Design
The Type 4 was notable as the first Japanese artillery piece to use a hydro-pneumatic recoil system. It had a vertical sliding breechblock and a box type trail. It could be moved short distances as one load, but needed to be broken down into two loads for longer distances. The gun barrel was removed from the cradle and placed on the rear portion of the trail, to which were attached an extra pair of wheels. A limber was attached to each section, so that each load could be towed by six horses.
The type 4 used semifixed ammunition with high-explosive, as well as armor-piercing, shrapnel, chemical, smoke and incendiary tracer projectiles.
Its most remarkable characteristic of the Type 4 is its extreme lightness in relation to the weight of the ammunition it fires. The howitzer is broken down into two loads-the tube and the cradle assembly-for travel. This operation increases the time necessary to emplace it, but in areas where bridges are flimsy or nonexistent, two-load draft considerably increases the mobility of the piece. Although it is possible to tow the Type 4 in one load, it is not safe to do this for considerable distances or over bad roads because of the extreme length of the trail which would be likely to break if subjected to any considerable jolting.
Read more about this topic: Type 4 15 Cm Howitzer
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