Preserved sFH 18 howitzer at CFB Borden, Ontario, Canada
Type
Howitzer
Place of origin
Germany
Service history
In service
1934–1945 (Germany)
Used by
Germany See Operators
Wars
World War II Second Sino-Japanese War Portuguese Colonial War
Production history
Designer
Krupp Rheinmetall
Designed
1926–1930
Manufacturer
Krupp, Rheinmetall, Spreewerke, M.A.N. and Skoda
Unit cost
40,400 RM (1944)
Produced
1933–1945
No. built
6,756[1]
Variants
sFH 18M
Specifications
Mass
Travel: 6,304 kg (13,898 lb) Combat: 5,512 kg (12,152 lb)
Length
7.849 m (25 ft 9.0 in)
Barrel length
4.440 m (14 ft 6.8 in) L/29.5
Width
2.225 m (7 ft 3.6 in)
Height
1.707 m (5 ft 7.2 in)
Crew
7[2]
Shell
149 mm × 260 R Separate loading cased charge
Shell weight
43.52 kg (95.9 lb) (HE)
Caliber
149 mm (5.9 in)
Breech
horizontal sliding-block
Recoil
hydro-pneumatic
Carriage
split trail
Elevation
0° to +45°
Traverse
60°
Rate of fire
4 rpm
Muzzle velocity
520 m/s (1,700 ft/s)
Maximum firing range
13,325 m (14,572 yd) RAP: 18,200 m (19,900 yd)
Sights
Model 1934 Sighting Mechanism
The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 or sFH 18 (German: "heavy field howitzer, model 18"), nicknamed Immergrün ("Evergreen"),[3] was the basic German division-level heavy howitzer of 149mm during the Second World War, serving alongside the smaller but more numerous 10.5 cm leFH 18. Its mobility and firing range and the effectiveness of its 44 kilogram shell made it the most important weapon of all German infantry divisions.[4] A total of 6,756 examples were produced.[1]
It replaced the earlier, First World War-era design of the 15 cm sFH 13, which was judged by the Krupp-Rheinmetall designer team of the sFH 18 as completely inadequate.[4] The sFH 18 was twice as heavy as its predecessor, had a muzzle velocity increase of forty percent, a maximum firing range 4.5 kilometers greater, and a new split-trail gun carriage that increased the firing traverse twelvefold.[4] The secret development from 1926–1930 allowed German industry to deliver a trouble-free design at the beginning of German re-armament in 1933.[4] It was the first artillery weapon equipped with rocket-assisted ammunition to increase range. The sFH 18 was also used in the self-propelled artillery piece schwere Panzerhaubitze 18/1 (more commonly known as Hummel).
The sFH 18 was one of Germany's three main 15 cm calibre weapons, the others being the 15 cm Kanone 18, a corps-level heavy gun, and the 15 cm sIG 33, a short-barreled infantry gun.
^ abCite error: The named reference haubitzen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Foss, Christopher (1977). Jane's pocket book of towed artillery. New York: Collier. p. 111. ISBN 0020806000. OCLC 911907988.
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