24 cm Kanone M. 16
Encyclopedia
The 24 cm Kanone M. 16 was a superheavy siege gun used by Austria-Hungary
during World War I
and by Nazi Germany
during World War II
. Only two were finished during World War I, but the other six were completed in the early twenties and served with the Czechoslovak
Army until they were bought by the Germans after their Munich Agreement
in 1938. During World War I one gun served on the Western Front
and the other on the Italian Front
. During World War II they saw action in the Battle of France
, Operation Barbarossa
and the Siege of Leningrad
.
, but they were all short-ranged. The Army asked Škoda
to design a gun able to destroy important targets deep in the enemy's rear in 1916. To save time and resources it was designed in concert with the 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16
and used the same carriage and firing platform as the larger weapon. The gun used the forward trunnion
mounts on the carriage while the howitzer used the rear ones. Some sources claim that the gun was adapted from Škoda's 1901 naval gun of the same caliber and length, but this is wrong because the M. 16 gun weighed almost 8 tonne less than the older naval gun.
. The gun carriage rested on a base box or bedding platform which measured 6.5 metres (21.3 ft) long, 5.2 metres (17.1 ft) wide and 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) high. The base box incorporated a turntable resting on a ball race
capable of 360° traverse. At the rear of the turntable was a 2 tonne tilting crane used to move ammunition from the shell cart to the roller race and to help assemble the roller race and to remove the breech. The roller race was mounted directly behind the gun on four tilting arms. When the gun returned to the prescribed loading angle of 6° the roller race was raised so that it met the rear end of the breech, a shell was placed on roller race by the crane and it was hand-rammed with the shell sliding forward on the rollers. It was followed by a cartridge case containing the propellant. While the gun was being elevated to its firing angles between +10° and +41° 30' the roller race was lowered out of the recoil path of the gun.
The gun was transported in four loads, the barrel, carriage and one for each half of the base box. Each load was carried by an eight-wheeled electric-powered trailer with the electricity provided by a Daimler
Artillery Generator truck (Artillerie-Generatorzugwagen) M. 16, designed by Ferdinand Porsche
. The 6-cylinder, 20.32 litres (1,239 cu in) gasoline
engine powered two electric generators which fed electric motors in each wheel of the trailer and the rear wheels of the truck. Top speed was 14 kilometres per hour (8.7 mph). The solid rubber tires could be removed and the trucks could tow their trailers on the rails. For longer distances they could be towed by ordinary locomotives. One additional truck towed the ammunition trailer, which carried twenty-eight rounds with their cartridge case as well as the loading crane.
It took eight to twenty hours in soft soil or gravel to excavate the large firing pit required to hold the halves of the base box. Six to eight hours were required to actually assemble the gun itself. Each half of the base box was maneuvered into position on rails that ran along each side of the pit and then it was jacked up off the wagon and the wagon was then removed. Each base box half was jacked down onto wheels that ran on the guide rails and then they were bolted together. The complete base box was pulled over the pit, the wheels removed and it was jacked down into the pit. Three rails were placed on top of the base box to guide the carriage wagon into position and the carriage was jacked up while the wagon was removed and it was then jacked down and bolted to the base box. The barrel wagon was guided into place using the same rails and two block and tackle
s were attached to the barrel clamp. The crew pulled on the ropes and slid the barrel into the cradle. The last steps were to connect the recoil brakes' pistons to the barrel, fill and test the recoil brake and recuperator, and install the roller race. Disassembly took around six hours.
, Austria
on the Italian Front
and the other was near Reifenberg
, Germany
.
Only four more guns were under construction when the war ended. Škoda completed all of these by the end of 1921 as the new Czechoslovak Army decided to buy them. When the Czechs mobilized during the Munich Crisis, the guns formed the Fifth and Sixth Batteries of the Third Battalion of Artillery Regiment 301, each battery with 2 guns, the two remaining guns being held in reserve. Nazi Germany bought all six of these weapons, the spare barrel and all their electric trucks, after the Munich Agreement
in January 1939 for a price of over 55 million crowns
.
