10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze 16
A leFH 16 captured on 2 September 1918 by the 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Division, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), at Cagnicourt Wood, France.
TypeField howitzer
Place of originGerman Empire
Service history
In service1916–45
Used byGerman Empire
Nazi Germany
Belgium
WarsWorld War I
World War II
Production history
DesignerRheinmetall
Designed1914–16
Produced1916
VariantsleFH 16 n.A
Specifications
MassTravel: 2,870 kg (6,330 lb)
Combat: 1,525 kg (3,362 lb)
Length5.000 m (16 ft 4.9 in)
Barrel length2.310 m (7 ft 6.9 in) L/22
Width1.650 m (5 ft 5.0 in)
Height1.650 m (5 ft 5.0 in)
Shellcased separate-loading
(5 charges) 105 x 155mm R[1]
Shell weight14.81 kg (32.7 lb) (HE)
14.25 kg (31.4 lb) (AP)
Caliber105 mm (4.1 in)
Breechhorizontal sliding-block
Carriagebox trail
Elevation-10° to +40°
Traverse4°
Rate of fire6-8 rpm
Muzzle velocity395 m/s (1,300 ft/s)
Maximum firing range9,225 m (10,089 yd)
FillingTNT
Filling weight1.38 kg (3.0 lb)

The 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze 16 (10.5 cm leFH 16) was a field howitzer used by Germany in World War I and World War II.

Description

The 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze 16 was introduced in 1916 as a successor to 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09, featuring a longer barrel and hence longer range. It had the same carriage as the 7.7 cm FK 16.

Post war

10.5 cm leFH 16 from the side
Rear of 10.5 cm leFH 16

The Treaty of Versailles limited the Reichswehr to only 84 light field howitzers, with 800 rounds of ammunition per gun.[2] The leFH 16 remained the standard German howitzer until 1937, when the 10.5 cm leFH 18 began to replace them in the artillery battalions.[3] Guns turned over to Belgium as reparations after World War I were taken into German Army service after the conquest of Belgium as the 10.5 cm leFH 327 (b). Romania acquired around 64 pieces from the German Army following World War I, and put them into service during the interwar years.[4]

References

Notes

  1. ^ "101". www.quarryhs.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  2. ^ Engelmann 1995, p. 3.
  3. ^ Engelmann 1995, p. 7.
  4. ^ Stroea, Adrian; Băjenaru, Gheorghe (2010). Artileria româna în date si imagini [Romanian artillery in data and images] (in Romanian). Editura Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei. p. 74. ISBN 978-606-524-080-3.

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 10.5 cm leFH 16.


German artillery of World War I
German artillery of World War II
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