Hi All
A long overdue “Andys Rubbish and Ramblings”, I have been rather busy these past few moths with having to renew all my firearms licences and also deal with organising a militaria auction, there’s still a bit to keep me busy there but hopefully in a months time I will regain some free time.
This time we are taking a look at War Trophy Guns, as the saying goes to the victors go the spoils of war, and the victors certainly seemed to take their fair share of spoils… Be that individual souvenirs through to “official” war trophies, there were whole departments dedicated to the gathering and storage of war trophies such as MG’s, Artillery, Mortars and Tanks to name a few.
At the cessation of hostilities and as foreign troops found their way home so too did an impressive array of captured artillery, New Zealand, as far flung as we are, had an abundant supply of MG’s, Mortars and artillery, we had a couple of A7V tanks as well but the government of the day was reluctant to pay the freight for these extremely rare pieces of machinery and they were left in the UK to be broken up for scrap. The Imperial War Museum may have the main gun from one
f the Kiwi trophy tanks on display?
All across the commonwealth and the USA there were trophy artillery pieces on display in towns and cities, standing as silent sentinels, reminders of the sacrifices made and and of course the contribution to victory made by the service personnel in the surrounding districts.
What fate has befallen these trophies? Social attitudes changes, people lost sight of their significance and some didn’t like weapons of war on display ( an issue that continues to this day) over time the artillery pieces started to deteriorate, wooden wheels collapsing and rust setting in, some communities and institutions were pro active in maintaining these pieces and also respected their history, ensuring there survival. Others were happy to condemn them to the scrap man or simply dumped them, relieving themselves from the burden of maintenance. Occasionally, right minded individuals were able to secure the unwanted items and preserved them for the future. Generally, the surviving artillery pieces on public display are few in numbers today, 105 years after these guns came home as trophies.
It seems one of the most prolific artillery trophies was the German 7.7cm Feldkanone 96 n.A., Germany entered the war with 5,086 of these Field Guns ( believed to be around 100 survivors today). Throughout the whole Great War, these light 77mm guns were the most prolifically used artillery pieces, seeing service on all fronts and providing support in many battles. The Fk96n/A was capable of firing a whole range of ammunition types, shrapnel, HE, Gas shells etc could all be fired from these guns.
Specifications as follows.
* Calibre77 mm
* Barrel length2080 mm
* Max. recoil1270 mm
* Barrel weight335 kg
* Min./Max. Elevation-12°/+15°
* Traverse4°
* Axle width1530mm
* Wheel Diameter1360mm
* Carriage weight635 kg
* Weight limbered1910 kg
* Weight emplaced1020 kg
* Shell Weight6.85 kg
* Muzzle Velocity465 m/sec
* Max. Range (theoretical)7,800 m
* Max. Range (practical)5,000 m
Next time you see one of these trophy guns, take a good look and and appreciate the many battles they have been through since the Great War and appreciate them while they remain publicly accessible