Canon de 105 L, Modele 1913 TR

[David]

As a result of their pre-war modernizations the Russian Army in 1907 ordered the French armament firm of Schneider to build a 107mm long-range cannon, designated the M/1910. It was built on license by the Putilov factory. The design turned out quite successful, with a maximum range of some 12.600 meters, and the company offered the gun to the French Army as well. After some small changes it was adopted in 1913 as the “Canon de 105 L, Modele 1913 TR”.

And indeed it was a fine gun, incorporating a number of new features, many of which later became standard features on many artillery pieces. The breech mechanism was of a screw design on a swinging arm and shaped in a way that it could swing in and out of the breech ring without having to be withdrawn axially. And opening the breech lifted a shell-guide from the bottom of the breech ring, easing the path of the shell into the chamber, and a number of safety devices ensured that the gun could not be discharged unless the breech was closed and the gun fully recoiled in the cradle.

It had a maximum elevation of 37 degrees, quite high for a gun designed before the war. The shell weight was 16.3kg, which, combined with the range, made it quite suitable for both heavy infantry support and long range anti-artillery work. In France some 1.340 being built before the end of the war in 1918, and over 1.000 of these guns also saw service in World War Two.

It was also produced by license in Italy, by Ansaldo, and used by the Italian Army under the designation of Cannone da 105/28. The surviving 105mm mle1913 can be seen the big War Memorial in Redipuglia, outside Trieste, and is a Ansoldo built gun, so properly speaking this is a Cannone da 105/28: