French Artillery piece

[Marco]

This French piece is on display at Warmerville near Reims (last resting place of Gefreiter Karl Hoveling, but that’s an other story). I can not find it in the reference work I normally use (Allied Artillery of World War One by I.V. Hogg) Does anyone know the type?

TIA!

Marco

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Could it possibly be a Rimailho howitzer? I looked for a photo but did not find one, I am not sure if it is the same. Do you know the caliber?

Ralph

[Marco]

Sorry Ralph, no idea.

Regards,

Marco

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Probably not a Rimailho howitzer, see picture found below. I looked through an old book that has some drawings of artillery and there was one item that seemed to come close, a 120mm gun. Hopefully a French expert will be able to help.

Ralph

[Geoff Parker]

Marco

Had look for your artillery piece but without success. However the carriage

for the gun appears to be very similar to the ones outside the Army Museum in Brussels. I will endeavour to find out what the piece is in your photo and will ask a friend when he returns from holiday as he's a quite an expert on artillery.

Did you look at the breech block as these will normally have the calibre, year of manufacture, and possibly the manufacturer or country of origin.

Geoff

[Marco]

Sorry Geoff, it was 'a driveby' shot....

Regards,

Marco

[Hoplophile]

According to this page, the two weapons at Warmerville are Russian 8-inch pieces. They resemble the Russian 6-inch pieces of various types that can be found at various memorials and museums in France and Belgium.

[Old Tom]

Hello,

The site referred to says that thse Russian howitzers from the late 1800s were captured by the Germans and used on the western front. Interesting to compare their perfrmance with the 6" hows the BEF first had in France. The weight of shell seems comparable, not certain of range 6" somewhat better. However Russian 8" no recoil system and only elevation control (I guess any bearing would be lost when the whole carriage ran back). At first sight the Brits were not the only ones scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Old Tom

[Marco]

Thanks Hoplophile! A topic from 2003 solved in 2010. Excellent.

Regards,

Marco