can so many horses be harnessed together to one load?

I found the online article by Shirokorad - very interesting! I did a Babelfish translation, so I could only get a rough idea of what it said. I had read elsewhere about the Schneider 28-cm mortar being built at the request of the Russians, but I didn't know that was why the Germans built theirs as well.

On a wider note...
It's a shame that there is so little information in English on these subjects. English publications seem obsessed with WW2 subjects, and tend to skim over WW1 superficially.

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:

Fascinating - and baffling!

I'm very surprised that the Germans would have considered towing such large guns with horses...

Can so many horses be harnessed together to one load?

Oh! I'm sorry, Roger! I was writing my post at my work and by my memory with so many holes, so I was complitely uncorrect about horses! Now I've corrected my post! All 28 cm howitzers were towed by tracktors.

Roger Todd · Legend

Capitan Print wrote:
I was writing my post at my work...

Naughty naughty! biggrin

I'd never do that... wink

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:

Can so many horses be harnessed together to one load?

I found the online article by Shirokorad - very interesting! I did a Babelfish translation, so I could only get a rough idea of what it said. I had read elsewhere about the Schneider 28-cm mortar being built at the request of the Russians, but I didn't know that was why the Germans built theirs as well.

If you'll be so kind, give me this article for translation, if you, of course, understand my English!
There are several articles of this author in RUnet, and if you would like to have it in English, I could help... It's a matter of time only!

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:
On a wider note...
It's a shame that there is so little information in English on these subjects. English publications seem obsessed with WW2 subjects, and tend to skim over WW1 superficially.

I know that, Roger!
But, I think you aware about deliveries of the British artillery pieces including heavy howitzers in Russia during WWI and civil war?
Vickers company even began the construction of the artillery factory in the town of Tzaritzyn (now Volgograd, former Stalingrad)...

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:

Capitan Print wrote:
I was writing my post at my work...
Naughty naughty!

I'd never do that...

I'm very sorry, Roger! ashamed

Capitan Print · Captain

My conclusion on KuK 28 cm mortars/howitzers.
An information about KuK 28 cm (coastal defence) mortars was quoted from the two sources:

1. Website www.moesslang.net.
http://www.moesslang.net/kanonen.htm
http://www.moesslang.net/kanone280mm.htm
http://www.moesslang.net/Artillerie%20der%20KuK%20Monarchie.htm

2. Dolleczek, Anton. Geschichte der osterreichischen Artillerie von den fruhesten Zeiten bis zur Gegenwart (1887)!!!

On the website we have nothing but mentioning 280 howitzer and erroneous photo of 24 cm .98 mortar without any details, including the performance page.
Geschichte der ?sterreichischen Artillerie by . Dolleczek was edited more than 100 years ago and there we have the description of 28 cm. coastal defence mortar only, in wich connection an author said, it was similar to a siege (?) mortar .1880 also without any details, so even the caliber of the latter is a matter of question. There isn't any information about numbers of the guns and its deployment. We haven't any data about a manufacturer of the mortars. Was it Krupp or any other company?
Its quite possible that in the book we have just a description or reflection of KuK artillery
command intentions to purchase these guns, although we can read there the mortars were adopted to coast defence artillery, and that was confirmed by its designation as M.1880. It was possible also the guns were adopted on the paper, but in fact didnt enter service.Such a XIX century PR!
In short, if KuK artillery had 28 cm coastal/siege mortars, anyway these ones could be used anywhere on the WWI East or Italian fronts because of shortage of the austrian heavy guns. It's well known that KuK artillery used every siutable heavy gun including obsolete models. But we don't know such facts concerning 28 cm Mrs/H.
So IMHO I came to conclusion - KuK artillery hadn't real 28 cm. mortars/howitzers in its inventary at all!

