The Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider was a French

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

piece used in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by many European countries.

History

In the early 1900s, the French company Schneider began a collaboration with the Russian company Putilov. For this collaboration, it had developed a gun using the Russian 107 mm round, which was ordered by the Russian Army to be produced in Russia (though the initial batch of guns was made in France). Schneider then decided to modify the design for the French 105 mm (4.134 inches) round and offer it to France as well. Initially, the French army was not interested in this weapon as they already had plenty of 75 mm field guns. However, in 1913, the French army purchased a small number under the designation Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider; it was also known by the service designation L 13 S. The lighter 75 mm guns were of limited use against trenches; so, once the western front in World War I had settled down to

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

, the French army ordered large numbers of the L 13 S, which, with its larger 15.74 kg (34.7 lb) shell, was more effective against fortified positions and had a range of . After the end of World War I, France sold or gave many Schneider 105 mm guns to various other countries, including Belgium, Italy, Poland, and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. In Italy, the 105 mm was re-designated the Cannone da 105/27 mod. 13 and saw service until 1943. Guns were also produced under license in Italy, starting from September 1914, by Ansaldo. Poland also used new model of Schneider's gun with a longer barrel and

split trail A gun carriage is a frame or a 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 use ...

, called the wz. 29, which was in fact a completely different weapon; both were in service at the beginning of WW II in 1939. In 1939 Poland had 118 of wz. 13 guns and 124 of wz. 29 guns, used in Heavy Artillery Detachments.Konstankiewicz, Andrzej (2003). ''Broń strzelecka i sprzęt artyleryjski formacji polskich i Wojska Polskiego w latach 1914-1939'', Lublin. pp. 250-266. .

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

used three 1913 Schneiders on three railway artillery platforms in the Estonian Armored Train Regiment from 1934-1941.Salo, U (2005)
''Eesti kaitseväe valmisolek sõjaks ja vastupanuvõimalused 1939. aastal''
(PDF) (in Estonian). Tartu:

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

. The Estonian artillery pieces would later be captured and used by the USSR in the Second World War after the USSR invaded and occupied the Baltic States in 1940. The German conquests of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Belgium,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

during World War II gave them large numbers of captured 105 mm Schneider guns. 854 L 13 S's were in service in France and a large number were captured. Many of these were installed in the

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall () was an extensive system of coastal defence and fortification, coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense (military), d ...

system of coastal defenses. Finland was able to buy 12 of these guns from France during the Winter War; they also rebarreled six Russian 107mm Schnieders (four 1910 and two 1913 models) to 105mm. In addition, they were able to purchase 54 captured Polish Armata 105 mm wz. 29 Schneider guns from Germany.

Designations

Because the gun was used by many countries, it had many official designations. * Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider - French designation * 105 L - designation by French army during World War I * The Italian designation was ''Cannone da'' 105/28 ''modello'' 1913, often shortened to ''Cannone da'' 105/28 * 105 mm ''armata wz.'' 13 and 105 mm ''armata dalekonośna wz.'' 29 were Polish designations for the original gun and a modernised version respectively * German designations include: ** 10.5 cm K 331(f) for guns captured from France ** 10.5 cm K 333(b) for guns captured from Belgium ** 10.5 cm K 338(i) for guns captured from Italy ** 10.5 cm K 338(j) for guns captured from Yugoslavia ** 10.5 cm K 13(p) and 10.5 cm K 29(p) for guns captured from Poland * 105 K/13, 105 K/10 and 105 K/29 were the Finnish designations for the guns. 105 K/13 was the original French Gun, 105 K/10 was the 107mm Russian Gun rebarrelled to 105mm, while 105 K/29 were Polish 105 mm wz. 29 Schneider guns (These were captured guns which had been sold to Finland by Germany).

References

* ''Artillery'' by Chris Chant, , pages 31, 50-51.

External links

Cannone da 105/28
o
Italian Army website

Flames of war

List and pictures of World War I surviving 105 Mle 1913 Schneider guns
{{WWIIItalianGuns World War I artillery of Italy World War II artillery of Italy World War I guns World War I field artillery of France World War II artillery of France 105 mm artillery Schneider Electric