Obice da 305/17 De Stefano - World's Craziest Howitzer

• Prima guerra mondiale ...
L'Obice da 305/17 fu un tipo di artiglieria in servizio nel Regio Esercito italiano durante la prima guerra mondiale.
305/17 De Stefano: Questa versione era costituita dalla bocca da fuoco, la culla e gli organi elastici del Mod. 1916 installati su un affusto "De Stefano"; questo affusto a cassa con sottoaffusto a lisce era su quattro ruote, con avantreno, e scorreva su due lisce (rotaie) inclinate posteriormente verso l'alto, unite tra loro e fissate anteriormente ad una piattaforma di travi tramite un supporto girevole; ruotando le lisce su questo supporto, si brandeggiava il pezzo su 360°. L'energia del rinculo non assorbita dal freno di sparo veniva dissipata dal movimento retrogrado dell'affusto sulle lisce; essendo queste inclinate, il pezzo tornava poi in batteria per gravità. Il caricamento avveniva tramite una benna con paranco, mentre il calcamento di proietto e cariche di lancio era manuale.
Il traino si eseguiva su una sola vettura; l'assale dell'avantreno infatti era munito di ralla e, installati le rotaie a cingolo (ideate dal maggiore Crispino Bonagente sulle 4 ruote, si eseguiva direttamente il traino con il trattore d'artiglieria Pavesi-Tolotti.
Obice da 305/17 was an Italian howitzer used during World War I.
Obice da 305/17 De Stefano - These guns were mounted on the same "De Stefano" carriage for land use and the resulting guns were classified by their size in millimeters 305, their length in calibers 17 and lastly by their carriage type DS which stood for De Stefano. The De Stefano carriage was a clever, but strange looking monstrosity which looked something like a child's 4-wheeled toy-horse when the gun barrel was elevated. The carriage was a large 4-wheeled box-trail design with two non-steerable wheels on the front and two castering wheels at the rear. The wheels were fitted with detachable grousers designed by major Crispino Bonagente for traction on soft ground and were towed in one piece by a Pavesi-Tolotti artillery tractor. When not on the move the grousers were removed and the steel wheels rode on an inclined set of steel rails when in firing position. The steel rails were mounted on a firing platform made of wooden beams which allowed the gun 360°of traverse. When the gun fired recoil which was not absorbed by the recoil mechanism was transmitted to the wheels and the carriage rolled up the inclined rails and then rolled back into firing position. The box trail carriage was tall and wide enough that the breech of the gun was accessible at high angles of elevation without a pit being dug and the gun crew had a bucket and hoist for ammunition handling.
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