10 cm schwere Kanone 18

10 cm schwere Kanone 18
sK 18s frame the speaker at a swearing in ceremony in Posen
Type	Field gun
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
Used by	Nazi Germany Albania Bulgaria
Wars	World War II
Production history
Produced	1934–43
Specifications
Mass	5,642 kg (12,438 lbs)
Barrel length	5.46 m (18 ft) L/52
Shell	separate-loading, cased charge (3 charges)
Caliber	105 mm (4.13 in)
Breech	horizontal sliding block
Carriage	split trail
Elevation	0° to +48°
Traverse	64°
Rate of fire	6 rpm
Muzzle velocity	835 m/s (2,739 ft/s)
Effective firing range	19,075 m (20,860 yds)

The 10 cm schwere Kanone 18 (10 cm sK 18) was a field gun used by Germany in World War II. The German army wanted a new 10 cm gun as well as 15 cm howitzer which were to share the same carriage. Guns are heavier than howitzers due to the longer barrel. This also led to the 15 cm sFH 18. As such both weapons had a similar weight and could be carried by a similar carriage. By 1926 Krupp and Rheinmetall had specimen designs, and prototypes were ready by 1930, but was not fielded until 1933–34. Both Krupp and Rheinmetall competed for the development contract, but the Wehrmacht compromised and selected Krupp's carriage to be mated with Rheinmetall's gun.

It sometimes equipped the medium artillery battalion (with the 15 cm sFH 18) of German divisions, but generally was used by independent artillery battalions and on coast defense duties. Some were used as anti-tank guns during the early stages of war on the Eastern Front. Around 1,500 guns were produced until 1945. After the war it served with the Albanian and Bulgarian armies.

References

• Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934–1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
• Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939–1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
• Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X
• http://sturmvogel.orbat.com/GermWeapProd.html
• http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt08/german-divisional-artillery.html