Skoda 149mm Howitzer

The Skoda 149mm howitzer was an efficient artillery piece manufactured by Skoda works at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, between 1933 and 1944. However, it would be used by the German Army during World War II. After the German invasion of this country in 1939, the Third Reich decided to keep the production of this howitzer running and to adopt it as the 150-cm vz 37, model K4, (schwere Haubitze 37 t).

The Skoda 149-mm would become the standard weapon of many divisions of the Wehrmacht. Thus, it formed part of the divisional artillery equipment. It was massively used during the Battle of France in May and June 1940. It also saw combat action on the Eastern Front, during Operation Barbarossa and Case Blue. After the Soviet counteroffensives, the Red Army would also produce it and field against the Germans.

Specifications

Type: heavy howitzer

Caliber: 149.1-mm

Length: 3.60 m

Weight: 5,200 kg (on the field); 5,765 kg (traveling)

Elevation: -5 degrees to +70 degrees.

Traverse: 45 degrees

Muzzle Velocity: 580 meters per second.

Maximum Range: 15.1 km

Shells: 42 kg.

Below, the 149mm Skoda howitzer being served by a German crew on the Russian Front in the Summer of 1942 near Stalingrad.