Ammunition wagon for 75mm and 87mm guns
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The field
artillery batteries armed with 87mm Krupp guns were equipped with an
ammunition wagon of German pattern, which was very similar to the schwere Munitionswagen C/73 and the Batterie-Munitionswagen C/88 used by
German Army. The whole of the harness was made by Krupp. The wagon
composed by the limber and the caisson, and was drawn by a team of six
horses. It was made entirely of iron, except for the shaft and the wheels
that were in wood with iron tyres and bronze hubs. It was equipped with the ordinary Krupp travelling brake
mechanism. The shells were stored vertically in iron cases, weighting The chest of
the limber opened from behind, by means of two doors, and the cover could be
lifted. It carried 6 cases for 5 shells each, 6 sacks for the charges, and
some boxes with primers, fuzes and other firing tools. A pick, a spade, 2
hatchets, 2 water buckets, a box of grease, a sponge, and a bag containing a
linchpin, a lantern and a limber-hook key were hung on the walls of the
chest. The chest of
the caisson had iron folding doors, and was divided into two compartments,
whose inner arrangements were like that of the limber. At first it carried 12
cases for the shells, but later, after the war against The kind of
the projectiles carried varied over the years, with an increase of the number
of the shrapnel that were gradually regarded as main projectile the field
artillery. This meant a little increase of the weight of the ammunition
wagon, since shrapnel weighted more than common shells. In 1891 the limber of
the 87mm gun carried 15 shrapnel and 15 shells, and the ammunition wagon
respectively 42 and 43. The number of the case shot, which were placed under
the limber, remained unchanged. Later the ratio of shrapnel and shells
increased up to 6 : 4, and in a battery with 6 ammunition wagons and a spare
carriage every gun had 70 shrapnel, 45 shells and 5 case shots. The ammunition
wagon of the 75mm batteries was manufactured along the same broad outline of
that of the 87mm batteries, and carried the same equipment. The main
difference was the iron case for the shells that contained 6 rounds, instead
of 5. Also for these guns the ratio of shrapnel and shells later rose
approximately to 6 : 4, and in a battery with 6 ammunition wagons and a spare
carriage every gun had 90 shrapnel, 54 shells and 5 case shots. |
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87mm |
75mm |
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limber |
empty : |
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tools : |
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ammunition : |
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loaded : |
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shells : |
20 |
24 |
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shrapnel : |
10 |
12 |
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case shots : |
2 |
2 |
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charges : |
35 |
42 |
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caisson |
loaded : |
1240 |
1107 |
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shells : |
27 |
24 |
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shrapnel : |
28 |
48 |
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charges : |
55 |
72 |
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wagon |
loaded : |
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German schwere Munitionswagen C/73 |
