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WW2 GERMAN SPGS
10.5 cm leFH 18 (Sf.) auf
Geschützwagen 39H(f)
By Craig Moore March 10, 2016
6 Comments
Contents:
German Reich 1942
SPG 48 Built
The German self-propelled howitzers
There were two main types of self-propelled
guns in the German Army during WW2. One
was fitted with an anti-tank gun and the other
with an artillery howitzer, like the 10.5cm leFH
18 (Sf.) auf Geschutzwagen 39H(f) self-
propelled gun. The vehicle fitted with the
artillery howitzer was called a
‘Geschuetzwagen’, which is literally translated
as a ‘gun vehicle’. The letters ‘SF’ stand for
‘Selbstfahrlafette’ – self-propelled carriage.
The letter (f) indicates that the chassis was of
French origin.
10,5cm leFH 16 (Sf.) auf
Geschützwagen 39H(f) in plain sand
livery. Sturmgeschuetz-Abteilung 200,
21st Panzerdivision, Normandy, summer
1944.
Improvised self-propelled artillery guns were
developed to enable fast moving attacks to
have artillery support that could keep up with
the speed of advancing Panzer Divisions.
They could use direct fire mode at targets they
could see or, more commonly, use indirect fire
at targets plotted on a map.
They were not designed to be in the front line
or engage in combat with tanks. They were
motorized artillery guns that could fire high
explosive HE shells over the heads of friendly
troops. Most targets would have been given to
the crew as map grid references by forward
observation officers or infantry units under
attack.
Quite often, the gun crews could not see
where their shells landed, as the target was so
far away. They would have to rely on the
forward observer to tell them if adjustments
had to be made.
The open-topped back design of these self-
propelled guns had a number of advantages.
The elevated commanders position when
standing in the crew compartment, behind the
protective armored shield, meant that he had a
good view on all sides. If there was the threat
of enemy small arms fire, then the crew could
use a twin lens range finder telescope that
could peak over the top of the armored
casement.
This pair of photographs shows the
10.5cm leFH 16 (Sf.) auf
Geschutzwagen 39H(f) gun recoil after
firing a shell
There was enough room for the crew to be
transported towards the battlefield whilst
protected from small arms fire and shell
shrapnel. The vehicle had good mobility and
could follow the infantry almost anywhere. The
gun was quicker to get ready for action and
fire on targets than towed artillery guns.
They were cheaper and faster to build than a
new vehicle. They used the chassis of an
obsolete captured French tank and an existing
artillery howitzer.
Putting the 10.5cm leFH 18 howitzer on top of
the Hotchkiss tank chassis was a more
efficient use of manpower from the traditional
form of German artillery battery transportation.
Even in WW2, horse power was still widely
used although tracked vehicles were also
used when available.
Each field gun would require a six-horse team
to pull the gun and limber. The ammunition,
supplies and kit would be kept in the limber,
which was a very large box on a pair of wheels
with seats on the top. Three men would ride
on the left hand horse of each pair to control
them. The remaining six men of the gun crew
would ride on top of the limber. Only a relative
few were towed by the 3 ton halftracks.
Operational service
At least twenty four 10,5 cm LeFH 16 and 10,5
cm leFH 18 (Sf.) auf Geschutzwagen 39H(f)
self-propelled guns went into action in
Normandy in June 1944. They were part of the
German Army assault gun battalion
Sturmgeschuetz-Abteilung 200, of the
21.Panzer-Division.
Inspection by Rommel
The last ones were knocked out when they
were caught in the Falaise Pocket and
subjected to intense bombing, shelling and
gun fire in August 1944. There is only one
original surviving example left and that is a
10,5 cm LeFH 18 (Sf.) auf Geschutzwagen
39H(f) at the French Tank Museum, Musée
des Blindés, Saumur, France.
The 10.5cm gun
The 10.5 cm leFH 18 gun was a German light
howitzer used in World War II. The
abbreviation leFH stands for the German
words ‘leichte FeldHaubitze’ which, translated,
means light field howitzer. It was fitted with a
‘Mundungbremse’ muzzle brake to allow
longer range charges to be fired and reduce
the amount of recoil on the gun. This
increased the operational life of the gun barrel.
The 105mm high explosive HE shell weighed
14.81 kg (32.7lb). The armour piercing shell
weighed 14.25 kg (31.4lb). It had a muzzle
velocity of 470 m/s (1,542 ft/s) and a maximum
firing range of 10,675 m (11,675 yds). With a
good gun crew, it had a rate of fire between 4-
6 rounds per minute.
