Italian 149mm Obice Krupp mod.14 149/12

The Artillery of the Italian Army, that became quite formidable and feared during the war, started illequipped and outdated. One of the few modern types in service at the outset of the war, was the Obice mod.14 149/12. The 149mm howitzer was a German design, made by Krupp, but many, if not most, were built in Italy under license.

The Obice 149/12 was used throughout the war by the Italian Army, but it had drawbacks. It's performance was mediocre. It weighed 2.344 tons, had a elevation of -5º to +43º, and a traverse of 5º. The muzzle velocity was just 300 m/sec, which was rather low, and accounts for the comparatively short range, 6.800 meters. The weight of the projectile was 41kg. 

After the war it was phased out of the organization, simply replaced by the excellent 149mm Howitzer made by Skoda (The gun was used by the Austro-Hungarian Army during the war under the designation 15cm Feldhaubitze M.14 and M.14/16. It was then used in the Italian Army under the designation Obice 149/13, hence the confusion.) 

This surviving Obice 149/12 can be seen at the big War Memorial in Redipuglia, outside Trieste:

This battered Obice 149/12 can be seen in the main square of the Slovenian town of Kobarid, formerly known as Caporetto, and has been found long time after the war in the Isonzo river. The even more battered remains of a WW1 tractor was also found, with another Obice 149/12, in the river. Everything, especially the wheels, points to this tractor being a Fiat 18BL. (It should be said, that the plates in Kobarid are erroneous, as they state that this is Austro-Hungarian guns. Most likely these guns were destroyed during the headlong Italian reatreat during the Caporetto Offensive in 1917.)

How to Model this gun
SMA makes a quite nice little white metal 1/76 scale kit of this gun. To see it built, click here!