A Case of Mistaken Identity

A profile view of a 149mm Krupp/Ansaldo “Obice da 149/12 modello 1914” in the foreground, with a Skoda 15cm (149mm) M. 14 or M.14/16 field howitzer in the back.(Photo Infiesta and Mortera)

In several publications of the last several years dealing with artillery or its use in combat there has been a factual and identification error that has been perpetuated and repeated throughout several works. These publications include: the World War Two Fact Files volume entitled Heavy Artillery, 1975, MacDonald and Janes; Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the Third Reich, 1978, MacDonald and Janes, both written and edited by Terry J. Gander and Peter Chamberlain; Terry Gander’s new (2004) Vital Guide’s Heavy Artillery of WW II; the Aerospace/ Orbis Publishing “War Machine” series issue on World War One field artillery; La Artilleria en la Guerra Civil: Material de Origen Italiano, by Artemio Mortera and José Luis Infiesta, 1997, Quiron Ediciones; and the Osprey Military Campaign Series The Ebro 1938; 1999, by Chris Henry. Usually the information in these works is unimpeachable as they are written by serious scholars of military history.

However, the works by Gander and Chamberlain on occasion have rather egregious errors, especially in the identification and captioning of photos and illustrations of certain weapons. Admittedly identification of weapons that resemble each other fairly closely is a difficult exercise and takes some experience and patience, but can be done skillfully with practice, by examining with a critical eye as many photos and drawings as possible of the weapons in question, as well as by visiting museums and looking closely at still extant examples of the actual weapons themselves (this is sometimes impossible as there are no remaining examples of certain weapons). This article hopes to set the record straight as to the identification of two outwardly similar artillery pieces that have in the past confused several authors and experts. The pieces in question are the Krupp commercial 15cm M-1906 and M-1913 field howitzers and their various derivatives, and the Skoda 15cm M. 14 and M. 14/16 field howitzers. These howitzers seem, at first glance, very similar in appearance, but they are by no means one and the same.

Bulgarian troops mounted on Pavesi P-4-100 artillery tractors towing a Krupp 15cm M-1906 field howitzer. Bulgaria, along with Turkey, Argentina and Sweden were the major users of this howitzer. Turkish howitzers were simply designated “15cm Howitzer L/14”. The Argentine howitzers, in fact, seem to have formed the earliest commercial order, as they were designated M-1904. (Photo Kosar)

A Swedish Krupp 15cm M-1906 field howitzer at a military museum in Sweden. (Photo Meyer via Mehl)

First we will examine the Krupp 15cm M-1913 commercial field howitzer. It should first be noted that this weapon should not be confused with the German army’s 15cm (actual caliber 149.7mm) sFH-13 (sFH= schwere Feld-Haubitze), which entered service in the summer of 1913, and was one of Germany’s standard heavy field howitzers during the First World War. It was also exported to Ottoman Turkey and to Switzerland (which country designated their howitzers sFH M-1917). The Krupp commercial M-1913 15cm (actual caliber 149.1mm) field howitzer was designed from the outset as an export product and was a slight update of the earlier M-1906 commercial field howitzer which had been exported to Sweden as their M/06 field howitzer, as well as to Argentina (M-1904), Bulgaria (M-1906) and to Ottoman Turkey (for whom the weapon was simply designated “Howitzer L/14”); a very similar weapon was exported to Japan as their 150mm Type 38 (1905 model) field howitzer. The M-1906 commercial field howitzer was largely derived from the design of the German army’s 15cm sFH-02 field howitzer. The sFH-02 had a barrel length of 1796mm or L/12 (ie. the product of the division of the length in millimeters by the caliber of the bore). This howitzer weighed two tons, was capable of a maximum elevation of + 42°, a muzzle velocity of 325 meters per second and a maximum range of 7.45 kilometers. The piece could be towed by horses in one load and was notable for its compactness. Until it was replaced by more modern equipments, the sFH-02 was used as the standard medium field howitzer by foot artillery units of the German army both before and during the First World War.

