The 10.4 cm Feldkanone M. 15 was a heavy

field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It was derived from the successful 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze M 14 modified to fire high-velocity 104-mm projectiles. The 10.4 cm Feldkanone M.15 served the same role for the Austro-Hungarian Army as the

10 cm K 14 The 10 cm Kanone 14 (10 cm K 14) was a field gun used by Germany and Bulgaria in World War I. Design The 10 cm Kanone 14 was designed by Krupp and was intended to replace the 10 cm K 04. It was essentially a heavily modified versio ...

gun did for the Germans, but was 3 tons heavier and the barrel had to be removed in order to be transported by horse and wagon. Approximately 577 were produced by Skoda and MAVAG. These guns were deployed at all fronts, including Palestine. The M.15 was considered a good artillery piece, but the weight prohibited rapid deployment. The breech used a sliding wedge and they were equipped with spring reuperators and hydraulic recoil. Because the gun was too heavy to be drawn by the usual field artillery team of six horses, for transport it broke down into the two loads, with the barrel being carried on a separate carriage. An example of one of the transport wagons is preserved at

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , ci ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, which had been taken from the Ottoman Army at the

Capture of Jenin The Capture of Jenin occurred on 20 September 1918, during the Battle of Sharon which together with the Battle of Nablus formed the set piece Battle of Megiddo fought between 19 and 25 September during the last months of the Sinai and Pales ...

in 1918 and was donated to the school in 1921 by Brigadier General Lachlan Chisholm Wilson, a former pupil. The barrel is mounted on its ''Rohrwagen'' or transport carriage rather than the

gun carriage A gun carriage is a frame and mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also used ...

it would have been fired from. It was restored in 1996 by the South Queensland Logistics Group. Four guns were used by Poland during the Polish-Soviet war.Konstankiewicz, Andrzej (2003). ''Broń strzelecka i sprzęt artyleryjski formacji polskich i Wojska Polskiego w latach 1914-1939'', Lublin. p. 53. . Guns captured or turned over to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

as reparations after World War I were taken into Italian service as the Cannone da 105/32 and were bored out to 105 mm to fit Italian ammunition. 260 M.14 and M.15 guns were recovered by the Italians after the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, of which 70 were scrapped. It was one of the principal Italian long-range guns in World War II and saw service in North Africa, Russia, and Sicily. It also saw use during the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

. The Italians found that it did not compare favorably to the Canone de 105/28 due to the heavier weight, especially in Ukraine. Four guns were used by the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

in 1943. The German army gave captured weapons the designation 10.5cm K 320(i). A rusting 10.4 cm Skoda was found in the

Presanella Presanella is a mountain in the Adamello-Presanella range of the Italian Alps of northern Italy. Presanella has an elevation of 3,558 meters and is located in the Adamello Brenta National Park within the Trentino province of Italy. Climbing hi ...

mountains in the year 2000, where it supposed it was dueling an Italian 149/23 during the First World War. Found at 3171 meters altitude, the gun came completely out of the glacier in the very warm summer of 2003. Because it was located on a 45 degree slope, the risk of it sliding down was considered too great, so the gun was relocated by lifting it with a Superpuma helicopter. Il recupero del cannone 10.4 Skoda
, Museo della Guerra Bianca in Adamello

References

Bibliography

* 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 * Ortner, M. Christian. ''The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics''. Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007

{{WWIIItalianGuns World War I guns World War I artillery of Italy World War I artillery of Austria-Hungary 104 mm artillery