Produktbeschreibung
with four 15cm sFH18 howitzers, four sets of gun crew, two Observer teams, Command team & Staff team.
The 15cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 or sFH18 (German: "heavy field howitzer, model 18"), nicknamed Immergrün ("Evergreen"), was produced by Rheinmetall and Krupp companies and adopted by the German army in 1935. It was the first artillery weapon equipped with rocket-assisted ammunition to increase range. The 15cm sFH18 was also used in the self-propelled mounting of the Hummel.
By the outbreak of war the Wehrmacht had about 1,353 of these guns in service. Production continued throughout the war, reaching a peak of 2,295 guns in 1944. A total of 5,403 sFH18 howitzers were produced.
"Used as elite infantry the Fallschirmjäger were increasingly equipped with heavier equipment, including the 15cm sFH18 howitzer. These big guns were more than capable of halting an enemy advance, giving the Fallschirmjäger a chance to clean up."
Numerous experiments were carried out on the 15cm sFH18 to improve its range. These led to the 15 cm sFH18M version with a removable barrel liner and a muzzle brake that allowed a larger "special 7" or 8 charge to be used. The 18M increased range to 15,100 m, but it was found that the liners suffered increased wear and the recoil system could not handle the increased loads in spite of the brake. This led to a more interesting modification, the introduction of the 15cm R. Gr. 19 FES ammunition, which used a rocket-assisted round that could reach 18,200m and give it some level of parity with the Soviet A-19 gun-howitzer.
Finland bought 48 15cm sFH18 howitzers from Germany in 1940 and designated them 150 H/40. |
