SkipperJohn
Well-known member
This is a gunner's quadrant, or Artillerie-Klinometer, for a 7.7cm Feldkanone 16. This instrument was used to verify the elevation on the tube after receiving a fire mission.
The quadrant was placed on a machined plate that was absolutely parallel to the tube and the arm could be swung up or down to the elevation, or range, given by the FDC, fire direction center. Once the bubble centered the crew knew that the elevation on the howitzer or gun tube was correct.
A thumb screw through the backing plate would lock down the setting.
The elevation was set off in degrees, handled by the swing arm, and minutes, handled by the thumb screw. Modern artillery uses mils instead of degrees as it offers greater accuracy.
There is a range scale on this gunner's quadrant that would assume the proper elevation based upon range. In artillery range is a function of elevation and charge. Modern artillery can alter the charge and elevation to achieve an accurate range. Apparently the 7.7cm FK ammunition, even though it was semi-fixed, did not alter the charge. It is possible that the instrument was simply calibrated for range on the "Entfernung", distance, scale based only upon max charge.
The instrument was stored in it's own felt lined, wooden box for protection.
This quadrant was manufactured by Simson & Co., Suhl, and is numbered 1806 (serial number, not date).
This was used on the 7.7cm Feldkanone 16, but it could have been used on the 7.7cm FK 96 too since it would cover max elevation on that artillery piece as well. This is a 7.7cm FK 16.
Type: Field Gun
Designer: Krupp
Production: 1916-1918, est 3,020+ built
Shell: separate loading, cased charge, semi-fixed
Caliber: 77 millimeters (3.0 inches)
Breech: Horizontal sliding wedge
Elevation: -10° to +40°
Traverse: 4°
Effective firing range: 9,100 meters (10,000 yd) (max range for lighter gas shell is listed at 10,700 meters)
Having been an FDO myself, in the days before computers, and having manually figured firing data with GFT, GST, Charts & Darts, Met Data, ROE, TOF, etc, I am always impressed with the precision tools used in the field artillery trade.
It makes a nice addition to my collection.
More on the M15 Pickelhaube can be seen here: http://pickelhaubes.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10548" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
John
The quadrant was placed on a machined plate that was absolutely parallel to the tube and the arm could be swung up or down to the elevation, or range, given by the FDC, fire direction center. Once the bubble centered the crew knew that the elevation on the howitzer or gun tube was correct.
A thumb screw through the backing plate would lock down the setting.
The elevation was set off in degrees, handled by the swing arm, and minutes, handled by the thumb screw. Modern artillery uses mils instead of degrees as it offers greater accuracy.
There is a range scale on this gunner's quadrant that would assume the proper elevation based upon range. In artillery range is a function of elevation and charge. Modern artillery can alter the charge and elevation to achieve an accurate range. Apparently the 7.7cm FK ammunition, even though it was semi-fixed, did not alter the charge. It is possible that the instrument was simply calibrated for range on the "Entfernung", distance, scale based only upon max charge.
The instrument was stored in it's own felt lined, wooden box for protection.
This quadrant was manufactured by Simson & Co., Suhl, and is numbered 1806 (serial number, not date).
This was used on the 7.7cm Feldkanone 16, but it could have been used on the 7.7cm FK 96 too since it would cover max elevation on that artillery piece as well. This is a 7.7cm FK 16.
Type: Field Gun
Designer: Krupp
Production: 1916-1918, est 3,020+ built
Shell: separate loading, cased charge, semi-fixed
Caliber: 77 millimeters (3.0 inches)
Breech: Horizontal sliding wedge
Elevation: -10° to +40°
Traverse: 4°
Effective firing range: 9,100 meters (10,000 yd) (max range for lighter gas shell is listed at 10,700 meters)
Having been an FDO myself, in the days before computers, and having manually figured firing data with GFT, GST, Charts & Darts, Met Data, ROE, TOF, etc, I am always impressed with the precision tools used in the field artillery trade.
It makes a nice addition to my collection.
More on the M15 Pickelhaube can be seen here: http://pickelhaubes.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10548" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
John
