8 cm Kanone C/73

8 cm Kanone C/73
A 8 cm Kanone C/73 at the Spandau Citadel.
Type Field gun
Place of origin German Empire
Service history
In service 1873-1922
Used by See users
Wars See wars
Production history
Designer Krupp
Designed 1873
Manufacturer Krupp
Produced 1873-1891
Specifications
Weight 750 kg (1,650 lb)
Barrel length 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in) L/20
Shell Separate-loading, bagged charges and projectiles
Shell weight Canister: 3.5 kg (7 lb 11 oz)
HE: 4.2 kg (9 lb 4 oz)
Shrapnel: 4.7 kg (10 lb 6 oz)
Caliber 78.5 mm (3.09 in)
Breech Horizontal sliding-block
Recoil None
Carriage Box trail
Traverse None
Rate of fire 10 rpm
Muzzle velocity 400 m/s (1,300 ft/s)
Effective firing range 4.8 km (3 mi)

The 8 cm Kanone C/73 was a field gun developed after the Franco-Prussian War and used by Germany before and during World War I.

History

The Kreiner breech of the C/61.

After the Franco-Prussian War, the German Army began to study replacements for its existing C/61 and C/64 breech loaded cannons. Although the C/61 had outclassed its French rivals during the war it's Kreiner breech an early form of double wedge breech was unpopular with gun crews. The new gun designated the C/73 would retain the same 78.5 mm (3.09 in) caliber of the C/61 and would equip cavalry artillery regiments, while a larger 88 mm (3.5 in) designated the 9 cm Kanone C/73 replaced the C/64 and was assigned to the field artillery regiments of the Army.[1]

In addition to the German Army, C/73's also armed the Ottoman Empire and a number of the Balkan states. The Balkan states either bought them from Germany or they inherited Ottoman guns after they left the region. Although largely replaced by the German Army before the First World War a combination of higher than expected losses and insufficient ammunition production led to the C/73 being brought out of reserve and issued as replacements to artillery regiments.[2]

Design

Although made of steel like its predecessor the C/73 was of built-up construction with a central rifled tube, a reinforcing hoop from the trunnions to the breech and a larger propellant chamber for higher muzzle velocities and greater range. The C/73 featured a new breech which was known as a cylindro-prismatic breech that was a predecessor of Krupp's horizontal sliding-block and the gun used separate-loading, bagged charges and projectiles.[1]

The C/73 had a box trail carriage built from bolted steel plates instead of wood. The C/73 did not have a recoil mechanism or a gun shield. For transport, the gun was attached to a limber for towing by a horse-team. The limber also had seats for crew members plus ammunition and supplies. There were also seats attached to the axle of the gun carriage for the crew.[1]

Users

Wars

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jäger, Herbert (2001). German artillery of World War One. Marlborough: Crowood Press. pp. 11–15. ISBN 1861264038. OCLC 50842313.
  2. ↑ Fleischer, Wolfgang. German artillery : 1914-1918. Barnsley. pp. 19 & 92. ISBN 9781473823983. OCLC 893163385.
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