8cm M.5 in AA Mount

[David]

All armies in WW1 were initially taken somewhat aback by the potency shown by the aerial forces, and in most cases means to counter this new threat from above had to be improvised. There were real AA guns for sure, but these were too few for the demand, and all armies experimented with using regular guns in improvised new mounts or different contraptions, more or less strange, enabling these pieces to fire at flying targets.
This gun, however, cannot be classified as a simple improvisation, but is obviously a more thought-through attempt of providing an existing gun with a specially-built carriage, enabling it to be used against aerial targets. It has obviously been originally sited on a special platform, enabling a quick traverse - hence the rear pair of small wheels. Alas, I know very little of this gun, except that the basis is the standard Austro-Hungarian Fieldgun, the 8cm M.5. I suppose that it is a Austro-Hungarian modification, but if one takes into consideration the habit of many armies of pressing captured (and thus less valuable) enemy guns into service as AA guns, this could maybe be an Italian modification. If there anyone out there who knows more, don't hesitate to get in touch!
The gun below can be seen at the big Italian War Memorial in Redipuglia, nortwest of Trieste. Click on the thumbnails to see the full pictures.