The Krupp 15cm sFH-02 at the military history museum in Coblenz. Note details such as the slight bell at the muzzle, and the cone shaped protrusion on the face of the cradle cover. (Photo Mehl)

The sFH-02 howitzer was characterized by a short, stubby barrel, which bells at the muzzle; on the sFH-02 there is a prominent reinforcing hoop or guide ring about 25cm behind the muzzle that was part of the slide in which the barrel rested; on the later commercial derivatives, the M-1906 and M-1913, this ring may only be four or five centimeters behind the plain muzzle; the slide in turn is bracketed onto small guide rails along the sides of the cradle, along which the slide and barrel together were guided during recoil. The barrel itself was built up with two (see the above photos of the M-1906 howitzers) or even three tubes as with the sFH-02 and later M-1913 commercial howitzers, one or two tubes forming the chase which tapers at its forward end, and then the remainder of the barrel ending at the muzzle. The barrel has a stepped appearance as a result. The front end of the cradle was covered by a hinged cover-plate which protected the recoil mechanism. The cradle cover-plate of the sFH-02 included a distinctive cone shaped protrusion on its face, a feature lacking from later models, which were usually flat or almost ovoid (or even pyramidal in shape as on the later German sFH-13 and sFH-13 Lang (long) field howitzers), or may have had a shallow convex hemisphere that formed part of the plate. Many of these aforementioned details would characterize the later Krupp howitzer designs, especially the stepped appearance of the barrel and the use of reinforcing hoops or guide rings.

The M-1906 series howitzers differed from the sFH-02 in that they had longer L/14 barrels with slightly smaller chamber volumes, which may explain their slightly lower muzzle velocity and maximum range as compared to the sFH-02; respectively these were 300 meters per second and only 6.8 kilometers. They were capable of + 43º in elevation. M-1906 howitzers were sold to Sweden without shields, whereas Bulgarian and Turkish guns were equipped with shields. The Japanese Type 38 150mm (actual caliber of 149.1mm) field howitzer was nearly identical to the M-1906, except for its smaller size, including an L/11 ordnance which was only capable of a maximum range of 5.9 kilometers. In addition, the ordnance of the Japanese howitzers differed from their European counterparts in having an interrupted screw breechblock without a de Bange obturator, firing separately loading cased ammunition. The breech of the Japanese howitzer was modeled on contemporary Schneider practice, rather than having the usual horizontal sliding wedge breech block characteristic of most German and Austrian made ordnance. In addition to acquiring examples directly from Krupp in Germany, the Japanese built it under license at the Osaka Arsenal; in an ironic twist, the first thirty howitzers built at Osaka used French produced steel in their manufacture. Argentina seems also to have taken delivery of some 150mm (149.1mm?) Krupp field howitzers designated M-1904. It seems very likely that these were fundamentally identical to the later M-1906 howitzers, and it is even probable that the design for the subsequent commercial howitzers for Bulgaria, etc… was derived from this earlier Argentine order.

Tzarist Russia also took delivery of some Krupp built 152mm howitzers in ca. 1909 and 1910 that were largely based upon the M-1906 design. These howitzers were designated respectively the 152mm gaubitza M-1909 g. (g. = “goda”, or year) and the M-1910 g. They had L/16 and L/15 barrels respectively; the M-1909 was capable of maximum elevations of + 60º and had a muzzle velocity of around 381 meters per second and had a range of more than 9 kilometers, the M-1910 had a lower muzzle velocity of only 350 meters per second, a maximum elevation of + 45º and a range of 8.2 kilometers. The Krupp M-1909 g. howitzer was significantly heavier than most Krupp equipments of its type, weighing 3.8 tons versus the 2.2 tons of the M-1910. This also contrasts dramatically with the 2.1 tons of the M-1906, and the 2.3 tons of the M-1913 commercial howitzers. This weapon was characterized by a radically curved shield that could cover the gunner’s heads almost entirely. It would seem that Russia took delivery of relatively small numbers (perhaps as few as one hundred or even less) of these two models of howitzer as they eventually standardized upon the Schneider M-1910 g. 152mm howitzer and on their indigenous Putilov M-1909 g. 152mm howitzer.

