120 mm howitzer Model 1901

120 mm howitzer Model 1901
A Russian model 1901 captured during the Finnish Civil War at the Hameenlinna artillery museum.
TypeHowitzer
Place of origin German Empire
Service history
In service1901-?
Used bySee Users
Wars
Production history
DesignerKrupp
Designed1901
ManufacturerKrupp
Produced1901
No. builtRussia: ?
Romania: 31
Specifications
MassTravel: 1,835 kg (4,045 lb)
Combat: 1,065 kg (2,348 lb)
Barrel length1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) L/11.6
ShellCased separate-loading
Shell weightHE: 15.6 kg (34 lb 6 oz)
Shrapnel: 21 kg (46 lb 5 oz)
Caliber120 mm (4.7 in)
BreechHorizontal sliding block
RecoilSpring loaded recoil spade
CarriageBox trail
Elevation0° to +42°
Muzzle velocity300 m/s (980 ft/s)
Effective firing range6.5 km (4 mi)

The 120 mm howitzer Model 1901 – was a German howitzer used by the Imperial Russian and Romanian Armies during the First World War.[1]

Design

The model 1901 was a short ranged field howitzer capable of both direct and indirect fire.[2] The model 1901 had a short steel barrel, a box trail carriage, two wooden spoked wheels with steel rims, a horizontal sliding-block breech, it fired cased separate-loading ammunition and had a spring-loaded recoil spade. For transport, the trail of the carriage could be connected to a limber and caisson for towing by a six-horse team.[2]

Users

  •  Orange Free State – The Boers used an unknown number of model 1901 howitzers during the Second Boer War.[3]
  •  Russian Empire – An unknown number of model 1901 howitzers were used by the Imperial Russian Army. The photos in the gallery below are of a model 1901 that was captured from the Russians during the Finnish Civil War and is displayed at the Hameenlina artillery museum.
  •  Romania – In 1902 two batteries of four guns were assigned to the 2nd artillery regiment in Bucharest. This was followed by three more batteries assigned to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd regiments.[1] In 1915 the Romanians added a gun shield to protect the gunners. In 1916 the Romanian Army had 31 of these howitzers when they entered the First World War.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Stroea, Adrian (2010). Artileria Română în date şi imagini. Băjenaru, Gheorghe. București: Editura Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei [CTEA]. p. 44. ISBN 9786065240803. OCLC 895490826.
  2. ^ a b "Krupp 120mm 1901_Hb_Romania". www.bulgarianartillery.it. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  3. ^ "South African Military History Society – Journal- Guns in South Africa 1899–1902". samilitaryhistory.org. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  4. ^ Romania in World War 1916–1919. Volume I. Documents-Annexes. Official Gazette and State Imprints, Bucharest, 1934–1940. p. 56.