Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR

Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
	300px A Serbian mle 1915 at the Belgrade Military Museum.
Type	Field howitzer
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	France; Belgium; Bulgaria; Romania; Serbia
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Schneider et Cie
Designed	1909
Manufacturer	Schneider et Cie
Produced	1915
Specifications
Weight	Combat: 1,416 kg (3,122 lb); Travel: 2,228 kg (4,912 lb)
Barrel length	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) L/13
Width	1.52 m (5 ft)
Shell	120 x 142R Separate loading cased charge and projectile
Shell weight	HE, Shrapnel, HE fragmentation 21 kg (46 lb)
Caliber	120 mm (4.7 in)
Breech	Interrupted screw
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	Box trail
Elevation	-3° to +43°
Traverse	5°
Rate of fire	10 rpm
Muzzle velocity	350 m/s (1,100 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	8.3 km (5.2 mi)

The Obusier de 120 mm modèle 1915 Tir Rapide or quick loading 120 mm Howitzer Model 1915 was a French howitzer designed and built by the Schneider company and used by a number of nations during the First World War.

History

The origins of the mle 1915 go back to a very similar design the mle 1909. The designation in Schneider's catalog was O.C. 120 Nr2 (Obusier de Campagne de 120) or 120 mm Field Howitzer in English. Its description from 1912 was obice de grande mobilité, très stable au tir, or in English a highly mobile howitzer with very stable firing able to carry out both the direct and the indirect fire missions.^[4]

In Russian service the mle 1909 became the 122 mm howitzer M1910. The major difference between the mle 1909 and the M1910 was its modification to fire Russian 122 mm (4.8 in) ammunition. The M1910 was built in large numbers by the Russians at their Putilov factory and served in both world wars.^[1]

Schneider also sold the mle 1909 in 120 mm to both Bulgaria and Serbia in 1910-1911. Serbia ordered a second batch in 1912 and after the Balkan Wars Bulgaria also ordered a second batch, but at the outbreak of World War I the French canceled the Bulgarian contract, and in June 1915 the seized howitzers were assigned to French Army's horse-drawn heavy artillery units under the mle 1915 designation.^[5] The mle 1909 and mle 1915 were largely identical in specifications and performance. Later in September 1915, the Bulgarians joined the Central Powers and like the earlier Balkan Wars, the mle 1909 and mle 1915 were used by both sides in the conflict.^[5]

Design

The mle 1915 was a conventional design for the time with a box trail carriage, two wooden spoked wheels, gun shield, hydro-pneumatic recoil system and an interrupted screw breech. The mle 1915 used separate loading cased charges and projectiles where a metallic cartridge case held up to five bags of propellant which could be varied to control velocity and range.^[4]

The box trail carriage had a cut-out section in the middle for high angle fire and at the end of the trail, there was a recoil spade. There was an integral loading tray at the breech to ease ammunition handling and the hydro-pneumatic recoil system was below the gun barrel. The 4 mm thick shield was made of hardened Nickel steel and was composed of three parts.^[6] The fixed inner/upper part that attached to the carriage which had an inverted horseshoe shape. The outer/mid part which had two plates attached to the right and left-hand side of the axle which covered the barrel opening. The hinged lower part which was attached to the bottom of the carriage and could be folded backward for travel.^[6]

The howitzer was designed to be towed by a six-horse team and a limber and caisson were provided to carry supplies for the gun crew and ammunition. The limber could carry 10 rounds of ammunition while the caisson could carry 24 rounds of ammunition. The gunners were provided with a detachable armored Goerz-Schneider panoramic sight.^[4]

Employment

The initial Serbian order for 6 batteries placed in 1910-1911 was later followed by a second order for 2 more batteries during 1912. The Bulgarians after the Balkan Wars ordered 11 batteries and these were seized by the French at the outbreak of the first world war. Of these 6 batteries were diverted to the Serbian Army while the remaining 5 batteries were assigned to the French Army. The 1er group of the 103e RAHL was composed of three batteries from November 1915 to 1918, when they were replaced with the Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider. The remaining two batteries were assigned to the 3e group of the 117e RAHL, which only kept its howitzers from April until August 1916.^[5] Later these were assigned to the Armée d’Orient and delivered to the Serbian Army. An unknown number were given to Romania, while Belgium received 22 howitzers which they called Ob. 120 S.^[1]

References

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External links

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v t e French artillery of World War I
Anti-aircraft guns	Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider Canon de 75 modèle 1914 Schneider De Bange 90 mm cannon Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and heavy artillery	Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 court modèle 1904 Rimailho Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	Cellerier Mortar Mortier de 58 T N°1 Mortier de 58 T N°1 bis Mortier de 58 mm type 2 Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry Mortier de 240 mm Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 120 L mle 1878 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 Obusier de 155 C mle 1881 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Materiel de 155 sur affut-truc Schneider Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau Canon de 274 modèle 87/93 Glissement Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/81 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 TR Mle 1903 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Self propelled artillery	Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220mm L Mle1917 Schneider (FAHM) Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond
Armoured vehicle guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 Canon de 75 modèle 1897

Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR

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