The M. 16 was known as the schwere 24 cm Kanone(t) in German service. They did not participate in the Invasion of Poland, but were assigned only to the Second Battalion of Artillery Regiment 84, where they formed three two-gun batteries. The battalion fought on the Somme
during the Battle of France
. A second reserve barrel was ordered on 31 July 1940 for delivery on 28 February 1942. For the rest of 1940 and until May 1941 the battalion was emplaced on Cap-Gris-Nez in the Pas de Calais to interdict British coastal convoys in the English Channel
and to protect German ones. During Operation Barbarossa
the battalion was assigned to Army Group North
and fought in the Siege of Leningrad
, between January and June 1942, part-way through the siege, all six guns had to returned to Škoda for repair and retubing. This was delayed when barrel Nr. 8 ruptured on 10 December 1942 and a number of roughly-machined barrel ingots in storage since 1918 proved to substandard. The first two guns to be refitted were shipped to the battalion on 18 July 1943, but the rest were further delayed. The next pair of guns were shipped to the front on 11 January 1945. The battalion remained with Army Group North for the rest of the war until its surrender in the Courland Pocket
at the end of the war.
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Only two were finished during World War I, but the other six were completed in the early twenties and served with the Czechoslovak
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
Army until they were bought by the Germans after their Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
in 1938. During World War I one gun served on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
and the other on the Italian Front
Italian Campaign (World War I)
The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...
. During World War II they saw action in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
and the Siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
.
Development
The Austro-Hungarian Army was very pleased with its large siege howitzers like the 42 cm Haubitze M. 14/1642 cm Haubitze M. 14/16
The 42 cm L/15 Küstenhaubitze M. 14 was a superheavy siege howitzer used by Austria-Hungary during World War I and by Nazi Germany during World War II....
, but they were all short-ranged. The Army asked Škoda
Škoda Works
Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austro-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was also one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe in the 20th century...
to design a gun able to destroy important targets deep in the enemy's rear in 1916. To save time and resources it was designed in concert with the 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16
38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16
The 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 was a superheavy siege howitzer used by Austria-Hungary during World War I.-History and Design:Two howitzers were initially ordered and both 'Barbara' and 'Gudrun', as they were nicknamed, were delivered in time to participate in the South Tyrol offensive of May...
and used the same carriage and firing platform as the larger weapon. The gun used the forward trunnion
Trunnion
A trunnion is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting and/or pivoting point. In a cannon, the trunnions are two projections cast just forward of the centre of mass of the cannon and fixed to a two-wheeled movable gun carriage...
mounts on the carriage while the howitzer used the rear ones. Some sources claim that the gun was adapted from Škoda's 1901 naval gun of the same caliber and length, but this is wrong because the M. 16 gun weighed almost 8 tonne less than the older naval gun.
Description
The 40-caliber barrel was constructed of twelve parts, notably the inner tube and various inner and outer jacket pieces. The hydro-pneumatic recoil system was mounted on the cradle above the gun. It used the same horizontal sliding block breech as the 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 1638 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16
The 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 was a superheavy siege howitzer used by Austria-Hungary during World War I.-History and Design:Two howitzers were initially ordered and both 'Barbara' and 'Gudrun', as they were nicknamed, were delivered in time to participate in the South Tyrol offensive of May...
. The gun carriage rested on a base box or bedding platform which measured 6.5 metres (21.3 ft) long, 5.2 metres (17.1 ft) wide and 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) high. The base box incorporated a turntable resting on a ball race
Ball bearing
A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this by using at least two races to contain the balls and transmit...
capable of 360° traverse. At the rear of the turntable was a 2 tonne tilting crane used to move ammunition from the shell cart to the roller race and to help assemble the roller race and to remove the breech. The roller race was mounted directly behind the gun on four tilting arms. When the gun returned to the prescribed loading angle of 6° the roller race was raised so that it met the rear end of the breech, a shell was placed on roller race by the crane and it was hand-rammed with the shell sliding forward on the rollers. It was followed by a cartridge case containing the propellant. While the gun was being elevated to its firing angles between +10° and +41° 30' the roller race was lowered out of the recoil path of the gun.
The gun was transported in four loads, the barrel, carriage and one for each half of the base box. Each load was carried by an eight-wheeled electric-powered trailer with the electricity provided by a Daimler
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft was a German engine and later automobile manufacturer, in operation from 1890 until 1926. Founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, it was based first in Cannstatt...
