KStudio Photography
15.5cm K 418(f)
Somewhere in the sandy scrub of North Africa, a German heavy gun crew makes ready to fire their 15.5cm K 418(f) field gun. The gun was, in fact, a design that was already some 25 years old, having been conceived and designed by a Frenchman by the name of Colonel Louis J.F. Filloux in 1917. The gun was meant to replace more antiquated French heavy guns then in service with something more modern and this it did, being rushed into production following a brief, but successful, testing period. In French service, the gun was designated as the Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux mle 1917 but more often the name was shortened to Canon de 155mm GPF. The Canon de 155mm GPF served through the remainder of World War One and was also adopted by the U.S. Army as the 155mm M1917, becoming the Army's standard heavy field gun.
Following World War One, the Canon de 155mm GPF remained in French service and the U.S. Army obtained the manufacturing rights to the gun, producing it as the 155mm M1918. In addition to the U.S. Army, the M1918 also became the main heavy field gun of the U.S. Marine Corps. Some of the M1917 guns were put into storage as quantity of the newer M1918 became more readily available. A number of the guns were deployed in the Far East, mainly in the Philippines and Australia in coastal defense positions. As war loomed, the French built M1917 guns were withdrawn from storage and put to use on U.S. coasts and manned by men from the U.S. Coast Artillery Corps.
The French, meanwhile, modernized the Canon de 155mm GPF prior to World War Two with a new carriage designed by Touzard. Rather than one larger steel wheel rubber tire per side, the Touzard carriage had smaller, dual rubber tires per side. The gun was usually towed by a Laffly S35T wheeled artillery tractor. At the start of 1940, the French had 450 Canon de 155mm GPF guns in service. Following the French defeat at the hands of the Axis on June 25, 1940, the Germans came into a large number of the guns and put them into service as the 15.5cm K 418(f). The majority were put to use as coastal defense guns but a number of them were deployed with the heavy artillery battalions attached to the Afrika Korps and saw action throughout the Western Desert Campaign which lasted from June 11, 1940 to February 4, 1943. Remaining 15.5cm K 418(f) guns saw combat during the D-Day landings in June 1944 and survivors continued to see use through to the end of the war in May 1945.
The U.S. phased out the M1917 and M1918 starting in 1942 with the introduction of the 155mm M1A1 “Long Tom” field gun. However, the guns themselves saw continued life when both M1917 and M1918 gun assemblies were fitted to a modified M3 medium tank chassis to become the 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M12. In 1942, sixty M12 were built with another forty in 1943. Initially used for training in 1943, a number of them were put into storage. However, in preparation for the D-Day invasion, seventy-four M12 vehicles were taken out of storage or away from training units and refurbished. Deployed with six field artillery battalions, the M12 saw combat from June 1944 to May 1945. It was soon replaced post-war by the 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M40 which used a M4A3 medium tank chassis and used the 155mm M1 gun.
The 15.5cm K 418(f) had a combat weight of 28,660 pounds with a barrel length of 20 feet and the breech was of the interrupted screw type. The carriage used a split trail and the gun had 60 degrees of traverse with a maximum elevation of 39 degrees. Recoil was absorbed by a hydropneumatic system but this still could send the barrel backwards up to 5 feet depending on the gun elevation. The high-explosive shell was of the separate loading cased charge type which meant the ammunition was in two parts: the shell and the propellant charge. The maximum weight of the round, with a full charge, was 95 pounds and this gave a maximum range of 12 miles. A good crew could fire between two to three rounds every minute and the typical crew size was ten men.
15.5cm K 418(f)
Somewhere in the sandy scrub of North Africa, a German heavy gun crew makes ready to fire their 15.5cm K 418(f) field gun. The gun was, in fact, a design that was already some 25 years old, having been conceived and designed by a Frenchman by the name of Colonel Louis J.F. Filloux in 1917. The gun was meant to replace more antiquated French heavy guns then in service with something more modern and this it did, being rushed into production following a brief, but successful, testing period. In French service, the gun was designated as the Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux mle 1917 but more often the name was shortened to Canon de 155mm GPF. The Canon de 155mm GPF served through the remainder of World War One and was also adopted by the U.S. Army as the 155mm M1917, becoming the Army's standard heavy field gun.
Following World War One, the Canon de 155mm GPF remained in French service and the U.S. Army obtained the manufacturing rights to the gun, producing it as the 155mm M1918. In addition to the U.S. Army, the M1918 also became the main heavy field gun of the U.S. Marine Corps. Some of the M1917 guns were put into storage as quantity of the newer M1918 became more readily available. A number of the guns were deployed in the Far East, mainly in the Philippines and Australia in coastal defense positions. As war loomed, the French built M1917 guns were withdrawn from storage and put to use on U.S. coasts and manned by men from the U.S. Coast Artillery Corps.
The French, meanwhile, modernized the Canon de 155mm GPF prior to World War Two with a new carriage designed by Touzard. Rather than one larger steel wheel rubber tire per side, the Touzard carriage had smaller, dual rubber tires per side. The gun was usually towed by a Laffly S35T wheeled artillery tractor. At the start of 1940, the French had 450 Canon de 155mm GPF guns in service. Following the French defeat at the hands of the Axis on June 25, 1940, the Germans came into a large number of the guns and put them into service as the 15.5cm K 418(f). The majority were put to use as coastal defense guns but a number of them were deployed with the heavy artillery battalions attached to the Afrika Korps and saw action throughout the Western Desert Campaign which lasted from June 11, 1940 to February 4, 1943. Remaining 15.5cm K 418(f) guns saw combat during the D-Day landings in June 1944 and survivors continued to see use through to the end of the war in May 1945.
The U.S. phased out the M1917 and M1918 starting in 1942 with the introduction of the 155mm M1A1 “Long Tom” field gun. However, the guns themselves saw continued life when both M1917 and M1918 gun assemblies were fitted to a modified M3 medium tank chassis to become the 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M12. In 1942, sixty M12 were built with another forty in 1943. Initially used for training in 1943, a number of them were put into storage. However, in preparation for the D-Day invasion, seventy-four M12 vehicles were taken out of storage or away from training units and refurbished. Deployed with six field artillery battalions, the M12 saw combat from June 1944 to May 1945. It was soon replaced post-war by the 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M40 which used a M4A3 medium tank chassis and used the 155mm M1 gun.
The 15.5cm K 418(f) had a combat weight of 28,660 pounds with a barrel length of 20 feet and the breech was of the interrupted screw type. The carriage used a split trail and the gun had 60 degrees of traverse with a maximum elevation of 39 degrees. Recoil was absorbed by a hydropneumatic system but this still could send the barrel backwards up to 5 feet depending on the gun elevation. The high-explosive shell was of the separate loading cased charge type which meant the ammunition was in two parts: the shell and the propellant charge. The maximum weight of the round, with a full charge, was 95 pounds and this gave a maximum range of 12 miles. A good crew could fire between two to three rounds every minute and the typical crew size was ten men.