One of only three surviving examples of the concrete-piercing Škoda cm Mörser heavy siege howitzers used by Austria-Hungary on its Italian and eastern fronts in World War I, and also by Nazi Germany in World War II, stands outside the Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra (Italian War History Museum) at Rovereto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. It fired 305 mm (12 ins) shells that could penetrate reinforced concrete up to 2 m thick, blow a crater 8 m (26 ft) wide and deep and kill enemy soldiers up to 400 m (1,312 ft) from the blast.
Rovereto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy: one of only three examples to survive of the concrete-piercing Škoda cm Mörser heavy siege howitzer used on the Italian and eastern fronts by Austria-Hungary in the 1914-18 First World War, and also by Nazi Germany in the 1939-45 Second World War, stands outside the Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra (Italian War History Museum) in Rovereto Castle. This artillery piece fired 305 mm (12 ins) shells that could penetrate reinforced concrete up to 2 m (6 ft 7ins) thick. It could either fire a delayed-action heavy armour-piercing shell, or a lighter shell designed to explode on impact. The light shell could blow a crater 8 m (26 ft) wide and 8 m deep, and the blast could kill infantrymen up to 400 m (1,312 ft) away. The howitzer or Haublitze was designed for the Austro-Hungarian high command, who wanted a weapon able to penetrate concrete fortresses then being built in Belgium and Italy. It was developed from 1906-9 at the Škoda works in Pilsen, now in Czechia / Czech Republic. An initial 24 were ordered after the prototype was first fired in 1910, and in all, 79 were built. Each howitzer travelled in three sections on trailers pulled by an artillery tractor, but could be assembled and made ready to fire in about 50 minutes. It required a crew of 15 to 17 and could fire about 10 to 12 rounds per hour. Eight Mörsers loaned to the German Army were used early in the First World War to destroy rings of Belgian fortresses around Liège, Namur and Antwerp. Mörsers later saw action on the Eastern, Italian and Serbian fronts. In 1939, Nazi Germany seized 17 Mörsers from Czechoslovakia and gained five more after Yugoslavia’s defeat. They saw service against France, Poland and the Soviet Union. The howitzer at Rovereto is one of only three examples of the original model to survive, with the others in Belgrade and Bucharest.
Size: 2061px × 3049px
Location: Piazza Podestà, Rovereto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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