A side view of an Italian Krupp/Ansaldo “Obice da 149/12 modello 1914” at the Artillery Museum in Segovia, Spain. Several authors have confused these howitzers with the somewhat similar Skoda 15cm (149.1mm) M.14 field howitzers, which were simply designated by the Italians as the “Obice da 149/13”. Note specific Krupp details such as the reinforcing/guide ring towards the muzzle, three-tube, stepped-barrel construction, and ordnance trunnioned at the rear of the cradle. (Photo Infiesta and Mortera)

The M-1913 series of howitzers were essentially an update of the earlier M-1906, and were essentially identical to them in most major respects, except that they were designed from the outset to be towed by tractors as well as by horses, either in one load or with the ordnance removed to create two loads for easier towing by horses. Again, just as was mentioned in the previous paragraph on the M-1906 series howitzers, Argentina seems to have been the earliest customer for this new type of commercial field howitzer, their weapons being designated the 150mm M-1911 field howitzer. Bulgaria also became one of the major users of this model, but it was Italy which would become the primary employer of this weapon. Italy adopted this howitzer in 1914, before its involvement in the First World War began, as the 149mm “Obice da 149/12 modello 1914”, sometimes noted simply as the “Obice da 149/12 A.” Italy received 112 howitzers directly from Krupp before Italy’s entry into the war. (“A.” probably stands for Ansaldo, the primary licensee, but more improbably it could also mean “accaio”, or steel, in order to differentiate its type of construction from the then still common use of bronze in gun construction; the designation 149/12 indicates an ordnance of a length of L/12 instead of the actual length of L/14; the Italians may have simply been measuring from the front end of the breech ring instead of from the face of the breech). Ansaldo and Vickers-Terni (now O.T.O. Melara) obtained a license from Krupp to build these howitzers in Italy, just in time for Italy’s entry into the war on the allied side, a situation that led to the curious situation of German and Austro-Hungarian troops facing Italian gunners armed with a howitzer that was originally a German design. From the end of 1915 until 1919, Ansaldo and Vickers-Terni produced almost 1500 howitzers, with the lions-share of the total quantity built in 1917 and 1918. Ansaldo and Vickers-Terni produced two modified versions, a “modello 1916” with a specially designed Ansaldo carriage for use in mountainous terrain, and a “modello 1918” which was characterized by its distinctive curved shield placed ahead of the axle tree and a pair of seats for the gunners on the trail for traveling. Of the three models, the modello 1914 and modello 1918 were produced in the largest numbers. The modello 1916 seems to have been manufactured in more limited quantities. Both the modello 1914 and modello 1918 continued to serve into the Second World War, with 580 modello 1914s and 116 modello 1918s still on strength in October 1939. Italy seems to have supplied some of these howitzers to its client state of Albania, and post- First World War Federal Austria seems to have used it as well, possibly using howitzers it captured from the Italians during the First World War, although the possibility exists that more were supplied by Italy during the inter-war period to help bolster Austrian independence in the face of possible Anschluss with Nazi Germany. They also seem to have supplied twelve of these howitzers to the nascent state of Poland in 1919. Bulgaria also seems to have acquired at least some of her M-1913s from Italy after the war.

An Italian Krupp/Ansaldo “Obice da 149/12 modello 1918”, which was a slight modification of the earlier “modello 1914”. Note the highly curved shield and seats for the gunners. These howitzers have been often confused with the Skoda 15 cm M. 14 and M. 14/16 field howitzers. A poor copy of this same photo appears on page four of Chamberlain’s and Gander’s Fact Files volume on heavy artillery, where it is erroneously identified as a Skoda 149 mm M.14 field howitzer. (Photo Cappellano via Curami)

The weapons with which the above described Krupp howitzers have been so often confused are the Skoda 15cm (actual caliber of 149.1mm) M.14 and M.14/16 field howitzers, which were designed to give the Austro-Hungarian army a modern, mobile heavy field howitzer to replace the older 15 cm M. 94/04 and M. 99/04 field howitzers, which were rigidly mounted on carriages that had no recoil systems.

A Skoda 15cm (149.1mm) M..14/16 field howitzer from the side. The earlier M .14 was identical in appearance.(Photo Engelmann)

The M. 14 series was heavier by as much as a ton over their Krupp counterparts (2.8 and 2.9 tons for the M. 14 and M. 14/16 respectively, versus a maximum of 2.3 tons for the Krupp howitzers), and their outward appearance was perceptively different. They appear larger, heavier and sturdier, with slightly wider steel tires on the wood artillery wheels, than their German rivals. Confusion arises when authors such as Mr. Gander and Mr. Chamberlain repeat the same errors several times throughout their publications, for example, in claiming that the Skoda M. 14 was only capable of an elevation of + 43º, when from the outset both the M. 14 and M. 14/16 were capable of an elevation of + 70º, far better than the + 43º of the Krupp howitzers. In fact, on pages three and four of the Fact Files volume on heavy artillery they use a data table and photos for the Krupp/Ansaldo howitzers and historical text for the Skoda M. 14. This same error has been carried over into other publications, such as Mr. Gander’s new “Vital Guide” on Second World War heavy artillery. They may simply have been confused by the two howitzers’ designations, as the Italians designated their Krupp M-1913 howitzers the “modello 1914”, which could have led them to the erroneous conclusion that this was one and the same as the Skoda M. 14, a weapon that the Italians captured in large numbers and incorporated into their own arsenal following the First World War. They had a grand total of 490 Skoda M.14 and M.14/16 field howitzers at the start of the Second World War, and during the inter-war period it had come to replace the Krupp/Ansaldo modello 1914 and modello 1918 howitzers in many front line units.

