Obice da 105/14

Infobox Weapon
name=Obice da 105/14 modello 18


caption=
origin=Italy
type=howitzer
is_ranged=
is_bladed=
is_explosive=
is_artillery=yes
is_vehicle=
is_UK=
service=1918?-1945
used_by=flag|Italy
flag|Nazi Germany
wars=World War II
designer=Ansaldo
design_date=
manufacturer=Ansaldo
production_date=
number=
variants=
weight=convert|1400|kg|lb
length=
part_length=convert|1.47|m|in L/14
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge=convert|16.3|kg|lb
caliber=105 mm (4.134 in)
action=
rate=4-6 rpm
velocity=330 m/s (1,083 ft/s)
range=
max_range=convert|8160|m|yd
feed=
sights=
breech=
recoil=
carriage=box trail
elevation=-5° to +70°
traverse=5°
blade_type=
hilt_type=
sheath_type=
head_type=
haft_type=
diameter=
filling=
filling_weight=
detonation=
yield=
armour=
primary_armament=
secondary_armament=
engine=
engine_power=
pw_ratio=
suspension=
vehicle_range=
speed=The Obice da 105/14 modello 18 was a howitzer used by Italy during World War II. It appears to have been designed at the end of World War I, but that remains to be confirmed. It was originally designed to be towed by horses with wooden spoked wheels. Some weapons may have been modernized for tractor-towing with steel spoked wheels and pneumatic tires. For transport the box trail was supported by a small limber. Howitzers captured by the Germans after the Italian surrender in 1943 were given the designation of 10.5cm Kanone cm leichte Feldhaubitze 326(i), although it's unknown to what extend they were actually used.

Both references listed below believe this gun to be developed in the Thirties, but this seems unlikely given the photographic evidence of the designation as modello 18. The box trail would also be very old-fashioned for a gun designed that late.

References

* Chamberlain, Peter & Gander, Terry. "Light and Medium Field Artillery". New York: Arco, 1975
* Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. "Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945". New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3

External Links

* [http://www.amv-lilliput.org/MODELLI/photo/obice/obice.htm Photo essay on the Obice da 105/14 modello 18]