Bulgarian Artillery

[nuyt]

Looking for any info!
What I have is right here:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/330333/t ... +artillery
Please comment!
Nuyt

[nuyt]

Did Germany deliver any Soviet 122 mm guns to Bulgaria during WW2?

[dibo]

Did Germany deliver any Soviet 122 mm guns to Bulgaria during WW2?

Yes in 1943 - 122mm Gun-Howitzer A-19 Model 1931/1937.

[nuyt]

Thanks Dibo!

[Sturm78]

Hi all,

I found this image on Ebay. Bulgarian troops on parade:
In the background perhaps 8.8cm Flaks and 75mm field guns. In the foreground artillery limbers


Regards Sturm78

[Sturm78]

Hi all,

Another image (from Ebay) of bulgarian artillery. Does anybody know that gun is it?

Regards Sturm78

[Sturm78]

Hi all,

I found these images on Ebay. According to photocaptions the images show bulgarian troops with artillery.

Can anybody id. the guns??

Regards Sturm78

[The Edge]

First photo: 75mm Krupp M.1904 gun with the improved "Stanchev and Dobrev carriage" (Interwar modification).
Btw, earlier "Manco 22" photo also shows some variant of 75mm Krupp field gun (not visible enough).

Second photo: 75mm Bulgarian Schneider M.1904 (manufacturer code "PR").

Both weapons are unique to Bulgaria.

[Sturm78]

Thank you very much for your help, The Edge.

Regards Sturm78

[Sturm78]

Hi all,

I found this image on Ebay: Bulgarian artillerymen with two 10.5cm sK18 field guns.
Has someone information about how many guns of this type were supplied to Bulgaria by Germany during World War II?


Regards Sturm78

[dibo]

In Bulgaria this gun was called 105mm D/56 Krupp "long gun". I don't know how many were supplied. I have only some fragmentary data.
In June 1939 - 18 were ordered from Germany. On 1.12.1939 - 22 D/56 were available with the army. On 05.06.1943 there were 34 D/56 available.
These served along with the older 10.5cm Krupp "long guns" from WWI (D/30 from 1910 and D/35 from 1914) in the army arty regiments (12 each) and the Reserve Heavy Artillery Regiment. By the end of 1942 counting also the older types there were 56 of these "long guns". Then in 1943 - early 1944 60 105mm d/42 Skoda guns were supplied by Germany from the captured Yugoslav army equipment and these were also considered as "long guns". By 10.1944 the "long guns" in the army were 115. Minus the 60 Skoda's, minus the twenty or so old Krupp's from WWI leads to the probable number of 30-40 Sk18 supplied to Bulgaria. They served in the 1944-1945 war as well as later on after the war.

P.S. D/56, etc. refers to calibre length.

[Sturm78]

Thank you very much for your information, Dibo.

Have you any aditional image of these "long guns" in service with the Bulgarian Army during WW2? D/56 or D/42.

I guess that D/42= 10.5cm Skoda Vz.35
Krupp D/30 = ?? 10.5cm K04
Krupp D/35 = ?? 10.5cm K14

Regards Sturm78

[The Edge]

Then in 1943 - early 1944 60 105mm d/42 Skoda guns were supplied by Germany from the captured Yugoslav army equipment

Since Yugoslavia in 1941 had only 24 such guns, majority of this batch were ex-Czech Vz.35s.

[dibo]

Thank you very much for your information, Dibo.

Have you any aditional image of these "long guns" in service with the Bulgarian Army during WW2? D/56 or D/42.

I guess that D/42= 10.5cm Skoda Vz.35
Krupp D/30 = ?? 10.5cm K04
Krupp D/35 = ?? 10.5cm K14

Regards Sturm78

Correct. See MCP's posts on our forum here for Krupp D/30:

http://forum.boinaslava.net/showpost.ph ... ostcount=8

and here for Krupp D/35:

http://forum.boinaslava.net/showpost.ph ... stcount=73

[The Edge]

I think that with we have a confusion after the Dibo's post.

Guns from Sturm78's question are GERMAN ARMY models:
10-cm Kanone 04 (105mm L/30)
10-cm Kanone 14 (105mm L/35)

Both models Dibo refers to are CAPTURED weapons (made by Krupp)
105mm Krupp "L/30" (quick-firing guns, ex-Turkish)
105mm Krupp "L/35" (slow-firing guns, ex-Romanian)

Let's clear somewhat this issue:

First 105mm caliber "long guns" in Bulgarian armament were ex-Turkish guns, captured in Odrin Fortress. They were modern commercial guns, produced by Krupp for export, a design very much different (also more modern) than German Army model "10-cm Kanone 04" (also made by Krupp, also 105mm L/30). Similar guns were purchased by Holland (only 2 pcs) in 1912 as "10 Lang 30" (see: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 4&start=15 ). Dibo's data for 105mm guns in 1915 Bulgarian use (http://forum.boinaslava.net/showthread. ... post110274 , post #14) is 12 quick-firing guns. MCP’s identification of these guns as “M.04” is wrong, because Turkey acquired these guns much later, 1910 or 1911 (Wrong photo also, showing a German K 04). Did some of these guns survived to be a WW2 armament - possible, but small number only.

Second 105mm model was captured Romanian Krupp, XIX-century, slow-firing guns, captured in 1916. According to MCP (Dibo’s second link) they were L/35. Did some of these obsolete guns survived to be a WW2 armament – I don’t believe so!

As MCP states in post #13, exact quantity of German artillery supply to Bulgaria in WW1 is not known – he estimates some 400 to 500 guns. He also points that Germans were reluctant to give their heavy artillery or the most modern types. Other info is about the German heavy artillery units, supporting Bulgarian Army. Regarding of number of 105mm L/30 & L/35 guns in Bulgarian inventory 1941, it is safe to give two assumptions:
1) Germany DID supply Bulgaria with some 105mm “long guns”. As Wikipedia states - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_cm_K_14 some “10-cm Kanone 14” (L/35) were in use by Bulgaria in WW1 - maybe older K 04 guns (L/30) were received too.
2) Due to the rapid collapse of Bulgaria in 1918, it is highly unlikely that all German Army heavy artillery units, supporting Bulgarian armies, had managed to evacuate intact. My guess is that some of their equipment was left at Bulgarian territory, then hidden to avoid their seizure by Allied comissions – and put again into the use at late 1930s. Again, 105mm models used by German units at Bulgarain Front were older L/30 and L/35, not the most modern K 17 guns (105mm L/45).

Btw, there is one more issue – during 1930s Bulgaria acquired some Rheinmetall 105mm L/30 gun-howitzers (forerunner of leFH-18). These were more a light howitzers than “guns”, of course, but - because their rather long L/30 barrels - another confusion might emerged.

So, 105mm “long guns” in Bulgarian use (before the supply of “Krupp L/56” and “Skoda L/42” guns) were:
1st option - German Kanone 04 (L/30) & Kanone 14 (L/35) long guns, with possible few ex-Turkish Krupp commercial L/30 guns. (I would go for this one )
2nd option – newly acquired 105mm (L/30) Rheinmetall gun-howitzers and still viable 10-cm Kanone 14 (L/35) long guns, with all old (and rather obsolete) 105mm L/30 long guns discarded in 1919, to comply with Allied disarmament comission demands.