24 cm Kanone M. 16

Infobox Weapon
name=24 cm Kanone M. 16


caption=
origin=Austria-Hungary
type=superheavy siege gun
is_ranged=
is_bladed=
is_explosive=yes
is_artillery=yes
is_vehicle=
is_UK=
service=1916-1945
used_by=flag|Austria-Hungary
CZE
flag|Nazi Germany
wars=World War I, World War II
designer=Skoda
design_date=1915-16
manufacturer=Skoda
production_date=1916-21
number=6
variants=
weight=convert|86000|kg|lb
length=
part_length=convert|9.6|m|in L/40
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge=convert|198|kg|lb
caliber=convert|240|mm|in
action=
rate=1 rpm
velocity=794 m/s
range=
max_range=convert|26300|m|yd
feed=
sights=
breech=horizontal sliding block
recoil=hydro-pneumatic
carriage=firing platform
elevation=+10° to +41° 30'
traverse=360°
blade_type=
hilt_type=
sheath_type=
head_type=
haft_type=
diameter=
filling=
filling_weight=convert|19.5|kg|lb
detonation=
yield=
armour=
primary_armament=
secondary_armament=
engine=
engine_power=
pw_ratio=
suspension=
vehicle_range=
speed=The 24 cm Kanone M. 16 was a superheavy siege gun used by Austria-Hungary during World War I and by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Design

It was designed by Skoda in concert with the 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 and used the same carriage and firing platform as the larger weapon. The gun used the forward trunnion mounts on the carriage while the howitzer used the rear ones.

It was transported in four loads, the barrel, mount and one for each half of the firing, or bedding, platform. Each load was carried by an eight-wheeled electric-powered trailer with the electricity provided by a Daimler Artillerie-Generatorzugwagen (Artillery Generator truck) M. 16, designed by Ferdinand Porsche. The 6-cylinder 20.32 liter gasoline engine powered two electric generators which fed electric motors in each wheel of the trailer and the rear wheels of the truck. Top speed was 14 kilometers per hour. The solid rubber tires could be removed and the trucks could tow their trailers on the rails. For longer distances they could be towed by ordinary locomotives.

Once the gun was in position it took eight to ten hours to prepare for firing. A large pit had to be excavated to hold the bedding halves. They were winched into position on rails and jacked(?) down into the pit. The carriage was then mounted on the bedding and the barrel mated to it. It could only be loaded at an elevation of +6° because shells had to be rammed by a hand-powered winch with pushrod.

History

It appears that only two guns were delivered during the war, although a total of nine guns and two spare barrels had been ordered. Only four more were under construction when the war ended. Skoda completed all of these by the end of 1921 as the new Czechoslovak Army decided to equip its heavy artillery with them. Nazi Germany bought all six of these weapons, and the spare barrel, in 1939. It was known as the schwere 24 cm Kanone(t) in German service. They did not participate in the Invasion of Poland, but were assigned only to the second battalion of Artillerie-Regiment 84 for the Battle of France and Operation Barbarossa. In Russia the battalion was assigned to Army Group North and fought in the Siege of Leningrad until that siege was broken by the Soviets in 1943. The battalion remained with Army Group North for the rest of the war and surrendered in the Courland Pocket at the end of the war.

References

* 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 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
* Ortner, M. Christian. "The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics". Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007 ISBN 978-3-902526-13-7
* Prášil, Michal. "Škoda Heavy Guns". Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1997 ISBN 0-7643-0288-4

External Links

* [http://www.landships.freeservers.com/new_pages/mgm_24cm_kanone_m16_kitreview.htm Kanone M. 16 on Landships]
* [http://sturmvogel.orbat.com/artillery.html Army Independent Artillery Units on Panzerkeil]