Design
The Type 96 15 cm howitzer was regarded by Allied military intelligence to be one of the most modern, well designed and effective weapons in the Japanese arsenal. Mounted on sturdy, rubber-shod, wooden wheels, the weapon was normally tractor drawn. One of its outstanding characteristics was its extreme elevation capability of 65° (which could only be used when a deep loading pit was dug beneath the breech. Although the Type 96 (1936) 150-mm howitzer has been made in considerable quantity since the time of its adoption, it has not yet completely replaced the Type 4 150-mm howitzer in Japanese medium artillery units. The Type 96, the last artillery weapon developed during the period of redesigning, is heavier than the Type 4, has a somewhat greater range, and travels as a single load drawn by tractor. In travel, it is jacked up on a leaf spring. During firing, the spring is depressed so the piece fires off its axle. The Type 96 uses the same ammunition as the Type 4.
Ammunition used included high-explosive shells, as well as armor-piercing, Shrapnel, smoke and incendiary tracer shells.
Read more about this topic: Type 96 15 Cm Howitzer
Famous quotes containing the word design:
“Teaching is the perpetual end and office of all things. Teaching, instruction is the main design that shines through the sky and earth.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“With wonderful art he grinds into paint for his picture all his moods and experiences, so that all his forces may be brought to the encounter. Apparently writing without a particular design or responsibility, setting down his soliloquies from time to time, taking advantage of all his humors, when at length the hour comes to declare himself, he puts down in plain English, without quotation marks, what he, Thomas Carlyle, is ready to defend in the face of the world.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I begin with a design for a hearse.
For Christ’s sake not black—
nor white either—and not polished!
Let it be weathered—like a farm wagon—”
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)