7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.

The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art (7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.) was a field gun used by Germany in World War I.

Description
The gun combined the barrel of the earlier 7.7 cm FK 96 with a recoil system, a new breech and a new carriage. Existing FK 96s were upgraded over time. The FK 96 n.A. was shorter-ranged, but lighter than the French Canon de 75 modèle 1897 or the British Ordnance QF 18 pounder gun; the Germans placed a premium on mobility, which served them well during the early stages of World War I. However, once the front had become static, the greater rate of fire of the French gun and the heavier shells fired by the British gun put the Germans at a disadvantage. The Germans remedied this by developing the longer-ranged, but heavier 7.7 cm FK 16.

As with most guns of its era, the FK 96 n.A. had seats for two crewmen mounted on its splinter shield. Guns taken into service by Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia upon independence in 1919 served until replaced during the 1930s.

Ammunition

 * Feldgranate 96: a 6.8 kilogram (15 lb) high-explosive shell filled with .19 kg (0.45 lbs) of TNT.
 * FeldkanoneGeschoss 11: A 6.85 kilogram (15.1 lb) shell combining high explosive and shrapnel functions. It contained 294 10 gram lead bullets and .25 kilograms (0.55 lb) of TNT.
 * A 6.8 kilogram (15 lb) pure shrapnel shell filled with 300 lead bullets.
 * An anti-tank shell
 * A smoke shell
 * A star shell
 * A gas shell

It mainly used the K.Z. 11 time fuze or the later L.K.Z. 16 contact fuze.

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

 * Ordnance BLC 15 pounder : British equivalent
 * 3-inch M1902 field gun : US equivalent