After a number of years researching off and on (most of it pre-internet!), a couple years ago I was finally able to identify the model of field piece that has adorned the center of my hometown for almost a century. The gun on the common is a 10.5cm Kanone 1917, otherwise abbreviated K17. The weapon is not a howitzer but a field gun, which fired a flatter trajectory, and was a modification of the successful 10.5cm K14. A demand for greater range necessitated replacing the 35 caliber barrel of the K14 with a very long 45 caliber tube in the K17. The longer and heavier barrel made movement of the gun in one piece a difficult proposition. March ordering the K17 was accomplished by removing the tube and transporting it separately on a second limber, known as a “barrel cart”.
The K17 was a rugged and robust field gun, with a horizontal sliding block breech very similar to the venerable American M101A1 105mm howitzer (which served with the Marine Corps from before World War II into the 1990s). The box trail, common to the period, limited traverse, but the weapon was capable of elevation to 800 mils.
The K17 proved extremely effective in combat, having a high rate of fire, and a range of nearly 17,000 meters. It was employed extensively in the counter-battery role (artilleriebekämfungsartillerie, or AKA) as well as against infantry. The gun was capable of firing all types of 10.5cm ammunition, including gas and chemical munitions. Fewer than 300 were produced, and several sources list only a handful of surviving examples. (Interestingly, none list this specific one.)
This particular piece is No. 278, as the photos show, and was manufactured by the famous Krupp firm in Essen in 1918.
The three interlocking rings, the Krupp symbol, are stamped in the upper corners on the rear of the breechblock (top image).
The three interlocking rings, the Krupp symbol, are stamped in the upper corners on the rear of the breechblock (top image).
I am open to picture and research supported counter response??