15 cm sFH 02

The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 1902 was a German heavy field howitzer cannon introduced in 1903 and served in World War I.

15 cm sFH 02
A German 15 cm sFH 02 howitzer from 1917
TypeHeavy field howitzer
Place of originGerman Empire
Service history
In service1903–1918
Used byGerman Empire
WarsWorld War I
Production history
DesignerKrupp
Designed1902
ManufacturerKrupp
Specifications
Mass2,035 kg (4,486 lb)
Barrel length1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Height1.23 m (4 ft)

Shell40.5 kg (89 lb)
Caliber149.1 mm (5.87 in)
Recoilhydro-spring
Elevation0° to +45°
Traverse
Muzzle velocity325 m/s (1,070 ft/s)
Maximum firing range7,450 m (8,150 yd)

Design and history

It was the first artillery piece to use a modern recoil system in the German Army. Some 416 were in service at the beginning of the World War I.[1] Its mobility, which allowed it to be deployed as medium artillery, and fairly heavy shell gave the German army a firepower advantage in the early battles in Belgium and France in 1914[2] as the French and British armies lacked an equivalent. France had a Canon de 65 M with a recoil system, but used it only as a mountain howitzer.[3]

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

References

  • General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Western Front 1914–1918. The Royal Artillery Institution, 1986. ISBN 1-870114-00-0.
  • Jäger, Herbert. German Artillery of World War One. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001. ISBN 1-86126-403-8.

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