*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 29, 2024, 08:25:28 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 1686622
  • Total Topics: 118114
  • Online Today: 777
  • Online Ever: 2235
  • (October 29, 2023, 12:32:45 AM)
Users Online

Recent

Author Topic: Asien Korps Artillery  (Read 1829 times)

Offline giles the zog

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 400
    • The Lost City of Carcosa
Asien Korps Artillery
« on: August 04, 2017, 01:44:12 PM »
Hi,

Does anyone have details of the German Asien Korps artillery ?
- collars/cap bands
- equipment (gun) colour.

In between houses, with all my books in store bar a few piles of random stuff to keep me going, so I don't have access to my normal sources but after finding a pack of Brigade games' stuff I'd like to have a crack at them.

I know the uniform colour is a sand / buff colour but can't remember details beyond that.

TIA
Wandering stars, for whom is reserved, the blackness, the darkness forever.

https://thelostcityofcarcosa.com

Offline Mike Blake

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 347
  • Size Does Matter! - 54mm - The One True Scale
Re: Asien Korps Artillery
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2017, 02:12:35 PM »

Artillery
Organisation

These men came from the Foot Artillery, which in Germany meant heavy, mostly static artillery. They were formed at Jueterbog, south of Berlin, which was a large training ground used for large-scale manoeuvres.
1 Field Artillery regiment: 9 batteries, in 3 abtheilungen, sections; 1st and 2nd abtheilungen 2 light batteries and 1 mountain battery, 3rd abtheilungen 2 light batteries.
There were 4 Field Gun, 2 Light Howitzer, 2 Mountain and 1 Marine Artillery batteries, each 6 guns, 3 munitions carts and 88 men.
1 Heavy Howitzer Field Battalion of 2 Batteries, each 6 guns, 176 all ranks was added.

Regimental staff
Officers: 1 lieutenant colonel, with 1 servant, 2 grooms and 3 horses, 1 major. with 1 servant, 1 groom and 2 horses, 1 adjutant (first lieutenant) with 1 servant, 1 groom and 2 horses, 1 chief vetenarian with servant and 1 horse.
Enlisted men: 1 Clerk with 1 horse, 1 chief trumpeter with 1 horse, 1 driver with 2 horses, 4 grooms, with 6 horses.
Total 4 officers, 7 men, 4 officer’s servants, 4 grooms and 18 horses.

Abtbeilung staff
Officers and civilian officials: 1 major with 1 servant, 2 grooms and 8 horses, 1 adjutant (first lieutenant) with 1 servant, 1 groom and 2 horses, 1 surgeon with 1 servant and 1 horse, 1 assistant surgeon. with 1 servant and 1 horse, 1 veterinarian with 1 servant and 1 horse, 1 paymaster with 1 servant and 1 horse.
Enlisted men and minor officials: 1 paymaster candidate, with 1 horse, 1 trumpeter (noncommissioned officer), with 1 horse, 1 clerk (sergeant), with 1 horse, 1 cyclist (private), 1 driver (private) with 2 horses, 3 grooms (privates) with 3 horses.
Total 6 officers and officials, 8 men and minor officials, 6 servants, 3 grooms and 17 horses.
Battery organization:
Officers 1 captain, with 1 servant, 1 groom, and 2 horses, 1 first lieutenant, with 1 servant, 1 groom, and 2 horses,  3 lieutenants, with 3 servants. 3 grooms, and 8 horses.
Enlisted men 1 first sergeant, with 1 horse, 1 second sergeant with 1 horse, 3 sergeants with 3 horses, 7 noncommissioned officers with 7 horses, 12 gefreite (lance corporals) with 12 horses, 107 privates with 107 horses, 3 trumpeters with 3 horses, 1 driver (private) with 2 horses, 5 grooms (privates) with 5 horse, 1 blacksmith with 1 horse, 1 hospital steward  with 1 horse.
Total 5 officers, 142 men, 5 officers' servants, 5 officers' grooms, and 153 horses.

