The Skoda 305 mm Model 1911 at Rovereto, Italy
This Siege howitzer was photographed in 2011 in the Italian city of Rovereto. The development of this gun started in 1906, and it was used in World War One and World War Two by the Austro-Hungarian and the German empire, Italy and Nazi Germany. The first prototypes were finished in 1910, after some adjustments to exclude technical problems the gun was finished in 1911. The German designation is: Škoda 30.5 cm Mörser M.11 (Mortar) in English it is named a Siege Howitzer.
It fired a shell of 384 kg which penetrated 2 meters of reinforced concrete or fired a lighter 287 kilograms shell which created a crater 8 meters deep and 8 meters wide and could kill infantry up to 400 meters from the impact point.
The gun could be disassembled into three parts, the barrel, a carriage and a firing platform, all towed by one artillery tractor. It took the crew of 15 to 17 men 50 minutes to assemble or disassemble
Only 79 Skoda 305 mm Model 1911 , short M. 11, were ever made. It could fire 10 to 12 rounds per hour and the 30,5 cm caliber howitzer had an effective firing range of 9600 meters – maximum range was 11300 meters.
Today only 4 Skoda 305 mm Model 1911 survive. This particularly was photographed in Rovereto, Italy. It was on display next to the “The memory of the great war and modern conflicts” museum.
As mentioned before, the Skoda gun on display is a 305/10 type gun, which means it was a 30,5 cm caliber mortar, produced in 1911. It weighs an impressive 20 tons. It was developed to penetrate bunkers and concrete buildings in the first world war. It could penetrate up to 2 meters of reinforced concrete.
The gun stands in front of the entrance of the museum, it should be easy to find.