The 10.5cm leichte Feld Haubitze 18 gun was
not very useful in the direct-fire mode against
enemy armored vehicles. It could only
penetrate 52 mm (2 in) of armor plate at a very
short range of 500 meters.
The high explosive shell was in two pieces. It
was a ‘separate loading’ or two part round.
First, the projectile would be loaded and then
the cartridge propellant case.
The 10.5 cm leFH 16 gun was a German light
howitzer used in World War I. It had a shorter
range than the WW2 10.5 cm leFH 18 gun. Its
maximum firing range was 9,225m (10,089
yds). As the same caliber weapon was used, it
could fire the same ammunition. Its muzzle
velocity was 395 m/s (1,300 ft/s).
There were a few disadvantages of an open
topped vehicle. The crew was exposed to the
elements and were also at risk of injury from
enemy thrown hand grenades, mortars and
shrapnel from air burst enemy shells. Rain
covers were produced. They covered both the
crew compartment and the gun. The canvas
was attached to the upper protective armour
using the small D shaped rings welded to the
upper part of the structure.
Because the French Hotchkiss H39 tank
chassis was small, there was limited space for
the storage of ammunition. Only thirty six 10.5
cm HE two part shells could be carried. The
propellant charges were kept on the left of the
vehicle whilst the projectile shells were stored
on the right.
Sturmgeschuetz-Abteilung 200 10.5cm
leFH 18 (Sf.) auf Geschutzwagen 39H(f)
self-propelled gun
Shells were carried in the crew compartment
via the rear of the vehicle. There were two
large hinged armoured doors with a small
protruding metal step ladder underneath them
at the back.
When the ammunition supply lorries reached
each battery they would unload two different
types of packing boxes. The propellant
charges, that looked like giant tin cans, were
transported in protective wooden hinged
boxes. The front projectile part of the shell was
wrapped in its own individual open wooden
crate
A MG 34 machine gun was attached to top
right side of the armor casement, on a swivel
mount. Spare ammunition 50 round drums
were stored underneath the mount. It fired
7.96 mm (0.31 in) bullets.
Identification
One of the easiest ways of telling the
difference between a 10.5cm leFH 18 (Sf.) auf
Geschutzwagen 39H(f) self-propelled gun and
a 10.5cm leFH 16 (Sf.) auf Geschutzwagen
39H(f) SPG is to look at the armoured housing
that surrounds the gun’s recuperator
mechanisms. On the 10.5cm leFH 18 there
are two, one above and below the gun. On the
WW1 10.5cm leFH 16 there is only one below
the gun barrel.
A recuperator on an artillery gun is a device
employing springs or pneumatic power to
return a gun to the firing position after the
recoil.
The 7.5cm Pak-40/1 (Sf) auf Geschutzwagen
39H(f) anti-tank self-propelled gun version of
the Marder I is very similar in looks to the
10.5cm leFH 16 (Sf.) auf Geschutzwagen
39H(f) self-propelled artillery gun, but armed
with a 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti tank gun. They both
have a single armoured housing box
surrounding the gun’s recuperator
mechanisms which is below the gun barrel.
The 7.5cm Pak-40/1 (Sf) auf GW-39H(f) has a
long piece of armor at the bottom of the gun’s
Schutzschild (splinter shield) that slopes at an
angle towards the armored casement below
the gun. This is missing on the 10.5cm leFH
16 (Sf.) auf GW-39H(f)
21st Panzer Division June 1944
Sturmgeschuetz-Abteilung 200
I. Batterie (sf) (1st Battery)
4x 7.5cm PaK 40 (sf) auf GW 39H(f)
6x 10.5 cm le.FH 16 (sf) auf GW 39H(f)
II. Batterie (sf) (2nd Battery)
4x 7.5cm Pak 40 (sf) auf GW 39H(f)
6x 10.5 cm le.FH 18 (sf) auf GW 39H(f)
III. Batterie (sf) (3rd Battery)
4x 7.5cm PaK 40 (sf) auf GW 39H(f)
6x 10.5 cm le.FH 18 (sf) auf GW 39H(f)
IV. Batterie (sf) (4th Battery)
4x 7.5cm PaK 40 (sf) auf GW 39H(f)
6x 10.5 cm le.FH 18 (sf) auf GW 39H(f)
An article by Craig Moore
Specifications
Dimensio
456 (without gun) x 155.5 202
ns L x W
cm 14ft11 5ft1 6ft7
x H
Total
weight,
13 tons 28,600 lbs)
battle
ready
5 (commander, driver, gunner, 2
Crew
loaders)
Hotchkiss 6-cylinder water
Propulsio
cooled 5.97 liter petrol engine,
n
120 hp at 2800 rpm
Fuel
207 liters
capacity
Top
36 km/h 22 mph)
speed
Operation
al range 180 km 111 miles)
(road)
Armamen 105 mm 4.13 in) leFH 18 howitzer
t with 36 rounds
7.96 mm 0.31 in) MG 34 machine
gun
Front 2234 mm 0.861.34 in)
Armor Sides 34 mm 1.34 in)
Rear 34 mm 1.34 in)
Total
productio 48
n
Sources
Panzer Tracts No.10 Artillerie
Selbstfahrlafetten by Thanks L. Jentz
Profile AFV Weapons 55 German Self-
Propelled Weapons by Peter Chamberlain and
H.L.Doyle
Beute-Kraftfahrzeuge und panzer der
deutschen Wehrmacht by Walter J.