Italian troops on Pavesi P-4-100 artillery tractors, towing their 149mm “Obice da 149/13” field howitzers prior to the Second World War. These howitzers were in fact former Austro-Hungarian Skoda 15cm M. 14 and M. 14/16 field howitzers. Note the modified shields, lacking both the seats for the gunners and the mud-guards, a detail that may have confused authors like Gander and Chamberlain as the shield now closely resembled that of the Krupp/Ansaldo “modello 1914” howitzer. (Photo Capellano)

In fact, Misters Gander and Chamberlain seem to be completely ignorant even of the existence of the Krupp commercial M-1913 howitzer in Italian service, or for that matter in any other country’s army. The weapons in their books that they repeatedly call the Skoda 149mm M. 14 field howitzer are in fact none other than the Krupp/Ansaldo “Obice da 149/12 modello 1914” and “modello 1918” field howitzers. The rather poor quality photos they use in their entries for the supposed Skoda M. 14 are actually of these aforementioned howitzers. The data summaries given in these works are also for the Krupp/Ansaldo weapon. The entries for the M. 14/16 howitzer use the correct photos and data summary (except for the photo in the lower left hand photo of page four of the Fact Files edition, which is in fact of a Skoda 10cm (100mm) M. 14 field howitzer (in Italian service this weapon was designated the “Obice da 100/17 modello 1914”.). The un-initiated reader picking up these books for the first time would be excused for thinking that the Skoda 15cm (149.1mm) M. 14 and M. 14/16 field howitzers were substantially different weapons, which of course they were not. The Italians never differentiated between the Skoda M. 14 and M. 14/16, as they were both designated simply as the “Obice da 149/13”. The reasons for this were simple: the two howitzers were practically indistinguishable externally and in their fundamental characteristics. The M. 14/16 was just a slight improvement over the M.14, with a reinforced carriage and trail to take the higher stresses and loading due to the use of a more powerful full charge. This improved the maximum range to almost nine kilometers over the previous eight (compare this with the maximum range of the Krupp commercial howitzers of less than seven); the ammunition was also streamlined, although the M. 14/16 could also fire remaining stocks of M. 14 ammunition. The barrel of the M. 14/16 was changed but slightly, lengthening it a few millimeters at most, but it was still considered of L/14 caliber by the Austro-Hungarians (the Italian caliber designation of L/13 may simply reflect a difference in the measuring baseline).

The Skoda 15cm M. 14 or M. 14/16 field howitzer from the front. Note that this howitzer still has the seats for the gunners. Also note the step midway up the barrel where the interface between the “A” and “B” tubes was located. (Photo Capellano)

