The 13.5 cm Kanone 09 (13.5 cm K 09) was a heavy breech-loading field artillery gun used by Germany in

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 ...

. Built by

Friedrich Krupp AG The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Kr ...

, in

Essen, Germany Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dor ...

, this gun was intended to supplement the 10 cm K 04. Only four of the sixteen built were in service at the outbreak of the war. It was withdrawn from service in 1915 as it was deemed to be too much gun for too little shell, but it was returned to service later in the war when the Allied blockade began to affect German ammunition production.

Technical details

The breech was a horizontal Krupp guide shaft breech, the shell and propellant charge were separated. The hydraulic recoil brake had a maximum stopping distance of 1.42 m, and the mount was a one-piece box spar mount. The gun fired using wheeled belts and was easily maneuverable off-road.

War trophies

One of these guns was captured during the

Battle of the Canal du Nord The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War by the Allies against German positions on the Western Front. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of ...

, on 29 September 1918, by the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

. Two battalions of the Wellington Regiment were engaged in this action, which was part of an Allied attack on the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916 ...

. At the end of the war, the captured gun, Nr 4, and many other captured German weapons were sent to New Zealand as war trophies. In 1920, Nr 4 was given to the city of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in honor of its soldiers. The gun, believed to be one of a few remaining in existence, is currently on public display in the

Wellington Botanic Garden The Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington, New Zealand covers 25 hectares of land on the side of the hill between Thorndon and Kelburn, near central Wellington. The garden features 25 hectares of protected native forest, conifers, plant c ...

. In 1921 the Channel Island of Guernsey received its share of the Allies’ spoils of war, four K09 Kanon. Displayed near

Victoria Tower The Victoria Tower is a square tower at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster in London, adjacent to Black Rod's Garden on the west and Old Palace Yard on the east. At , it is slightly taller than the Elizabeth Tower (formerly known ...

Saint Peter Port St. Peter Port (french: Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St. ...

until in 1938 two having badly deteriorated, were scrapped. The remaining two were quickly buried in 1940 before the Island was occupied by German forces. Forgotten about, they were dug up in 1978 and are now again on display next to Victoria Tower.

Notes

References

* Hogg, Ian. ''Twentieth-Century Artillery''. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000 * Jäger, Herbert. ''German Artillery of World War One''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001

External links

Images of the gun in Wellington
World War I artillery of Germany 135 mm artillery {{Artillery-stub