10.5cm Artillery Battery
(GBX91)
includes four plastic 10.5cm guns, four plastic Gun Crew sprues, four large six-hole bases, one plastic base plug sprue and two Unit cards.
The 10.5cm leFH18 light field howitzer is the standard German artillery piece, supporting their attacks and helping drive off enemy counterattacks. Firing a heavier shell than the British 25 pdr gun, it is correspondingly more effective, although less versatile in the anti-tank role.
The 10.5cm Gun
The 10.5 cm leFH 18 (leichte Feldhaubitze "light field howitzer") was a German light howitzer used in World War II and the standard artillery piece of the Wehrmacht, adopted for service in 1935 and used by all divisions and artillery battalions. A major advance on its predecessor the 10.5 cm leFH 16, the leFH 18 was superior in caliber to its early opponents in the war, with good range and firepower
The leFH 18 improved in most areas on its predecessor, the 10.5 cm leFH 16. A completely new three-point split trail gun carriage provided more stability and increased the traverse to 56 degrees. The sighting mechanism made it easier to fire at moving targets. The heavier recoil of the higher muzzle velocity was counteracted by a new pneumatic recuperator above the barrel, that provided compressed air and liquid in 55 °C to return the gun to firing position after firing. A barrel brake containing a water jacket and a fluid equalizer in the upper carriage also checked the recoil.
The protective shield was a reinforced, tapered shield with flattened sides that could be folded down. The barrel was good for 10,000 to 12,000 shots. The 10.5cm leFH 18 proved an adaptable design, with a total of 28 different variants manufactured.
While not ideally suited to it, the howitzer could in the right circumstances be effective in anti-tank combat, particularly in the North African Campaign where the motorized batteries of the 44th Artillery Regiment of the 15th Panzer Division played an important role in defeating British armoured units at Sidi Rezegh on 23 November 1941 during Operation Crusader.
Contents
Plastic 10.5cm Gun Sprue (x4)
Plastic Gun Crew Sprue (x4)
Large Six-hole Base (x4)
Base Plug Sprue (x1)
Unit Cards
Panzer III OP (x1)
10.5cm Atillery Battery (x1)
15mm, plastic
Battlefront Miniatures
