10 cm K 04

The 10 cm Kanone 04 (10 cm K 04) was a field gun used by Germany in World War I. It was the second heavy gun with modern recoil system accepted by the German Army. It was produced as a replacement for the 10 cm K 99 and the lange 15 cm Kanone 92. Although the standard version lacked a gunshield, some models, such as the 10 cm K 04/12, were fitted with a special gunshield and some other minor modifications. Only 32 were in service at the outbreak of the war.^[2]

10 cm Kanone 04
A K 04 at the U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma
Type	Field gun
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
In service	1905–1918
Used by	German Empire
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Krupp
Designed	1904
Manufacturer	Krupp
Produced	1905-?
Variants	10 cm K 04/12
Specifications
Mass	2,428 kg (5,353 lb)
Barrel length	4.725 m (15.5 ft) (L/35)
Shell	Fixed QF
Shell weight	18.5 kg (41 lb)[1]
Caliber	105 mm (4.13 in)
Breech	vertical sliding-wedge
Recoil	Hydro-spring variable recoil
Carriage	Box trail
Elevation	−5° to +30°
Traverse	3° 59'
Rate of fire	1 round per 2 minutes
Muzzle velocity	551 m/s (1,808 ft/s)
Effective firing range	10,398 m (11,264 yards)

It could be transported in one load by a team of six horses, or it could be broken down into two loads (tandem hitches) for crossing rough terrain.

References

• Jäger, Herbert. German Artillery of World War One. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001 ISBN 1-86126-403-8