Cox wrote that ‘The batteries come into and out of action very rapidly and the fire (at manoeuvre) was extremely quick. The ammunition supply was not tactically sound as all the wagons crowded together just in rear of the battery in action. ...The gallop is slow even on level ground, and the driving wanting in accuracy as well as dash. Rate of fire claimed is 6 rounds per gun per minute.’

Uniforms
Winter uniforms helmets as for the Field Artillery School of Gunnery with a brass Guard eagle and ball not spike. Field cap like Prussian artillery regiments with blue top and a small red stripe around the crown, black band with small red stripe on top and bottom edges.  Dark blue Litewka with black collar patches and red shoulder straps with a yellow grenade. Grey greatcoat with shoulder straps like on Litewka.

Summer uniforms, foot personnel like infantry and mounted personnel cavalry, Drillich uniform, shoulder straps red with yellow grenade.

Artillery Officers: as infantry.

Weapons & Equipment

Leather equipment was dyed black.
All men in the Field artillery were armed with a bayonet and revolver, and Foot artillerymen had an infantry rifle and bayonet. Field artillery dismounted men had the M1898 carbine, converted infantry sword bayonet, 30 rounds; mounted men carried the revolver M1883, artillery sword, 12 rounds; Heavy artillery the rifle M1891, artillery sword bayonet M1871, 45 rounds.
Some sources have all pieces painted medium blue-grey (the grey has faded to a fairly light shade on a surviving example,) with unpainted steel barrels. Col Dickman reported the colour to be ‘light-blue’, the iron parts black.

7.7cm Field Gun Model 96, 7.7 cm Feldkanone M96 (7.7 cm FK96)
Weight of projectile: 6.85 kg (15.04 lb); Muzzle velocity: 465 m/sec (1525 ft/sec); Calibre: 7.7 cm (3.03 in); length of barrel 2.7m; Maximum range: 8000m(8750 yds); Time fuse 5000 mm (5468 yds); Traverse: 4° left and right; Weight of gun and limber packed: 1,728 kg (1.7 tons); wheel dia 1.2m.

Improved compared with previous pieces, it still lacked a recoil mechanism. The two-motion breech mechanism included cocking, firing and cartridge case extraction mechanism. The breech was open on the left side, and the 2 part metal ammunition (ie the projectile was not fixed to the case) was loaded separately from that side. The empty powder case was removed manually and thrown over the left wheel. Rate of 6 gun battery fire was limited to 30 spm, 4 per gun, to reduce ammunition consumption.

The gun could be traversed through 8 degrees independently of the carriage. It had an improved tangent sight, incorporating a clinometer which did not have to be removed on firing. However recoil was still limited by a wire rope brake and a trail spade, so no shield was fitted. This had the effect of making the gun ‘stand on its hind legs’ when fired, so the trail spade could only be used at zero traverse, otherwise the gun would turn over. The carriage was sheet steel, the spade folded over the trail eye out of the way when not in use. The field artillery version had a chests for accessories which served as an axletree seats, horse artillery version did not.

The limber was the same for both gun and caisson, the wheels as on the gun carriage. The limber chest was opened by a door which let down, forming a shelf. The chest was divided into 3; 2 outer compartments held 36 rounds in baskets holding 4 each; middle compartment held accessories.

Total supply of a 6 gun battery 1,008 rounds, 216 in limbers, 792 in caissons.

10.5 cm Light Field Howitzer Model 98, 10.5 cm leichtes Feldhaubitze M98 (10.5 cm le FH98)

Weight of projectile: 15.7 kg (34.6 lb); Muzzle velocity: 302 m/sec (991 ft/sec); Calibre: 10.5 cm (4.13 in); Maximum range: 5900 m (6452 yds); Traverse: Nil ; Elevation: -10° to +40°; Weight in action: 1090 kg (1.1 tons); high explosive shell & 12.8 kg (28.2 lb) shrapnel round, range 7000 m (7655 yds).

