Tom W. Posted 14 January , 2011 Share Posted 14 January , 2011 The carriage looks much shorter than the usual model, and the shield is odd. Is it a 77mm field piece? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 14 January , 2011 Share Posted 14 January , 2011 Could it be a captured Russian 7.62 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W. Posted 15 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 15 January , 2011 Could it be a captured Russian 7.62 ? I can't tell. It looks somewhat larger than the 7.62cm pieces used as infantry guns. http://www.landships.freeservers.com/ig_76mm_krupp_l16.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph J. Whitehead Posted 15 January , 2011 Share Posted 15 January , 2011 The shield could be folded and the rest of the trail might be behind the leg of the man in the photo. From the angle I wonder if it is attached to a caison? Fromwhat I can tell however it is a 77mm field gun. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W. Posted 15 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 15 January , 2011 From the angle I wonder if it is attached to a caison? Fromwhat I can tell however it is a 77mm field gun. Ralph Thanks, Ralph. Actually, it's being pulled by men identified by the writing on the back as pioneers. If that's true, and if it is indeed a 77mm gun, then it's a gun of an Infantry Accompanying Battery, which is what I hoped the photo showed. I'm going to use it in a book I'm writing. Each gun in an Infantry Accompanying Battery was assigned five pioneers to clear obstacles and help move the piece fast enough to keep up with the infantry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 15 January , 2011 Share Posted 15 January , 2011 Tom, you have to be careful about excluding a Russian 7.62 cm on the basis of the height. They were often modified, including the use of smaller diameter wheels. Thus the oft-seen photos of Russian guns used as Infanteriegeschütz could be misleading, if this photo is of an unmodified Russian gun. Having said of all the above, the gun looks like the 7.7cm Feldkanone 96 n/A, which featured the Rheinmetall breech (you can make out the oblong tubular structure protruding from behind the breech) and folding shield. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 15 January , 2011 Share Posted 15 January , 2011 I can't tell. It looks somewhat larger than the 7.62cm pieces used as infantry guns. http://www.landships.freeservers.com/ig_76mm_krupp_l16.htm No not that gun - I meant the 7.62 cm model 00 or 03 a different beast. Many eventually remounted as AA by the Germans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieBris Posted 21 January , 2011 Share Posted 21 January , 2011 Looks like an FK 96 n.A to me. The shield seems to have been removed although the side shields for the axle tree seats are still present (can't tell if the seats are still there). You can just about make out the breech lever on top of the breech but the handle of this is obscured. There was at least one other version of the FK 96 n.A as an infantry gun - this had smaller wheels with the lower part of the shield and footrests of the axle tree seats removed. Regards, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arie Posted 26 January , 2011 Share Posted 26 January , 2011 Hi Tom W, the Germans had the following Infanteriegeschütze: - 7,62 cm Infanteriegeschütz L/16.5 made by Krupp from captured 7,62 cm Putilov fortress guns, wheel diameter 1150 mm, with shield - 7,7 cm Infanteriegeschütz L/19.5, Rheinmetall, wheel diameter 900mm, from early 1918, not tested at the frontline, with shield - 7,7 cm Infanteriegeschütz L/20, Krupp, wheel diameter 960 mm, from autumn 1916, only 2 batteries, with shield - 7,7 cm Infanteriegeschütz L/27, Krupp, wheel diameter 960 mm, from early 1917, 18 batteries, with shield - 7,7 cm Infanteriegeschütz 18 (L/23), Krupp, wheel diameter 900 mm, from summer 1918, not tested at the frontline, with shield - 7,5 cm Gebirgskanone 15 Skoda (mountain gun), from May/June 1918, 14 batteries, with shield They also had 50 Nahkampfbatterien from late 1916/early 1917 which were used for close combat and knocking out tanks. They used a modified FK96 n/A which had no lower shield, no foot rest, a wheel diameter of 1000 mm (originally 1360 mm) and were 40 kg lighter. They also had a little wheel under the trail for easy movement. I think the gun in your picture is one for a Nahkampfbatterie. Kind regards Arjen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 27 January , 2011 Share Posted 27 January , 2011 Just out of interest, there has been a photo posted here that is pertinent. The photo illustrates captured MGs, hence the inclusion in the other thread. However, there is a great example of an infantry gun. Note the differences compared with the example posted by Tom. The wheel diameter is smaller and the vertical length of the shield is smaller. The top portion of the shield is folded forward in Tom's example: Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieBris Posted 28 January , 2011 Share Posted 28 January , 2011 In the linked image there are a couple of Australians standing behind the gun. There was a 77mm FK 96 n.A captured at Messines by the AIF 10th Inf Bde in June 1917 - this has survived at Miles, Queensland (http://www.ammsbrisb...ion/fk96_4.html). It might be the same gun. Regards, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W. Posted 28 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 28 January , 2011 Just out of interest, there has been a photo posted here that is pertinent. The photo illustrates captured MGs, hence the inclusion in the other thread. However, there is a great example of an infantry gun. Note the differences compared with the example posted by Tom. The wheel diameter is smaller and the vertical length of the shield is smaller. The top portion of the shield is folded forward in Tom's example: Robert I'm pretty sure that the gun in my photo is an Infantry Accompanying Gun, which was a 77mm cannon that went forward with the infantry during assaults. The crews were artillerymen trained in infantry tactics; pioneers were part of the crews, too. The writing on the back of the photo says that men pulling the gun are pioneers. The 77mm infantry gun had the smaller-diameter wheels. In the photo you linked, the top part of the shield is folded down. You can see the U-shaped cutout in the shield which is apparent in this much-published photo of a 77mm infantry gun: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 29 January , 2011 Share Posted 29 January , 2011 Tom, ah yes. Thanks for the that. I missed the upper part of the shield folded down on the linked photo. Just to illustrate the point about the smaller wheels, I drew over the outer rim of the wheel in the photo you posted then expanded the size until it matched the height in the first photo you posted. Your first photo is a conventional field gun IMHO. What was the original German word for Infantry Accompanying Gun? Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W. Posted 29 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 29 January , 2011 What was the original German word for Infantry Accompanying Gun? Robert Infanteriebegleitgeschütze. They were grouped together in an Infantry Accompanying Battery (Infanteriebegleitbatterie), originally called a "shock battery" (Stossbatterie). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 29 January , 2011 Share Posted 29 January , 2011 Thanks Tom. Much appreciated. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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