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LgsFH 13 (Sfl) auf Lorraine-Schlepper

1942 SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY WORLD WAR 2

LgsFH 13 (Sfl) on the history of the Lorraine tugboat

Germany's conquest of France in World War II (1939-1945) gave the victors a lot of booty. Among the loot was a batch of newly minted French Lorraine tracked vehicles. Out of necessity, the Bundeswehr retrofitted these vehicles and created a new series of self-propelled artillery (SPA) platforms, designated "LgsFH 13 (Sfl) auf Lorraine-Schlepper". These vehicles emerged from modifications in 1942 and fought until 1944.

The Alkett team received modifications of about 30 initial vehicles. Production speed was critical, as General Rommel needed a certain amount of SPA during his campaign in North Africa.

The reliable Lorraine chassis is equipped with the tried and tested 15cm sFH 13/1 series hand-aimed heavy field howitzer, and a relatively simple superstructure is placed at the rear of the vehicle. This structure is open at the top and provides limited protection for the rifle group. A driver took his usual position inside the fuselage, while a three-man rifle crew sat in the superstructure. Dimensions include a length of 5.3 meters, a width of 1.8 meters and a height of 2.2 meters.

Although the car is tall, it is narrow enough to hit a smaller target from the frontal side. The weight is 8.5 tons. A total of 8 rounds of 150mm artillery shells were mounted on the actual car, and no self-defense machine gun was installed. However, the tank does carry a FuG Spr 1 series radio.

An anchor shovel is installed at the rear of the hull, which is lowered when the vehicle is launched to absorb the violent recoil effects of the action - which in turn reduces the stress on the track assembly and chassis.

Drive comes from the original French six-cylinder engine DelaHaye 103TT with 70 hp at 2,800 rpm. Road speeds of up to 21 mph and range of up to 84 miles (55 miles off-road).

In just one month, the company completed all 30 artillery platforms requested, which were quickly shipped to the Mediterranean - although seven of them were lost on the voyage. After the commissioning of the SPA under the direction of Rommel, despite the excellent operating temperature and topographical conditions, it is a testament to the original French mechanical workmanship and overall design.

In July 1942, the Wehrmacht ordered and converted another 64 of them. Changes include a longer ground shovel assembly that can be lowered from inside the vehicle (the original model required manual lowering of the shovel from outside the vehicle).

These units served combat duty on the Western Front, especially during the Normandy invasion of June 1944, although losses by the end of the year were so great that only one unit remained in service.