Skoda 76.5mm kanon vz30

When the Austro-Hungarian Empire vanished in the aftermath of World War I, the new state of Czechoslovakia was left with the huge Skoda arms manufacturing complex at Pilsen. Consequently the Czech state became a major supplier of all manner of arms to the Central European nations, but in the years after 1919 the arms market was still sated with the residue of World War I. The only way to break into the market was to offer something that was not already in the market and by 1928 the Skoda gun designers decided that they had found such a breakthrough.

What the Skoda designers discovered was that there was a definite market for a gun that could be all things to all men. Their suggestion was for a field gun with a high angle of barrel elevation that would enable it to be used as an anti-aircraft gun, or as an alternative act as a useful mountain gun. At that time the limitations imposed by the requirements of the antiaircraft weapon were still not fully appreciated so the new Skoda proposal met with some interest. The new weapon was produced in two forms, one as a 75-mm (2.95-in) field gun/antiaircraft gun and the other as a 100-mm (3.93-in) howitzer that could be used in a mountain role.

The first two weapons of this type were known as the 75-mm kanon vz 28 (vzor, or model) and 100-mm vz 28 as they were produced during 1928. Both types found ready markets in Yugoslavia and in Romania, Both weapons used a conventional enough carriage in appearance but what was not immediately obvious was that the barrel could be elevated to an angle of +80°. A firing table could be placed under the spoked wheel carriage enabling the barrel to be traversed rapidly in order to follow aerial targets. Needless to say the performance of the guns against aircraft targets was less than satisfactory for by the late 1920s it was formally being recognized that there was more to anti-aircraft firing than merely pointing a muzzle skywards; but as a field and mountain gun the vz 28 weapons were more than adequate and the anti-aircraft role was dropped. Instead the multi-role feature was emphasized by making the carriage easy to dismantle into three loads that could be carried on three horse drawn carts for the mountain warfare role.

In 1930 the Czech army decided to adopt the two Skoda weapons as their vz 30 guns. The main change from the export models was that the calibre of the gun was altered to 76,5mm (3,01 in) to suit the standard Czech calibre requirements, resulting in the 76.5-mm kanon vz 30, The 100-mm houfnice vz 30 was fitted with a new pattern of rubber-tired wheels and the result was a more than adequate field gun and howitzer combination to arm the field batteries of the Czech army.

These weapons never got a chance to prove their worth in Czech hands. The events of 1938 and 1939 meant that the Germans were able to take over the large Czech army gun parks and the assets of the Skoda complex at Pilsen without a shot being fired, All the Czech guns and the bulk of the various export models eventually found their way into German army service and Skoda was forced to supply ammunition, spares and even more guns for German army requirements. In German service the 7.65-cm FK 30(t) guns and 10-cm leFH 30(t) howitzers were used by all manner of units from front-line batteries to beach defence positions on the Atlantic Wall. They provided excellent service wherever they were, but not as anti-aircraft guns.

Specification

76.5-mm vz 30

Calibre: 76.5 mm (3.01 in)

Length of piece: 3.606 m (120.47 in)

Weight: travelling 2977 kg (6,564 lb) and in action 1816 kg (4,004 lb)

Elevation:-8° to+80°

Traverse: 8°

Muzzle velocity: 600 m ( 1,968 ft) per second

Range: 13505 m (14,770 yards)

Shell weight: 8 kg (17.64 lb)

Specification

100-mm vz 30

Calibre: 100 mm (3.93 in)

Length of piece: 2.5 m (98.4 in)

Weight: travelling 3077 kg (6,785 lb) and in action 1766 kg (3,894 lb)

Elevation:-8° to+80°

Traverse: 8°

Muzzle velocity: 430m (l,410ft) per second

Range: 16000 m (17,500 yards)

Shell weight: 16 kg (35.28 lb)