The Skoda 10.4cm Kanone M.15 was designed to provide heavy artillery support to field armies. Its role was analogous to the German 10cm K14 gun. The Skoda gun was heavier than a K14 at a little over 3 tonnes and the barrel had to be removed and loaded onto a Rohrwagen (barrel transport vehicle) before it could be moved by 6 horse teams. About 577 M.15 guns were built by Skoda at Pilsen and MAVAG at Budapest during WW1. The M.15 guns were deployed on all fronts the K.u.K was committed including a small detachment sent to Palestine with K.u.K artillery units.
The design was typical of contemporary Skoda guns, with hydraulic recoil and spring recuperator. The breech was a sliding wedge type. The M.15 was well regarded although its weight made rapid deployment problematic.
| Calibre | 104 mm |
| Barrel Length | 4480 mm L/36.4 |
| Weight of Gun | 3020 kg |
| Elevation | -10° to +30° |
| Traverse | 6° |
| Weight of Gun | 3020 kg |
| Muzzle Velocity | 680 m/sec |
| Max. Range | 13 km |
| Shell Weight | 17.4 kg |
| Crew | 10 |
The only original M.15 gun is at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (HGM) in Vienna, Austria. There is another similar gun at the Museo della Guerra at Rovereto, Northern Italy but this is an 83.5mm L/60 gun produced by Skoda in very small numbers at the end of WW1.
Photo credits - (1) - Google images (next 3) - Liana Childs (final) - Massimo Foti
Unlike German practice the Rohrwagen for the M.15 gun had two wheels and axle tree seats. The barrel was carried on a light frame which engaged the recoil slide and the balance of the Rohrwagen could be adjusted by moving the barrel along the frame. Unusually a complete Rohrwagen with M.15 barrel has survived. It was captured in Palestine by the Australian Light Horse, was returned to Australia and has been displayed at the Brisbane Boys Grammar School since 1921. The school has been under the misapprehension that they have a complete gun.
Photo credits - Charlie Clelland
More images of the 10cm M.15 Rohrwagen can be found at AMMS Brisbane
260 M.15 guns were claimed by Italy as war reparations after WW1. These guns were converted to 105mm calibre in 1938-39 and served with
the Italian Army on all fronts known as the Cannone da 105/32. The Italians made no attempt to replace the wooden wheels to better suit vehicle towing so
the difficulty of moving the M.15 remained throughout its service. 13 M.15 guns were sold to Rumania in the late 1930s and these
were used as divisional guns during WW2.
Cannone da 105/32 in action in Tunisia (left) and the Ukraine (right) during WW2
As far as is known no model exists of this gun.