15 cm sFH 18
15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 | ||
---|---|---|
Breech horizontal sliding-block | | |
Recoil | hydro-pneumatic | |
Carriage | split trail | |
Elevation | 0° to +45° | |
Traverse | 60° | |
Rate of fire | 4 rpm | |
Muzzle velocity | 520 m/s (1,700 ft/s) | |
Maximum firing range | 13,325 m (14,572 yd) RAP: 18,200 m (19,900 yd) | |
Sights | Model 1934 Sighting Mechanism |
The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 or sFH 18 (German: "heavy field howitzer, model 18"), nicknamed Immergrün ("
It replaced the earlier,
The sFH 18 was one of Germany's three main 15 cm calibre weapons, the others being the
Design and development
Development work on the sFH 18 began in 1926 and the gun was ready for production by 1933.
The carriage was a relatively standard split-trail design with box legs. Spades were carried on the sides of the legs that could be mounted onto the ends for added stability. The carriage also saw use on the 10 cm schwere Kanone 18 gun. As the howitzer was designed for horse towing, it used an unsprung axle and hard rubber tires. A two-wheel bogie was introduced to allow it to be towed, but the lack of suspension made it unsuitable for towing at high speed.
The gun was officially introduced into service on 23 May 1935,[1] and by the outbreak of war the Wehrmacht had about 1,353 of these guns in service. Production continued throughout the war, reaching a peak of 2,295 guns in 1944.[1] In 1944, the howitzer cost 40,400 RM, 9 months and 5,500 man-hours to make.[6]
Variants
Several other versions of the basic 15 cm were produced:
- The 15 cm sFH 36 was a version with a greatly reduced 3,450 kilograms (7,610 lb) weight that was an attempt to improve mobility, but as it used various light alloys to achieve this saving it was considered too costly to continue production.
- The 15 cm sFH 40 was another improved version, featuring a slightly longer barrel and a new carriage that was suitable for vehicle towing and allowed the barrel to have wider firing angles and thereby improve range up to 15,400 m. However this version was even heavier than the sFH 18 (at 5,680 kilograms (12,520 lb)) and was found to be too difficult to use in the field. Some of these barrels were later fitted to existing sFH 18 carriages, creating the sFH 18/40.
- A further modification was the sFH 18/43, which changed to a split breech that allowed for the use of bagged charges instead of requiring the gunners to first put the charges into casings.
- Two further attempts to introduce a newer 15 cm piece followed, but neither the 15 cm sFH 43 or 15 cm sFH 44 progressed past the stage of wooden mock-ups.[7]
Year | Pre-War | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Produced, pcs. | 1,353 | 190 | 580 | 516 | 636 | 785 | 2,295 | 401 | 6,756 |
Combat record
The first field combat for the 15 cm sFH 18 was with the Chinese National Revolutionary Army in the
Against the Soviet Union, the sFH 18 lacked the range of the
Several countries continued fielding the sFH 18 after the war in large numbers including
Versions
- 15 cm sFH 18 – standard version
- 15 cm sFH 36 - lightened version
- 15 cm sFH 18M – modification of sFH-18 with muzzle brake and replaceable barrel liner
- 15 cm sFH 18/40 – sFH 40 barrels on sFH 18 carriages
- 15 cm sFH 18/43 – a sFH 18 development to accept bag charge with sliding-block breech
- 15 cm sFH 18/32L – Chinese (Republic of China) version with longer barrel and longer range of 15 km
- 152 mm houfnice vz.18/47 – Post-war Czech modification with a shorter barrel that was rebored to 152 mm, and a double-baffle muzzle brake.
- 152 H 88-40 – Finnish modernization with a lengthened 152-mm barrel and a muzzle brake
Operators
- Albania – post war use
- Bulgaria – post war use, known as D-30 "Krup" 150mm
- Republic of China
- Czechoslovakia – post war use
- Finland – 48 pieces, known as 150 H/40
- Nazi Germany
- Italy – known as Cannone da 149/28
- Portugal – post war use, known as Obus K 15 cm/30 m/941
- Soviet Union – post war use
- Spain – 1937–39 and Blue Division
- Yugoslavia – post war use
- Indonesia – post war use
- People's Republic of China – post war use
See also
- 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20) – Soviet 152 mm howitzer
- BL 5.5 inch Medium Gun– British gun of similar size
- 10 cm schwere Kanone 18
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Haubitzen und Mörser (in German)
- OCLC 911907988.
- ^ "Models".
- ^ a b c d e f Engelmann 1995, p. 11.
- ^ sFH 18
- ^ Engelmann 1995, p. 13.
- ^ "LemaireSoft". Archived from the original on 6 January 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
Sources
- Book
- Engelmann, J. (1995). Deutsche Schwere Feldhaubitzen 1934-1945 [German Heavy Field Artillery in World War II: 1934-1945]. Translated by Johnston, D. ISBN 978-0887407598.
External links
- Media related to 15 cm sFH 18 howitzer at Wikimedia Commons