The Skoda howitzers are distinguishable in several other ways from the Krupp products. As far as their performance was concerned they had muzzle velocities of up to 350 meters per second and had on carriage traverse of 8º versus 5º for the Krupp M-1913. The ordnance was trunnioned just ahead of the breech ring, whereas Krupp howitzers typically were trunnioned behind the breech. The cradle of the Skoda howitzers extends approximately 8 cm or so behind the rear face of the breech ring; on Krupp howitzers it ends abruptly underneath the breech face, level with the trunnions. The breech ring itself seems of heavier construction than those of comparable Krupp ordnance. The barrel of the Skoda howitzer, of a length of 1836mm versus 1806mm for the Krupp howitzers, is, like that of the Krupp, built integrally with a slide bracketed onto and riding along the top of the cradle, but differs significantly in its construction. Whereas the Krupp howitzers are typified by their construction in either two or three overlapping tubes with reinforcing/guide rings near the muzzle, the Skoda ordnance is built with just two overlapping tubes with no guide rings. The M. 14 series howitzers instead have a distinctive ring or bulge about midway up the barrel at the interface between the “A-tube” and the “B-tube”. At this point there is a step in the barrel, which continues in a slight taper for a distance, then straightening the last thirty centimeters or so to the plain muzzle. On these howitzers these last thirty centimeters or so form a barely discernable reinforcement at the muzzle; this feature is not found on Krupp ordnance. The muzzle itself barely protrudes beyond the end of the cradle, whereas on Krupp howitzers it protrudes up to five, seven, ten, or more centimeters beyond the end of the cradle, not including the cradle cover which itself may extend out several centimeters underneath the muzzle. The barrel of the Skoda howitzer also appears to be more flush with the cradle, resting in its slide/cum cradle at a deeper depth than that of the Krupp weapon. On the Skoda howitzers the cover on the front face of the cradle is flat, with a hinge for opening, but it also has a large distinctive bearing nut in its face which is located above a much smaller nut. These likely served to fix in place, and allow adjustment to, the hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism located inside the cradle. There were also two distinctive rope hooks along-side the muzzle for maneuvering the piece into action, and for removing the barrel when the howitzer was to be transported in two loads.

A three-quarter rear view of a Skoda 15cm M.14 or M. 14/16 field howitzer. Note the massiveness of the breech ring as compared to comparable Krupp equipments. Note also that the ordnance is trunnioned ahead of the breech; Krupp guns tended to be trunnioned behind the breech. Another detail is the perforated framework that covers the flanged side member of the trail; this feature was often found on Skoda ordnance. (Photo Gander)

The howitzer has a shield with integral mudguards. Seats with foldable foot-rests and handholds for two of the gunners are built into the front of the shield. Most howitzers captured by the Italians were rebuilt after the First World War with a modified shield lacking the seats, foot-rests, fenders and mud-guards. This change alone may have caused some confusion, as the shield after modification resembled more closely the shield found on the Krupp/Ansaldo “modello 1914”. On some examples the Italians attached new suspensions with pressed steel wheels and solid rubber tires to allow higher towing speeds behind tractors or trucks. The side of the flanged box trail had a characteristic outer perforated framework that may have helped to reinforce the trail as well as form handholds for when the howitzer had to be manhandled by the crew; Krupp pieces lacked this. Similar features to those mentioned in the text above are found on several other Skoda designs, such as the 10cm (actual caliber of 104mm) M. 15 field gun, which seems to have shared some components with the howitzer, such as the cradle. The howitzer could be towed in one load, often with the barrel withdrawn out of battery in order to protect the elevation gears from stress on the move, or with the barrel withdrawn completely for easier towing by horses in two loads.

The Skoda 15cm M. 14 field howitzer was built in far smaller quantities than its updated version, the M. 14/16, which quickly became the standard production model. A total of over 1000 of these howitzers were produced by Skoda in Pilsen and Gyor, as well as by MAVAG in Budapest. The howitzers were exported during the First World War to Ottoman Turkey and would have served alongside their Krupp counterparts in that army. Some reports have indicated that Bulgaria may have also taken delivery of a few batteries of these howitzers during the war. After the war they were incorporated into the arsenals of the new countries of Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland (for only a brief period after the war, as they came into possession of only nine of the pieces), and Yugoslavia. Greece apparently also had a few, which she no doubt captured from the Austro-Hungarians during the First World War and then from the Turks as well during the 1920-1921 Greco-Turkish War. Italy of course became a major user after she had refurbished the howitzers she had captured or had acquired from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire as war reparations. Hungary used her howitzers throughout the Second World War. Some were modified into the 14/35 M at MAVAG during the mid 1930’s with high speed axles, pressed steel wheels and solid rubber tires to allow tractor towing; later a muzzle brake and counterweight over the breech ring were added to some M.14’s; these were re-designated 14/39 M.

