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 Germany
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7.7cm L/35 Flak Kanone (franz.) |
 AA Artillery
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Contributor :
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Location :
France
Renty (62)
Monument aux Morts
Coordinates :
Lat : 50.58270 / Long : 2.07210
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General comments on this surviving gun :
Identical items in the same location :
2
Items covered by this file :
2
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Seen from behind, this German Flak tube demonstrates its French origin by its shape and the presence of the Nordenfelt breech system. Breech markings (French and barred) : 'FBs - 909'
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This war memorial owns two of tese rarest guns
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Seen on the front, the French tube is a little less reckognizable because of the absence of the typical guiding wheels (probably dur to the replacement of the originla French tube by a German one) and the special protection plate
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Historic and technical information
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Denomination :
7.7cm L/35 Flak (franz)
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Origin :
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Etablissements et Arsenaux de Puteaux)
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Krupp )
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Historic context :
From the very first days of the war and all along its 5 years duration, the German Armies seized numerous French 75mm Mle 1897 fieldguns during the military operations. The artillery material production capacities of the German manufacturers being prioritized on equipements dedicated on land fighting, the increasing needs for AA guns were partially satisfied by the use of these captured guns.
Several uses of this remarkable french weapon, whose bore was re-machined to a classical 7.7cm diameter in order to accept German ammunitions, were designed by RheinMetall and Krupp, using the same generic 7,7cm L/35 Flak (franz.) name. The most common variant was an assembly of the tube re_machined to 77mm (although keeping the good Nordenfeldt breech for quick-firing) on a polygonal carriage derivated from the 10.5cm light howitzer allowing an extended 50° elevation, and keeping the upper part of the French gun carriage.
Some weared tubes were replaced lately by German tubes (but still keeping the French breech) and could be reckognized by the disappearing of the typical tube mouth roller guides.
Other variants were improvized, sometimes integrating the recuperation and transformation of captured French heavy guns carriages such as the de Bange materials.
At least 345 French 75 mm fieldguns were transformed one of these ways into German 77 mm anti-aircraft guns
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Technical data :
- Complete description : 7.7cm L/35 anti-aircraft gun (french)
- Design year :
- Calibre : 77.00 mm (75 mm rebored to 77 mm for the use of German ammunitions)
- Weight in firing position : Unknown
- Weight for transportation :
- Tube length in calibres : 35.00
- Grooves : 24
- Projectile weight : Inconnu
- Initial speed : 485 m/s
- Fire rate : 15 rounds per minute
- Range : unknown
- Elevation range : +18 to +50 degrees (+60 degrees with the de Bange recuperation carriage)
- Direction range : 360 degrees range by carriage rotation on its wheels
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Sources
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German Artillery of World War One Herbert Jager Crowood 2001
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La Flak 1914-1918 - Volume N°1 Bernard Delsert Jean-Jacques Dubois Christian Kowal Editions La Plume du Temps 1999
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La Flak 1914-1918 - Volume N°2 Bernard Delsert Jean-Jacques Dubois Christian Kowal Editions La Plume du Temps 1999
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