Artillery Generator truck (Artillerie-Generatorzugwagen) M. 16, designed by Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche was an Austrian automotive engineer and honorary Doctor of Engineering. He is best known for creating the first hybrid vehicle , the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, as well as the first of many Porsche automobiles...
. The 6-cylinder, 20.32 litres (1,239 cu in) gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
engine powered two electric generators which fed electric motors in each wheel of the trailer and the rear wheels of the truck. Top speed was 14 kilometres per hour (8.7 mph). The solid rubber tires could be removed and the trucks could tow their trailers on the rails. For longer distances they could be towed by ordinary locomotives. One additional truck towed the ammunition trailer, which carried twenty-eight rounds with their cartridge case as well as the loading crane.
It took eight to twenty hours in soft soil or gravel to excavate the large firing pit required to hold the halves of the base box. Six to eight hours were required to actually assemble the gun itself. Each half of the base box was maneuvered into position on rails that ran along each side of the pit and then it was jacked up off the wagon and the wagon was then removed. Each base box half was jacked down onto wheels that ran on the guide rails and then they were bolted together. The complete base box was pulled over the pit, the wheels removed and it was jacked down into the pit. Three rails were placed on top of the base box to guide the carriage wagon into position and the carriage was jacked up while the wagon was removed and it was then jacked down and bolted to the base box. The barrel wagon was guided into place using the same rails and two block and tackle
Block and tackle
A block and tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, usually used to lift or pull heavy loads.The pulleys are assembled together to form blocks so that one is fixed and one moves with the load...
s were attached to the barrel clamp. The crew pulled on the ropes and slid the barrel into the cradle. The last steps were to connect the recoil brakes' pistons to the barrel, fill and test the recoil brake and recuperator, and install the roller race. Disassembly took around six hours.
History
It appears that only two guns were delivered during the war, although a total of nine guns and two spare barrels had been ordered. In the Spring of 1918 they equipped the Third and Fourth Companies, each with one gun, of the 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment. Photographic evidence shows one gun near DornbirnDornbirn
Dornbirn is a city in Vorarlberg, Austria. It is the administrative center of the district Dornbirn, which also includes the city of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
on the Italian Front
Italian Campaign (World War I)
The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...
and the other was near Reifenberg
Reifenberg
Reifenberg is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Only four more guns were under construction when the war ended. Škoda completed all of these by the end of 1921 as the new Czechoslovak Army decided to buy them. When the Czechs mobilized during the Munich Crisis, the guns formed the Fifth and Sixth Batteries of the Third Battalion of Artillery Regiment 301, each battery with 2 guns, the two remaining guns being held in reserve. Nazi Germany bought all six of these weapons, the spare barrel and all their electric trucks, after the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
in January 1939 for a price of over 55 million crowns
Czechoslovak koruna
The Czechoslovak koruna was the currency of Czechoslovakia from April 10, 1919 to March 14, 1939 and from November 1, 1945 to February 7, 1993...
.
The M. 16 was known as the schwere 24 cm Kanone(t) in German service. They did not participate in the Invasion of Poland, but were assigned only to the Second Battalion of Artillery Regiment 84, where they formed three two-gun batteries. The battalion fought on the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
during the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. A second reserve barrel was ordered on 31 July 1940 for delivery on 28 February 1942. For the rest of 1940 and until May 1941 the battalion was emplaced on Cap-Gris-Nez in the Pas de Calais to interdict British coastal convoys in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and to protect German ones. During Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
the battalion was assigned to Army Group North
Army Group North
Army Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
and fought in the Siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
, between January and June 1942, part-way through the siege, all six guns had to returned to Škoda for repair and retubing. This was delayed when barrel Nr. 8 ruptured on 10 December 1942 and a number of roughly-machined barrel ingots in storage since 1918 proved to substandard. The first two guns to be refitted were shipped to the battalion on 18 July 1943, but the rest were further delayed. The next pair of guns were shipped to the front on 11 January 1945. The battalion remained with Army Group North for the rest of the war until its surrender in the Courland Pocket
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket referred to the Red Army's blockade or encirclement of Axis forces on the Courland peninsula during the closing months of World War II...
at the end of the war.