ACE 72290 German IWW howitzer 10,5cm leFH-16(Rh)

The 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze 16 (leFH 16) was a German towed 105 mm field howitzer from the First World War and the interwar period. Its first prototypes were built in 1914, and serial production started in 1916. The initial velocity of the high-impact shell fired from this gun was up to 395 m / s, and the rate of fire to 4-5 shots per minute, with a maximum range of 9,200 meters.

The leFH 16 howitzer was designed and constructed in the Krupp factory based on the gun Feldhaubitze 98/09 of the same caliber. The new howitzer, however, had a longer barrel, which significantly increased its range, and was also based on the carrier of the FK 16 77 mm field gun, which improved its mobility in the field. During World War I leFH 16 took part in almost all major operations on the Western and Eastern Front. At the time of the end of this military conflict, the German army had large amounts of these weapons, but due to the provisions of the Versailles Treaty, their number in the newly established Reichswer in 1919 was limited to a symbolic number of 84. After the Nazis had come to power in Germany, its serial production was restarted (1933), which lasted until 1937, when the new 105mm leFH18 light howitzer was added to the Wehrmacht's service. At the outbreak of World War II The leFH 16 was an obsolete design, but was still in the stockpile of the German armed forces.