The 12 cm Kanone M 80 was a light siege gun used by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Designed to replace the M 61 series of siege guns the M 80 family of siege guns offered greater range and armor penetration than the older guns. The steel-bronze (see

Franz von Uchatius Franz von Uchatius (1811–1881) was an Austrian artillery general and inventor. His inventions included both military applications and pioneer work in cinematography. He invented a motion picture projector in 1853, developing it over the years f ...

) was considered inferior to steel as early as 1870s, but due to the lack of steel industry in Austria it was used for the barrel, and the iron carriage lacked any system to absorb recoil other than the traditional recoil wedges placed underneath and behind the wheels of the carriage. These wedges helped to absorb the recoil force and encouraged the wheels to run forward to bring the gun back into battery. Generally a wooden firing platform was constructed for these guns in action to provide a level and smooth surface. Shortly after these guns were adopted a hydraulic recoil cylinder was adapted to absorb the recoil forces. It was attached to the underside of the carriage and the firing platform. For transport the barrel was removed from the carriage by a crane and carried separately. While designed to penetrate the walls of fortifications the 12 cm siege gun was no longer useful against modern armored fortresses by the outbreak of World War I and its combination of long-range and light weight saw many in the field to fill the need for long-range artillery.

References

Bibliography

* Ortner, M. Christian. ''The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics''. Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007 * Łukasz Chrzanowski "Artyleria Austro-Węgierska 1860-1890" Przemyśl, Wydawnictwo FORT, 2008,

External links

M 80 siege guns on Landships
* https://nkerepo.uni-nke.hu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/15587/artillerieunterricht_fur_die_kuk_festungsartillerie_i_theil_2_heft.pdf {{Austro-Hungarian artillery of World War I World War I guns World War I artillery of Austria-Hungary 120 mm artillery