The 120 mm howitzer Model 1901 – was a German howitzer used by the Imperial Russian and Romanian Armies during the First World War.[1]
| 120 mm howitzer Model 1901 | |
|---|---|
 A Russian model 1901 captured during the Finnish Civil War at the Hameenlinna artillery museum. | |
| Type | Howitzer |
| Place of origin |  German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1901-? |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krupp |
| Designed | 1901 |
| Manufacturer | Krupp |
| Produced | 1901 |
| No. built | Russia: ? Romania: 31 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Travel: 1,835 kg (4,045 lb) Combat: 1,065 kg (2,348 lb) |
| Barrel length | 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) L/11.6 |
| Shell | Cased separate-loading |
| Shell weight | HE: 15.6 kg (34 lb 6 oz) Shrapnel: 21 kg (46 lb 5 oz) |
| Caliber | 120 mm (4.7 in) |
| Breech | Horizontal sliding block |
| Recoil | Spring loaded recoil spade |
| Carriage | Box trail |
| Elevation | 0° to +42° |
| Muzzle velocity | 300 m/s (980 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 6.5 km (4 mi) |
Design
editThe 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
edit
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]
Photo Gallery
edit
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Krupp 120mm 1901_Hb_Romania". www.bulgarianartillery.it. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
- ^ "South African Military History Society – Journal- Guns in South Africa 1899–1902". samilitaryhistory.org. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
- ^ Romania in World War 1916–1919. Volume I. Documents-Annexes. Official Gazette and State Imprints, Bucharest, 1934–1940. p. 56.