8 cm kanon vz. 30

8 cm kanon vz. 30
Parade of SS troops in Krakow, October 1940
Type Field gun
Place of origin Czechoslovakia
Service history
In service 1930-1945
Used by  Czechoslovakia
 Nazi Germany
Wars World War II[1]
Production history
Designer Škoda Works
Designed 1928-1930
Manufacturer Škoda Works
Specifications
Weight Combat: 1,816 kg (4,004 lb)
Travel: 2,977 kg (6,563 lb)
Barrel length 3.06 m (10.0 ft) L/40[1]
Shell Fixed QF 76.5 x 346mm R[2]
Shell weight 8 kg (17 lb 10 oz)
Caliber 76.5 mm (3 in)
Breech Horizontal sliding wedge
Recoil Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage Two-wheeled, box trail
Elevation -8° to +80°
Traverse 8°
Rate of fire 10-12 rpm
Muzzle velocity 600 m/s (1,968 ft/s)
Maximum firing range 13.5 km (8.4 mi)[1]

The 8 cm kanon vz. 30 (Cannon model 30) was a Czech field gun used in the Second World War. Guns captured after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 were taken into Wehrmacht service as the 8 cm FK 30(t). It was used by a variety of German units during World War II, including I./SS-Artillerie-Abteilung 3 between 1939 and 1940.[3]

Design & history

The origins of the 8 cm kanon vz. 30 began in 1930 at the Škoda Works in Pilsen. It was modified from an earlier Skoda design, the 8 cm kanon vz. 28, which attempted to combine the field, mountain and anti-aircraft roles into one weapon. It proved to be fairly successful at the first two, but was a failure at the third. The Czechs only used the vz. 28 in limited numbers, but exported versions of the gun to Yugoslavia and Romania.[1] The Czechs decided to adopt the vz. 30 to replace their plethora of aged Austro-Hungarian field guns. They deleted the firing platform of the original design and used standard Czech 76.5 mm ammunition. It shared the same carriage that could break down into three pieces for transport a feature also shared by the earlier 10 cm houfnice vz. 28 and the later 10 cm houfnice vz. 30 guns.

References

  • Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
  • 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
  • Peter Chamberlain and Terry Gander: Light and Medium field Artillery. New York. Arco Publishing. 1977. ISBN 0-668-03820-9

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Light and medium field artillery. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco. pp. 6–7. ISBN 0668038209. OCLC 2067331.
  2. ↑ "77-77 MM CALIBRE CARTRIDGES". www.quarryhs.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  3. ↑ Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 2/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (10 May 1940), 1990


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