Reichswehr it seems, but I understand in WW1 some of these guns were used, too, the modification being smaller wheels. Would appreciate any further input, e. g. whether the gunshield was altered as well. Regards, Pat
Cheers for posting this picture! This one has been puzzling me for some time now.
In the book Troupes dássaut allemandes (1914-1918) by Jean-Louis Larcade it is mentioned that this picture was taken in March (?) 1917. It says that it is a 77 mm Infantriegeschütz L/27. This cannot be true, as the IG L/27 had different wheels (10 spokes, a wide rim) and it's seats, both for travelling and firing, were removed. This gun clearly has both sets of seats still attached.
The only suggestion I have is that it is a local modification. It should be an Infantry Gun, because as far as I know, by that time only Infantry Gun batteries had 6 guns (this gun carries a 6 on it's inner shield, therefore it is the 6th gun in the battery).
There's a surviving FK 96, captured at Messines, with smaller wheels at Miles, Queensland. The build date is 1917 on the Miles gun so it must have been a very late FK 96.
I've read that this lightened FK 96 was used as a support gun for stormtroopers as well as an anti-tank gun. It wasn't very successful as an infantry support gun because it was too heavy. All sorts of guns were tried in this role including the 7.5cm Skoda Gebirgskanone.
Regards,
Charlie
-- Edited by CharlieC on Saturday 18th of December 2010 12:43:08 AM
Cheers for the post of the pictures. I will use these to do scale drawings of this gun.
I have now identified it. It is not an Infantrie Geschütz (infantry gun), nor an Infantrie Begleits Kanone (infantry accompanying gun). It is the 77mm Nahkampfkanone L/27 (close combat gun). It is basically a FK96 n/A, with smaller wheels and the lower shield and footrests for the travelling seats removed. This made it about 40 kg lighter than the FK96 n/A. It was indeed intended to fit in small places, dips in the landscape or shell holes to counter tanks. 50 of these batteries were formed.
