The 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09 (10.5 cm FH 98/09), a short barreled (1625 mm) 105mm

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

, also referred to as the 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze (light field howitzer) 98/09, was used by the German Empire, Kingdom of Romania as well as the Ottoman Empire in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and after. It had a maximum range of .

History

It was originally built by

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

as the 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98, an old-fashioned, fixed-recoil weapon delivered to the German army in 1898; between 1902 and 1904, it was redesigned, by

Krupp 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 Krupp ...

, with a new recoil mechanism and a new carriage. However, it wasn't accepted for service until 1909, hence the ending designation 98/09. Existing weapons were rebuilt to the new standard. As usual, two seats were attached to the

gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery pi ...

. There were 1,260 in service at the beginning of World War I. Romania captured around 64 pieces from the German Army during World War I, and put them into service during the interwar years. The 10.5 cm leFH 16 was introduced in 1916 as a successor to 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09, featuring a longer

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

and hence longer range.

Ammunition

The 10.5 cm used three different types of ammunition and the aiming instruments were marked with three different meter scales and a dial sight for both direct and indirect fire. Originally, it used 7 charges of propellant, but this was increased during the war to 8 in an effort to extend its range.Ammunition
Retrieved 2012-02-29 * Feldhaubitz granate 98: A 15.8 kilogram (35 lb) high-explosive shell. * Feldhaubitz schrapnel 98: A 12.8 kilogram (28 lb)

shrapnel shell Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions which carried many individual bullets close to a target area and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike targets individually. They relied almo ...

Gallery

File:10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98 09 With Ammunition.jpeg, German 10.5-cm. light field howitzer with ammunition. File:Sayabec's F.H. 98 09 Howitzer after restauration.jpg, Sayabec's exposed F.H. 98/09 has received a well deserved restoration in the recent years including a new concrete pedestal, a new paint job and a different set of wheels. ( Uncertain about the historical accuracy of that change.) File:Turkish howitzer 10.5cm leFH 98 09 LOC 00121.jpg, Turkish gunners in action, 1917. File:The Battle of Arras, April-may 1917 Q5187.jpg, Gunners of the Royal Marine Artillery by a captured German 105 mm FH 98/09 field howitzer during the Battle of Arras, April 1917.

References

* Jäger, Herbert. ''German Artillery of World War One''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001

Notes

External links

10.5 cm FH 98/09 on Landships

{{DEFAULTSORT:10.5 Cm Feldhaubitze 98 09 World War I howitzers Field artillery of Germany Artillery of the Ottoman Empire World War I artillery of Germany 105 mm artillery