M 99 15 cm heavy howitzer

It was the main gun type of the Monarchy’s heavy artillery at the beginning of the Great War. The first version was commissioned in 1894. It was a recoilless gun with a cast bronze barrel. When fired, the recoil was caught by the concave design of the bottom of the stand. The gun rolled backwards, then moved down the forward sloping ramp to return to its original position. Of course, in order to fire accurate shots, it had to be re-adjusted before each shot. In 1899, the gun barrel was modified, and from then on, the design of the gun lock was not circular, but square. This is where it can be distinguished from earlier guns. The gun could be disassembled and was also suitable for use in the mountains.

Numerous photos testify that this obsolete type of gun was widely used practically throughout the Great War. The production of the M 14 15 cm howitzer, which was designed to replace it, did not start until 1915. It was in 1916 when it already appeared en masse on the fronts. But the old equipment was not thrown away either, since the demand of the new artillery formations that were constantly being set up exceeded the production capacities of the new gun. In a previous post, I already presented a photo with the old guns around Kirlibaba in 1916.

Several of the artillery badges depict the M 99 howitzer. I have included a particularly beautiful one of them in this post. I am constantly searching for the “Budapest” battery, if the readers could help me with this, I would be grateful!