18 cm kurze Kanone M 80

The 18 cm kurze Kanone M 80 (short cannon) was a heavy siege howitzer used by Austria-Hungary during World War I. Designed to replace the M 61 series of siege guns the M 80 family of siege guns offered greater range and armor penetration than the older guns.

18 cm kurze Kanone M 80
Type	Heavy siege howitzer
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1881-1918
Used by	Austria-Hungary
Wars	World War I
Specifications
Mass	2,030 kilograms (4,480 lb) (barrel only)
Barrel length	2.2 metres (87 in) L/12.3
Shell	62.5 kilograms (138 lb)
Caliber	180 mm
Breech	horizontal-wedge
Recoil	none
Carriage	box trail
Elevation	35°
Maximum firing range	5,000 metres (5,500 yd)

The steel-bronze (92% copper bronze strengthened by autofrettage, see Franz von Uchatius) was considered inferior to steel as early as 1870s, but due to the lack of steel industry in Austria it was used for the barrel, and the iron carriage lacked any system to absorb recoil other than the traditional recoil wedges placed underneath and behind the wheels of the carriage. These wedges helped to absorb the recoil force and encouraged the wheels to run forward to bring the gun back into battery. Generally a wooden firing platform was constructed for these guns in action to provide a level and smooth surface. For transport the barrel was removed from the carriage by a crane and carried separately.

These siege guns were no longer useful against modern armored fortresses by the outbreak of World War I and many saw action in the field to fill the need for heavy howitzers.

Bibliography

• Ortner, M. Christian (2007). The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics. Vienna: Verlag Militaria. ISBN 978-3-902526-13-7.
• Łukasz Chrzanowski (2008). Artyleria Austro-Węgierska 1860-1890 (in Polish). Przemyśl, Wydawnictwo: FORT. ISBN 978-83-923657-7-8.