15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16
Heavy field gun used by Austria-Hungary in World War I
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The 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16 was a heavy field gun used by Austria-Hungary in World War I. Guns turned over to Italy as reparations after World War I were taken into Italian service as the Cannone da 152/37. Austrian and Czech guns were taken into Wehrmacht service after the Anschluss and the occupation of Czechoslovakia as the 15.2 cm K 15/16(t). Italian guns captured after the surrender of Italy in 1943 were known by the Wehrmacht as the 15.2 cm K 410(i). Due to their unique ammunition, the Germans did not use them that much, and generally served on coast-defense duties during World War II.
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First Austrian Republic
Czechoslovakia
Nazi Germany
Kingdom of Italy
| 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16 | |
|---|---|
A 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16 at Vittorio Veneto in 1918 | |
| Type | Heavy field gun |
| Place of origin | Austria-Hungary |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1916â1945 |
| Used by | Austria-Hungary First Austrian Republic Czechoslovakia Nazi Germany Kingdom of Italy |
| Wars | World War I World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Skoda |
| Designed | 1913â16 |
| Manufacturer | Skoda |
| Produced | 1916â18 |
| No. built | 44 |
| Variants | 15 cm Autokanone M. 15 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 11,900 kilograms (26,200 lb) |
| Barrel length | 6.0 metres (19 ft 8 in) L/39.5 |
| Crew | 13 |
| Shell | separate-loading, cased charge |
| Caliber | 152.4 mm (6 in) |
| Carriage | box trail |
| Elevation | -6° to +45° |
| Traverse | 6° |
| Rate of fire | 1 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 692 m/s (2,270 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 16,000 metres (17,000 yd) (M. 15) |
| Maximum firing range | 21,840 metres (23,880 yd) (M. 15/16) |
Design
The M. 15 was a thoroughly conventional design for its day with a box trail, iron wheels and a curved gunshield. It was notable as being the first Austro-Hungarian gun to be designed for motor transport, towed behind the M 17 'Goliath' artillery tractor, hence the Autokanone designation. For transport the barrel was generally detached from the recoil system and moved on its own trailer. The original M. 15 weapons had a maximum elevation of only 30°, but an elevation of 45° was demanded early in the gun's production run, mainly to engage high-altitude targets in the mountains. 27 M. 15 guns were completed before production switched to the improved M. 15/16 with greater elevation in the first half of 1917. A total of 44 barrels and 43 carriages were completed by the end of the war.[1][2]
It seems likely that surviving M. 15 guns were rebuilt after the war to M. 15/16 standards. During the Twenties, guns in Italian service were relined and given new wheels by Vickers-Terni. In June 1940 Italy had 29 Cannone da 152/37 in service. By the time of the Italian capitulation this number had declined to 17.[3]
