Hard WWII question > General Discussion

Posted: 9/19/2005 6:21:52 PM EDT

I'm arguing with a guy that says the 105mm leFH 18 light field howitzer was used by the Falschmjagers during WWII. I can't find any evidence of this. Also is this the lightest 105mm the Germans used? It is the lightest I can find a reference to.

Posted: 9/19/2005 6:23:44 PM EDT

[#1]

Wow. Not what I expected at all.

Lemme check my books. Bet somebody else beats me.

Posted: 9/19/2005 6:37:59 PM EDT

[#2]

They may have used it on thje Russian front but it doesnet look jumpable.

They used a 105mm called the LG42 (recoilless) that was lighter, still. Also a 75mm called the LG40.

Posted: 9/19/2005 6:42:06 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
They may have used it on thje Russian front but it doesnet look jumpable.

They used a 105mm called the LG42 (recoilless) that was lighter, still. Also a 75mm called the LG40.

I know about the recoilless but not a howiter.

Posted: 9/19/2005 10:56:28 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
I'm arguing with a guy that says the 105mm leFH 18 light field howitzer was used by the Falschmjagers during WWII. I can't find any evidence of this. Also is this the lightest 105mm the Germans used? It is the lightest I can find a reference to.

I'm not aware of the leFH 18 being used by the Fallschirmjaegers, but honestly I'm not an expert. Really, you're trying to prove a negative here, and that's going to be hard to do. It would be much better for this person to provide his own proof to support his assertion.

According to the book Great Land Battles of WWII by Ian Hogg, the Fallschirmjaeger assault on Crete in 1941 was supported by 75mm recoilless artillery. Hogg's text leads one to believe that this was the largest gun in use by the Fallschirmjaegers in 1941. As CharlieR said, the Fallschirmjaegers also used a 105mm recoilless, apparently later in the war than 1941.

Supporting text from that book below, my comments in blue:

By the 24th the German forces had been reinforced and resupplied to the point where they could now begin to think of orthodox tactical moves, advances in strength supported by tactical air attacks from Stuka dive bombers and with the aid of their own artillery. For, to the intense surprise of the Allies, the air landings had brought artillery in to the island. This was previously unheard of in 1941; artillery was cumbersome and was not considered a suitable armament for air-landed forces, but artillery the Germans now had. The answer to this puzzle was that the German forces were deploying the first recoilless guns which had been seen in the west.

<snip text about development of the recoilless gun concept and Germany's continued development of it>

The 'Light Gun 40' (LG40 as stated by CharliedR)(to use the official German terminology) was of 75mm caliber, weighed 320lbs, and fired a 13lb high explosive shell to a range of 6800m. The conventional 75mm gun of the Germany Army weighed 2470lbs and fired the same shell to a range of 9425m. There, in a nutshell, was the advantage of the recoilless gun; it allowed firepower almost the same as a conventional gun at one-eighth the weight. The only drawback was the loss of about 3km of range, but for the close-quarter action expected of airborne troops this was no great loss. Accompanied by a tracked motor-cycle (SdKfz 2) which towed the gun and carried a few rounds of ammunition, and with the paratroop gun crew hanging on to the gun and tractor wherever they could, the airborne troops had a highly movile and powerful artillery support which astonished the Allies when it went into action.

Here's another page that lists a 75mm and two 105mm recoilless guns used by the Fallschirmjaeger:

TM-E 30-451 Handbook on German Military Forces

Posted: 9/20/2005 1:28:18 AM EDT

[#5]

After the terrible losses of Crête the Fallschirmjaegers were at 90% used as standard elites troups. No more massive jump for them so they might have used bigger guns.

105 howitzer and even 150mm standard artillery gun are both available for the Fallschirmjaegers in Combat mission 1 and 2.

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