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 20:20, 2008-04-21

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 20:20, 2008-04-21

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 20:21, 2008-04-21

Roger Todd · Legend

A lot of posts to reply to! biggrin

Translations:
Thank you for your offer about various articles in Guns.Ru - I shall try to use Babelfish for now, as I know how time-consuming it is to translate by hand, but I may need to ask you for some help with phrases Babelsfish cannot translate! Also, if there are any articles you think we on Landships would find of interest, please post links to them - we need all the information we can get!

Vickers:
I know that Vickers exported a number of 8-inch howitzers to Russia, but I don't know much more about land weapons. I know more about Vickers'�connections with Russia's naval building programme. They had built the�excellent armoured cruiser Rurik II, and later in various competitions they submitted some interesting designs for dreadnoughts (which were rejected in favour of home designs), and they were going to build a large number of 14-in gun barrels for the Izmail/Borodino class battlecruisers (never completed) at Tsaritsyn (even more�guns were to be built by the Obukhovskii Works). Some 14-in guns were actually completed.�Some of the guns were to be used for coastal defence, I understand. I think Vickers also did design work for 16-in guns, with which the Russians were to equip a new class of super-dreadnoughts (the so-called Battleship 1915, designed by Bubnov).

On the subject of battleships, I was fascinated to learn from Sergei Vinogradov's book (Last Giants of the Imperial Russian Navy)�that the Russians designed a quadruple gun turret as early as 1901! Here is a drawing:
https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/GrandLunar/Maritime/Russian12-inQuadTurretDesign1901.gif

Austrian 28-cm howitzer:
I think you are correct. I do not think there was a 28-cm howitzer used by the army. There may have been very old�coastal defence howitzers, but if there were, they were probably scrapped by 1914, which may be why nobody mentions any.

However, I am now more interested in the mysterious Rheinmetall 28-cm howitzers!

-- Edited by Roger Todd at 21:14, 2008-04-21

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:
A lot of posts to reply to!
I see you aren't so lazy to give me no replies!

Translations:
Thank you for your offer about various articles in Guns.Ru - I shall try to use Babelfish for now, as I know how time-consuming it is to translate by hand, but I may need to ask you for some help with phrases Babelsfish cannot translate! Also, if there are any articles you think we on Landships would find of interest, please post links to them - we need all the information we can get!

As youll command, sir! The content of the artillery entries of this online encyclopedia is written by Shirokorad.
http://mega.km.ru/weaponry/content.asp?rubr=100009#stop

Vickers:
I know that Vickers exported a number of 8-inch howitzers to Russia, but I don't know much more about land weapons.

Concerning the deliveries of a British artillery pieces (land) to Russia during the WWI, I have a list of the gun models and numbers were sent. But I have some questions on this subject.
One more question is about gun deliveries from Britain during civil war in Russia 1918-1922.

�

I know more about Vickers' connections with Russia's naval building programme

Yes, Roger! The cooperation between Britain and Russia in naval sphere in the beginning of XX century is well studied in the USSR and now RU.

On the subject of battleships, I was fascinated to learn from Sergei Vinogradov's book (Last Giants of the Imperial Russian Navy) that the Russians designed a quadruple gun turret as early as 1901! Here is a drawing:

Thank you, Roger!

Austrian 28-cm howitzer:
I think you are correct. I do not think there was a 28-cm howitzer used by the army. There may have been very old coastal defence howitzers, but if there were, they were probably scrapped by 1914, which may be why nobody mentions any.

Its very curiously, because we know about, for example, even older KuK mortars, such as 21 cm M.1873 (see drawings) and other guns M.1880. Why they weren't scrapped?
http://ah.milua.org/arms/artillery_ttd/21-cm_FM_M73.htm
http://ah.milua.org/arms/artillery_ttd/228-1.htm

However, I am now more interested in the mysterious Rheinmetall 28-cm howitzers!

Well! Let's apply to historical department of the Rheinmetall Defence, if it exists! May be they'll tell us something! wink
http://www.rheinmetall-detec.de/

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 11:40, 2008-04-22

Roger Todd · Legend

Capitan Print wrote:
Let's apply to historical department of the Rheinmetall Defence, if it exists! May be they'll tell us something!
http://www.rheinmetall-detec.de/

Well, I've emailed them (a couple of days ago, actually), so I'll let you know what they say - if they reply!

