The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art (7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.) was a

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 artillery ...

used by Germany in World War I.

Description

The gun combined the

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 stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

of the earlier 7.7 cm FK 96 with a recoil system, a new breech and a new carriage. Existing FK 96s were upgraded over time. The FK 96 n.A. was shorter-ranged, but lighter than the French

Canon de 75 modèle 1897 The French 75 mm field gun is a Quick-firing gun, quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75 mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and S ...

or the British Ordnance QF 18 pounder gun; the Germans placed a premium on mobility, which served them well during the early stages of World War I. However, once the front had become static, the greater rate of fire of the French gun and the heavier shells fired by the British gun put the Germans at a disadvantage. The Germans remedied this by developing the longer-ranged, but heavier 7.7 cm FK 16. As with most guns of its era, the FK 96 n.A. had seats for two crewmen mounted on its splinter shield. Guns taken into service by Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia upon independence in 1919 served until replaced during the 1930s.

Variants

* 7.7 cm Kanone in Haubitzenlafette (KiH) - or ''Cannon in Howitzer Carriage'' in English. Mounted the barrel of the FK 96 n.A. on the carriage of the 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09 in an attempt to get more elevation and range. * 7.7 cm Nahkampfkanone - or ''Close Support Cannon'' in English. Was a FK 96 n.A. with smaller diameter wheels, no bottom shield, and no footrests for the crew seats on the front of the shield. It was an attempt to make a lighter and lower profile gun for close support. * 7.7 cm Infanteriegeschütze L/20 - or ''Infantry Gun L/20'' in English. Was a shortened FK 96 n.A. barrel mounted on a

mountain gun Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for mountain warfare and other areas where wheeled transport is not possible. They are generally capable of being taken apart to make smaller loads for transport by horses, humans, mules, tractors, or ...

carriage to create a light close support gun that could be disassembled for transport. * 7.7 cm Infanteriegeschütze L/27 - or ''Infantry Gun L/27'' in English. Was a FK 96 n.A. with smaller diameter wheels, and no crew seats. It had a new shield that extended over the wheels of the carriage. It was an attempt to make a lighter and lower profile gun for close support. * QF 77 mm Mk I - was the British designation for a converted FK 96 n.A. barrel and recoil mechanism mounted on a HA/LA mount to arm

merchant ships A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

, Q ships, and small warships.

Ammunition

* Feldgranate 96: a 6.8 kilogram (15 lb) high-explosive shell filled with .19 kg (0.45 lbs) of

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

. * FeldkanoneGeschoss 11: A 6.85 kilogram (15.1 lb) shell combining high explosive and shrapnel functions. It contained 294 10 gram lead bullets and .25 kilograms (0.55 lb) of TNT. * A 6.8 kilogram (15 lb) pure shrapnel shell filled with 300 lead bullets. * An anti-tank shell * A smoke shell * A

star shell A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell c ...

* A gas shell It mainly used the K.Z. 11 time fuse or the later L.K.Z. 16 contact fuse. Because they exploded without delay, shells with contact fuses were called "whizzbangs".

Users

* * * * * * * *

Gallery

File:7.7 cm Feldkanone 16 IMG 6416.jpg, The rear of a 7.7 cm FK 96 n.A. File:The Battle of Messines, June 1917 Q5482.jpg, A 7.7 cm Nahkampfkanone captured during the Battle of Messines. File:Taber-center (cropped).JPG, A 7.7 cm Infanteriegeschütze L/27 at the Taber

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

War Memorial. File:A bord du torpilleur - L'Île-d'Yeu - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - APZ0003336.jpg, A QF 77 mm Mk I on board a

Torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

. File:Improvisiertes Fliegerabwehrgeschütz auf Drehgestell - CH-BAR - 3239457.tif, A FK 96 n.A. used as a makeshift anti-aircraft gun.

Surviving example

A restored example of a FK 96 n.A. captured at the

Battle of Hamel The Battle of Hamel was a successful attack by Australian Army and US Army infantry, supported by British tanks, against German positions in and around the town of Le Hamel, in northern France, during World War I. The attack was planned and co ...

by Australian forces has been restored and is on display at the Australian Armour & Artillery Museum. India A cannon in front of Hotel Ananda - In the Himalayas, Narendra Nagar, Uttarakhand WTK20150913-IMG 2660.jpg An additional example is on display in Queens Park, Brisbane, Australia

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

7.7 cm FK 96 n.A. on Landships
* ttp://www.passioncompassion1418.com/Canons/english_CanonsIndex_Nation.html List and pictures of WW1 surviving 7.7cm FK96 n.A. guns {{DEFAULTSORT:7.7 cm FK 96 n.A. World War I artillery of Germany World War I guns Artillery of the Ottoman Empire 77 mm artillery