Spielberger
Normandy 1944: German military organization,
combat power and effectiveness by Niklas
Zetterling
German Artillery at War 1939-45 vol.1 by
Frank V.de Sisto.
Musée des Blindés, French Tank Museum,
Saumur, France.
www.tank-hunter.com
10,5cm leFH 18 (Sf.) auf Geschützwagen
39H(f), Sturmgeschuetz-Abteilung 200,
21st Panzerdivision, Normandy, summer
1944.
10,5cm leFH 18 (Sf.) auf Geschützwagen
39H(f) in plain sand livery.
Sturmgeschuetz-Abteilung 200, 21st
Panzerdivision, Normandy, summer
1944.
10,5cm leFH 16 (Sf.) auf Geschützwagen
39H(f) in plain sand livery.
Sturmgeschuetz-Abteilung 200, 21st
Panzerdivision, Normandy, summer
1944.
Operational Photographs
10.5cm leFH 18 (Sf.) auf Geschutzwagen
39H(f) SPG with gun raised
Camouflaged 10.5cm le FH 18 auf GW 39H(f)
Self-propelled Artillery Gun
A 10.5cm leFH 18 (Sf.) auf GW-39H(f) self-
propelled gun awaiting target information
The Hotckiss H39 tank chassis was used to
carry a 10.5cm leFH 18 gun
In bad weather a rain cover could be used to
cover the 10.5cm leFH 18 (Sf.) auf
Geschutzwagen 39H(f) self-propelled gun
Close up of the 10.5 cm gun’s Schutzschild
(splinter shield)
Surviving Examples
105mm le.FH 18 (Sf.) auf Geschutzwagen
39H(f) at the Musée des Blindés, French Tank
Museum, Saumur, France
Association de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine
Historique Militaire has rebuilt a 10.5cm leFH
18 auf Geschutzwagen 38H(f) Self propelled
Gun
Video unavailable
This video is unavailable
Germans Tanks of ww2
German Self-
Propelled Artillery
Guns of the Second
World War
By Craig Moore
One towed artillery gun required a team of
six horses and nine men. WW2 German
engineers came up with the idea of
mounting an artillery gun on top of a tank
chassis. This new technology reduced the
amount of resources required to deploy
one artillery gun. Artillery self-propelled
guns only needed a four or five man crew.
They could also be made ready to fire more
quickly. This book covers the development
and use of this new weapon between 1939
and 1945. One type was successfully used
in the invasion of France in May 1940. More
were used on the Eastern Front against
Soviet forces from 1941 until the end of the
war in 1945.
Buy this book on Amazon!
← UDES 15/16
→ 59-Patton (Fake Tank)
6 replies on “10.5 cm leFH 18 Sf.) auf
Geschützwagen 39H(f)”
charles walker
June 24, 2016 at 22:38
So many great tanks and other armor I use
you camo art for my own model ‘s I love this
site
REPLY
Stan Lucian
June 24, 2016 at 23:13
Thank you for the appreciation Charles!
REPLY
Bruce
February 6, 2017 at 00:57
There is what looks like a french half track
mounting a 75mm pak 40? In this video but i
cant find refernce to this vehicle in the
encyclopedia. Anyone know what it is?
REPLY
Bob Emmerson
February 16, 2017 at 15:13
You’re probably thinking of the PaK40 auf
Somua MCG
REPLY
hehe tenks
May 14, 2020 at 12:43
it was probably effective buuuuuut it looks
dumb liike really dumb
REPLY
PG13
October 17, 2021 at 17:21
“The 10.5cm leichte Feld Haubitze 18 gun was
not very useful in the direct-fire mode against
enemy armored vehicles. It could only
penetrate 52 mm (2 in) of armor plate at a very
short range of 500 meters.”
These data would have to apply to the leFH
16. The penetrating power of the leFH 18 was
higher. (“Feldhaubitze”)
REPLY
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