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:

�
Well, I've emailed them (a couple of days ago, actually), so I'll let you know what they say - if they reply!
�

�Well done, Roger! If it isn't a joke!

Capitan Print · Captain

Hi, Roger!

Here I post one more picture of unknown German 21 cm mortar! May be you aware any details about it?

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 06:28, 2008-04-30

Roger Todd · Legend

Ha ha! What a coincidence, Capitan P, I was going to post a message here before seeing your latest post, so I will answer that first!

Today, I received in the post a copy I ordered of Franz Kosar's book, 'Die schweren Geschuetze der Welt' - what a corker!

And look what is in it (see attached)...

As far as I can make out from the main text, it was a Krupp design of 1905 when they were designing a new 21-cm mortar to replace the old one from the 1890s (or earlier)�that didn't have a recoil mechanism. It seems to have been design Number 2 of a series of prototypes, or small batches,�they made before the famous 21-cm mortar we all know and love.

I've also scanned a photo of design Number 3, from 1906.

And then I'll post what I was originally going to post... wink

-- Edited by Roger Todd at 00:27, 2008-05-01

Roger Todd · Legend

And here, Capitan Print, is what I was originally going to post - a nice juicy scan of an Erhardt 28-cm howitzer...

I nearly forgot to mention - I have had no reply yet from Rheinmetall, so I may email them again soon.

-- Edited by Roger Todd at 00:21, 2008-05-01

Roger Todd · Legend

28juni14 wrote:
...the only coastal artillery piece close to that elusive 28cm is the 21cm M80 fortress morser.� I've attached a drawing pulled from the manual.

I forgot to reply to you earlier, 28juni1914, sorry - interesting drawing, thank you! Did those guns remain in their fortresses, or did the Austrians ever move any of them elsewhere? Or were they considered obsolete?

Lafettenheini · Colonel

yes this coastal guns...

in Taubes book of german railway guns i found a new upbuilded (modernized )old
28 Krupp coastal mortar . The barrel profile well known by me from my own modell working.
Must date from 1900 or so. The picture is of bad quality cause i had to zoom it up and the
original wasn't even sharp too. But i think the theme here are not special recruited
old pieces for custom cause but regular cannons . Even the shown gun was used by
the nazis again Sewastopol and not in WWI

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:
Ha ha! What a coincidence, Capitan P, I was going to post a message here before seeing your latest post, so I will answer that first!

Today, I received in the post a copy I ordered of Franz Kosar's book, 'Die schweren Geschuetze der Welt' - what a corker!

And look what is in it (see attached)...

Oh, Roger!
Thank you very much!

�

-- Edited by Capitan Print at 11:21, 2008-05-05

Capitan Print · Captain

Roger Todd wrote:
And here, Capitan Print, is what I was originally going to post - a nice juicy scan of an Erhardt 28-cm howitzer...
I nearly forgot to mention - I have had no reply yet from Rheinmetall, so I may email them again soon.

�� It's very interesting, Roger!

�� I think Rheinmetall will be silent a long time... And even if they'll answer, what� could they tell? Any performances ahd dates? But where can we get any information about operational deployment of these guns and so on? confused

�

Roger Todd · Legend

Franz Kosar's book has some information on technical details and performance, and I'll have a go at translating soon - but look at this!

http://sill-www.army.mil/famag/1914/JUL_SEP_1914/JUL_SEP_1914_PAGES_397_404.pdf

It's a link to an article (in pdf format which you can download) in the American�Field Artillery Journal, Jul-Sep 1914. It discusses three 28-cm howitzers - the Schneider, Krupp and Erhardt, and has photos of all three! And a table contrasting technical and performance details!

Below I've attached the photo of the Erhardt weapon from the article.

MarkV, on another thread, very lindly posted a link to these online journals. Ta, MarkV! wink

-- Edited by Roger Todd at 11:53, 2008-05-05