- Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906
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65 mm mle 1906 in Yad Mordechai, Israel.Type Mountain artillery Place of origin 
FranceService history Used by 
Albania
France
Greece
Israel
Nazi Germany
PolandWars World War I, World War II, Polish–Soviet War, Greco-Turkish War, 1948 Arab-Israeli War Production history Designer Colonel Ducrest Manufacturer Schneider Specifications Weight 400 kg (882 lbs) Barrel length 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) Shell fixed 65x175R mm Caliber 65 mm (2.5 in) Recoil hydro spring Carriage box trail Elevation −9° to +35° Rate of fire 18 rpm Muzzle velocity 330 m/s (1,082 ft/s) Effective range 6.5 km (4 mi) The Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906 or (65 mm mle. 1906) was a French mountain gun which entered service with the regiments d'artillerie de montagne in 1906 and was one of the first soft-recoil guns in service. The carriage of the mle 1906 was hinged and could be broken down into four mule loads for transport. By 1939, the weapon was generally used as an infantry support gun. After 1940, the Germans would use these as 6.5cm GebK 221(f). The gun was also used by Albania, Greece, Israel (1948 Arab-Israeli War, as Napoleonchik) and Poland.
Contents
Combat history
France
During WWI the French Armee d’Orient used the mle 1906 against the forces of the Central Powers in the mountains of Macedonia. There were 72 mle 1906's in service on the Balkan Front during the allied breakout from the Salonica bridgehead on September 15–29, 1918. The initial success of this allied offensive led Bulgaria to capitulate on October 9th 1918, later in October 1918 Serbia was liberated and lastly Austria-Hungary capitulated in November 1918 when faced with invasion from allied forces from the south.
Israel
The Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906 was heavily used by the Israel Defense Forces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and was nicknamed Napoleonchik by the Israelis due to its old look.
The first use of these cannons, lacking sights, was made in the Battle of Degania in northern Israel, which was also the first time the Israeli side employed field artillery. Subsequent uses were made in numerous major operations in the war, including Operation Bin Nun and Operation Pleshet.
External links
Categories:- Mountain artillery
- French World War I mountain artillery
- World War II guns
- French World War II weapons
- Artillery of France
- World War II weapons of Greece
- 65 mm artillery
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