The breech action was single motion, and so an improvement on the 7.7 cm FK 96 field gun. Cocking, firing and cartridge extricating mechanisms were included. The gun could not be traversed independently of the carriage. The rate of fire was slightly less than that of the field gun. the fuse had a delayed action, so that it did not explode until the target was partially or fully penetrated, making it much more destructive. Recoil wire rope brake and trail spade.

7cm Mountain Gun Model 98, 7cm Gebirgskanone L/14 M98 (7 cm Geb K L/14 M98).

Weight of projectile: 4.3 kg (9.48 lb); Muzzle velocity: 280 m/sec (910 ft/sec); Calibre: 7 cm (2.76 in); Maximum range: 3,800 m (4,117 yds); Traverse: Nil ; Elevation: - 10° to +20°; Weight in action: 280 kg (617 lbs).

A rigid carriage-recoil gun, one of the last with no recoil system, steel construction with a horizontal sliding breech block, incorporating a cocking mechanism similar to the 7.7 cm Field Gun Model 96 nA. The trail was in two parts, the rear section being narrow to enable it to slide into the forward section on assembly. Recoil was limited by rope brake, and a detachable spade. There was no shield. Laying was by tangent sight. Shrapnel ammunition only.

The gun could be towed by mules in tandem, for which a pair of shafts was provided, and be stripped down to either 3 or 4 mule-pack loads.

Ironically China had ordered a number of these guns from Krupp, but the Boxer Uprising broke out while manufacture was still in progress. The German government commandeered the guns and equipped the batteries of the German Expeditionary Force for China with them. Miscellaneous Reports refer to them as Krupp 75mm mountain guns ‘diverted from a sale to a third party, packed on or drawn by mules.’

15cm Heavy Field Howitzer Model 93, 15 cm schweres Feldhaubitze M 93 (15cm sFH 93)
‘How glad I am to hear of the satisfactory work of our heavy howitzers. Our entire Field-Artillery is cock-a-whoop over this.’
- The Kaiser to Count Waldersee 11 Nov 1900


Weight of projectile: 42 kg (92.6 lb); Muzzle velocity: 280 m/sec (921 ft/sec); Calibre: 14.97 cm (5.9 in); Maximum range: 6050 m (6638 yds); Traverse: Nil; Elevation: 0° to +65°; Weight in action: 2189 kg (2.2 tons).

Carriage-recoil, checked by tyre brakes and normally fired from a platform. When a platform was not used, soft ground mats were placed under the wheels and trail in an attempt to ease the problem.

There were 300 rounds for each field or heavy howitzer battery.

Horses were Australian as with cavalry, smaller than British and not in and not in good condition.
Size Does Matter! - 54mm - The One True Scale

Offline Over Open Sights

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 256
    • Over Open Sights
Re: Asien Korps Artillery
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2017, 02:21:10 PM »
I did a couple of guns recently. Have a gander: http://over-open-sights.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/asia-korps-guns.html
Military Miniatures Painted by Over Open Sights.
http://over-open-sights.blogspot.com/

Offline giles the zog

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 400
    • The Lost City of Carcosa
Re: Asien Korps Artillery
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2017, 06:59:13 AM »
Thanks gents !
Might start on this item later this w/e.

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
8 Replies
5174 Views
Last post November 02, 2006, 08:20:23 AM
by KeyanSark
7 Replies
3444 Views
Last post September 24, 2007, 08:56:42 AM
by Helen
10 Replies
8461 Views
Last post May 28, 2008, 01:47:15 PM
by stevedaccs
11 Replies
3254 Views
Last post May 28, 2008, 10:27:03 PM
by Helen
11 Replies
3308 Views
Last post January 18, 2014, 09:21:10 PM
by Hidalgo