The Skoda 15cm M.14 field howitzer at the Military Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Ottoman Turkey seems to have taken delivery from Skoda of several batteries of these howitzers during the First World War, a fact that has not been acknowledged in most of the available literature. This weapon has been confirmed to be an original M.14, not its update the M.14/16 which was produced in larger numbers. Note the large nut on the face of the cradle cover and the rope hook next to the muzzle. There is nothing obvious in the external appearance of this howitzer to distinguish it from the updated M.14/16. (Photo Mehl)

A view from the front of the Krupp/Ansaldo “Obice da 149/12 modello 1914” at the Artillery Museum in Segovia, Spain. Compare the cover for the front of the cradle with that of the Skoda M. 14 howitzer in the photo above. Also note the traveling brace folded down in front of the shield; this was a feature the Skoda howitzers lacked.( Photo Infiesta and Mortera)

The final error that must be addressed is the contention, made by Misters Mortera, Infiesta and Christopher Henry, that the Italians supplied Skoda 15 cm M. 14 howitzers to the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. The photos, drawings and data in their two books depict the Krupp/Ansaldo “Obice da 149/12 modello 1914”, not the Skoda M. 14 howitzer, which was never supplied to the Nationalists nor used by Italian troops in the “Cuerpo de Tropas Voluntarias”, or CTV, in Spain. The Italians kept the Skoda M. 14 series howitzers they still held in Italy or in Libya. They preferred them for their front line units over the Krupp/Ansaldo howitzers due to their longer range and greater elevation. According to Infiesta and Mortera, Italy pawned off around 80 Skoda 149 mm M. 14 howitzers, of “an older age and inferior performance”, to the Nationalists and the CTV starting in January 1937, but these supposed Skoda 149mm M. 14’s were in fact 149mm Krupp/Ansaldo “Obice da 149/12 modello 1914” howitzers (the “modello 1918” does not seem to figure in the deliveries to the Nationalists). The supposed Skoda M. 14 field howitzer at the artillery museum in Segovia, Spain, is in actual fact a Krupp/Ansaldo “Obice da 149/12 modello 1914”. At the very least, a cursory close up examination of markings on the breech ring or elsewhere on the gun might have disabused the notion held by these authors that the howitzer they were looking at was a Skoda M. 14. There is, to this author’s knowledge, no photographic or documentary evidence in fact that any Skoda 15cm M. 14 series howitzers were ever used during the Spanish Civil War by either side. This is confirmed by studying Gerald Howson’s Arms for Spain and the available Italian literature on the subject, especially the works of Filippo Capellano, which are excellent for laying out where and when certain types of ordnance were used by Italian troops, as well as for documenting Italian exports of artillery pieces during the inter-war period. The photography is excellent in these works, and there are almost no mistakes in identifying the ordnance in the photos. In fact, in Andrea Currami’s excellent work on Italian artillery in the First World War, he properly uses a very clear print of a photo of a Krupp/Ansaldo 149mm “Obice da 149/12 modello 1918” that was also used (incorrectly) by Misters Gander and Chamberlain in the Fact Files volume on page four to illustrate the article on the Skoda M. 14, manifesting clearly the confusion of these authors. This alone should alert these experts that they have been in error all this time.

Bibliography and Credits:

Capellano, Filippo, L’artiglieria austro-ungarica nella Grande Guerra, 2001, Gino Rossato Editore, Valdagno, Vicenza.

Capellano, Filippo, Le artiglierie del Regio Esercito nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale, 1998, Storia Militare, Parma.

Curami, Andrea and Massignani, Alessandro, L’artiglieria italiana nella grande Guerra, 1998, Gino Rossato Editore,Valdagno, Vicenza.

Chamberlain, Peter and Gander, Terry, World War Two Fact Files: Heavy Artillery, 1975, MacDonald and Janes, London.

Chamberlain, Peter and Gander, Terry, Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the Third Reich, 1978, MacDonald and Janes, London.

Gander, Terry, Vital Guide: Heavy Artillery of World War II, 2004, The Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Wiltshire.

Henry, Christopher, Osprey Military Campaign Series: The Ebro 1938; 1999, Osprey Publishing, Oxford.

Howson, Gerald, Arms for Spain, 1998, St. Martin’s Press, New York.

Kosar, Franz, Taschenbüch der Artillerie: Mittlere Feld-Geschütze, 1975, J.F. Lehmans Verlag, Munich.

Mehl, Hans, Feld und Festungsartillerie: Heeresgeschütze aus 500 Jahren, Band 1: 1450 bis 1920, 2003, Verlag E.S. Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg.

Mortera, Artemio and Infiesta, José Luis, La Artilleria en la Guerra Civil: Material de Origen Italiano, 1997, Quiron Ediciones, Valladolid.

Photo credits:

Filippo Cappellano collection
Joachim Engelmann collection,
Terry Gander collection
José Luis Infiesta and Artemio Mortera collection
Franz Kosar collection
Hans Mehl collection
the Meyer collection.