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Skoda 76.5mm kanon vz. 30

1930 WORLD WAR 2

History

Second only to Krupp in Germany, the Skoda factory in Austria-Hungary proved to be a key player in the design and production of artillery by various European powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After the end of the First World War (1914-1918), the famous Skoda factory in Pilsen fell into the territory of the newly established Czechoslovakia - which also saw the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

On the eve of World War II (1939-1945), the Czech military industry and economy benefited greatly from the facility.

After the end of the First World War in late 1918, there was an abundance of ready-made war materials on the global market. This has forced Skoda to turn to new ideas to help sell to global militaries, which are still reeling from a massive military retreat around the world. Development of a new niche weapon began in the late 1920s, intended as a multipurpose solution for general field gun use, mountain warfare and air defense support. The end result resulted in two different versions of the gun - the 75mm field gun in the form of the "75mm Kanon vz 28" and the 100mm howitzer in the form of the "100mm Houfnice vz 28".

Both are designed with air defense in mind, with a +80 degree operating altitude capability. Among all other qualities, the weapon system is very traditional, with two-wheel slides for towing and breech-loading hardware for quick reloading.

For a full 360-degree traversal, a turntable can be placed under the guns so they spin in place.

These weapons were quickly adopted by the Armed Forces of Romania and Yugoslavia through export. By this time, the market value of the anti-aircraft function was not that high, since artillery had little value in this role.

Rather, their transportability and field functionality are future-proven qualities.

Both designs were fully considered by the local Czech army and adopted them in 1930, so the original 75mm field gun was modified to 76.5mm caliber, while the 100mm howitzer had a slightly improved carriage with a new rubber tires. The field gun became "76.5 mm Kanon vz 30" and the howitzer was designated "100 mm Houfnice vz 30".

Despite the obvious tactical value of these guns, they were never used in rage until the German takeover of Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s. The rapidly changing European landscape suddenly placed the Skoda factory under German control, and the existing stocks of these effective guns were quickly transferred to the German army - hence the designation of the field guns "7.65mm FK30(t)" and "10" cm leFH 30(t)" howitzer.

From then on, Skoda will supply all new weapons, ammunition and related components exclusively for the Bundeswehr.

In the hands of the Germans, these artillery pieces proved to be excellent artillery pieces and were used as much as possible for offense and defense during WWII. These guns were used throughout the war, which ended in 1945.

Collections of these cannons are displayed along Hitler's fabled "Atlantic Wall" line of defense, which protected France's northern passage from amphibious attacks in the English Channel. While it was never officially used against low-flying aircraft (its rate of fire was too slow and its accuracy against moving targets was poor), its high-altitude capabilities made it an effective weapon in mountain warfare.