8 cm kanon vz. 30

The 8 cm kanon vz. 30 (Cannon model 30) was a Czech field gun used in World War II. Guns captured after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 were taken into Wehrmacht service as the 8 cm FK 30(t). It was used by a variety of German units during World War II, including I./SS-Artillerie-Abteilung 3 between 1939 and 1940.^[3]

8 cm kanon vz. 30
Parade of SS troops in Krakow, October 1940
Type	Field gun
Place of origin	Czechoslovakia
Service history
In service	1930–1945
Used by	Czechoslovakia Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II[1]
Production history
Designer	Škoda Works
Designed	1928-1930
Manufacturer	Škoda Works
Specifications
Mass	Combat: 1,816 kg (4,004 lb) Travel: 2,977 kg (6,563 lb)
Barrel length	3.06 m (10.0 ft) L/40[1]
Shell	Fixed QF 76.5 x 346mm R[2]
Shell weight	8 kg (17 lb 10 oz)
Caliber	76.5 mm (3 in)
Breech	Horizontal sliding wedge
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	Two-wheeled, box trail
Elevation	-8° to +80°
Traverse	8°
Rate of fire	10-12 rpm
Muzzle velocity	600 m/s (1,968 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	13.5 km (8.4 mi)[1]

Design & history

The origins of the 8 cm kanon vz. 30 began in 1930 at the Škoda Works in Plzeň. It was modified from an earlier Skoda design, the 8 cm kanon vz. 28, which attempted to combine the field, mountain and anti-aircraft roles into one weapon. It proved to be fairly successful at the first two, but was a failure at the third. The Czechs only used the vz. 28 in limited numbers, but exported versions of the gun to Yugoslavia and Romania.^[1] The Czechs decided to adopt the vz. 30 to replace their plethora of aged Austro-Hungarian field guns. They deleted the firing platform of the original design and used standard Czech 76.5 mm ammunition. It shared the same carriage that could break down into three pieces for transport a feature also shared by the earlier 10 cm houfnice vz. 28 and the later 10 cm houfnice vz. 30 guns.

References

• Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
• Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
• Peter Chamberlain and Terry Gander: Light and Medium field Artillery. New York. Arco Publishing. 1977. ISBN 0-668-03820-9