# Skoda houfnice vz 14

The Skoda houfnice vz 14 ("Howitzer model 1914") and Skoda houfnice vz 14/19 ("Howitzer model 1914/1919") were 100 mm (3.93-inch) field howitzers made in Czechoslovakia by the Skoda works in 1914 and 1919, repectively.

## Skoda houfnice vz 14
### Statistics

    Caliber: 100 mm
    Length: 1.93 m [L/19 Calibres or 76 inches]
    Weight: ? kg (When travelling); 1350 kg (In action)
    Range: 8,400 m
    Traverse: 6°
    Elevation: -8° to +50°
    Weight of shell: 14 kg

## Skoda houfnice vz 14/19

An improved version of the howitzer was created in 1919. The main improvement was a longer barrel offering greater range that which could be mounted in the old howitzer beds.
The improved howitzer was sold to Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece before 1938. Some versions had rubber tires so they could be pulled by trucks but most retained wooden spoked wheels so they could be pulled by mule teams. The howitzer was also manufactured in Poland in Starachowice as wz.1914/19P howitzer.
Germany captured a large number of Skoda houfnices when they conquered Poland and absorbed Czechoslovakia. They later seized additional guns while fighting in Italy, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece. Due to their age, the howitzers were relegated to second line service and incorporated into defensive lines and fortifications after 1942.

### Statistics

    Caliber: 100 mm
    Length: 2.4 m [L/24 Calibres or 94.5 inches]
    Weight: 2025 kg (When travelling); 1505 kg (In action)
    Range: 9970 m
    Traverse: 5.5°
    Elevation: - 7.5° to + 48°
    Weight of shell: 14 kg

### 10 cm M. 14 Feldhaubitze

The Austro-Hungarian Army adopted the Skoda 14 as the 10 cm M. 14 Feldhaubitze. It was a conventional design, although the first versions used an obsolescent wrought bronze barrel liner and a cast bronze jacket. Later versions used a standard steel barrel. The spade was in two pieces, one designed for use in icy ground and the other in normal soil.
Two cannoneers sat in seats attached to the shield, as was normal for the period. It was pulled by three pairs of horses when attached to its limber. The Austro-Hungarian Army acquired 6,458 10 cm Mod. 14 howitzers for its Field Howitzer Regiments ("Feldhaubitze-Regiment") and 346 10 cm M. 16 howitzers for its mountain troops. The Mod. 16 could be broken down into three loads carried on small carts for transport in rough terrain.

### Obice da 100/17 Modelo 14

During World War I the Royal Italian Army had captured 1,222 10 cm Mod. 14/16 howitzers from the Austro-Hungarian Army. A further 1,472 were given to Italy as war reparations. In Italian service the guns were designated Obice da 100/17 Mod. 14 and Obice da 100/17 Mod. 16. The Royal Army Arsenal in Turin developed a new series of ammunition for the howitzers which were introduced in 1932 and included chemical warfare grenades. In 1941 Germany sold about 350 howitzers as war prizes coming from Czechoslovakia and Poland. At the outbreak of World War II the Royal Army and the Guardia alla Frontiera were fielding 1,325 Mod. 14 in the original Austro-Hungarian configuration and 199 Mod 14 which had their wooden wheels replaced with tires for use in motorized divisions. The artillery of the Alpini mountain troops fielded 181 Mod. 16. howitzers. During the North African Campaign Italian forces mounted the 100/17 Mod. 14 onto Lancia 3Ro heavy trucks and employed the gun as mobile anti-tank cannon.
After World War II some of the howitzers were modified by the Military Arsenal of Naples for use as mountain artillery, with the denominations 100/17 Mod. 14 mont. and 100/17 Mod. 16 mont. In the second half of the fifties the howitzers were further modified for the service in the Italian Army with the versions 100/17 Mod. 14/50 for field artillery units and 100/17 Mod. 14/16/50 for mountain artillery units. The modification of the field artillery version included a circular shooting platform, pneumatic wheels and a gun shield taken from reserve Ordnance QF 25-pounder howitzers, while the mountain artillery version omitted the circular shooting platform.
In 1961 the weapon was again modified by lengthening the barrel and recalibrating it for NATO ammunition, resulting in a barrel to caliber ratio of 105/22. Accordingly the new version was named: 105/22 Mod. 14/61. This version equipped the field artillery groups of the army's motorized divisions.
With the Italian Army's 1975 reform the 105/22 Mod. 14/61 was taken out of service and stored as reserve until 1984. Today only one 105/22 Mod. 14/61 remains in service with the Italian Army: located in Rome on the Janiculum it is fired since 1991 at noon every day to indicate the time.

### Other Designations

* After 1943 captured weapons were used by Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht under the designations 10 cm leFH 14(ö) fro Austrian guns and 10 cm leFH 315(i) for Italian models.
* Poland adopted the 14/19, with minor modifications, as the haubica 100 mm wz. 1914/19A or wz. 1914/19P.
* Captured Polish models were designated 10 cm leFH 14/19(p) by the Wehrmacht in World War II.
* Czech 14/19 guns were given the designation 10 cm leichte Feld-Haubitze 14/19 (Tschechische) or 10 cm leFH 14/19(t) ("100m Light Field Howitzer 14/19 (Czechoslovakian)") in German service.
* During World War Two from 1938 to 1945, Yugoslavian models were designated 10 cm leFH 316(j) and Greek models were designated 10 cm leFH 318(g).