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The 15cm lange schwere Feldhaubitz 13/02 combined the long barrel of the 15-cm lange schwere Feldhaubitz 13 with the chassis of the earlier 15cm schwere Feldhaubitz 02.
The 15cm schwere Feldhaubitz 02 was an advanced weapon for its time, and was the first artillery piece with barrel recoil to enter service in the Germany army. However it had been superseded by the schwere Feldhaubitz 13, which had twice the rate of fire and 1,000m longer range. This was then replaced by the lange schwere Feldhaubitz 13, which had a longer barrel and load chamber, and another increase in range, by 300m to 8,800m.
Although 1,550 of the long howitzer were produced, there were never enough of them, and so in 1917 Krupp received an order to install the longer barrelled gun on a modified version of the Feldhabitz 02 chassis. A prototype was ready by July 1917, and eventually about one thousand conversions were completed (more than the number that had still been in service in 1914, suggesting that many were found in storage). The guns were used to equip four-howitzer batteries in the heavy howitzer battalions. The converted guns had the same ballistic properties, rate of fire and range as the more modern version, but were slightly heavier when being transported.
A number of these First World War era howitzers were still available at the start of the Second World War, whene they were mainly used as coastal defence guns.
Name |
15-cm lange schwere Feldhaubitz 13/02 |
Calibre |
149,7mm |
Barrel Length |
2,250mm (L/17) |
Weight for transport |
3,000kg |
Weight in action |
2,210kg |
Elevation |
0 to 45 degrees |
Traverse |
5 degrees |
Shell Weight |
40.3-42.3kg |
Muzzle Velocity |
377 m/sec |
Maximum Range |
8,800m |
Rate of Fire |
4 rounds/ min |
German Artillery 1914-1918, Wolfgang Fleischer.
Covers over 100 guns used by the German Army and shore detachments of the Navy during the First World War, a conflict largely dominated by artillery. Each one gets a brief description, a set of technical stats and a good picture. Shows the wide range of gun types and sizes used by the Germans during the First World War, and the way in which they evolved to deal with the unexpected challenges of trench warfare. [read full review]
German Heavy Artillery Guns 1933-1945, Alexander Lüdeke.
Despite the title actually covers light, medium and heavy artillery as well as mortars and anti-tank guns (excludes railway guns, flak and rocket launchers). Each gets a useful write-up, supported by stats and at least one photo. Covers German-built guns and the many types captured and used by the Wehrmacht. [read full review]
