15 cm Field howitzer Artillery Fuze Setter for Dopp. Z 15 fuze

Steel hand-held tool for manually adjusting the fuze on an artillery projectile. The device is 285 mm long, 120 mm wide, and has a maximium depth of 25mm. It consists of a fluted handle 150 mm in length, to which is attached a roughly circular metal collar. Inset into the collar is a rotating steel ring. A knurled adjustment knob at the top of the device moves a pointer, which is inset into a graduated quadrant. The device is inscribed with range from 1000 to 4000 metres, and seconds from 2 to 42. Inscribed into the upperpost part of the device is 'Stellschlüssel f s FH' (adjustment key for heavy field Howitzer) and '(15 cm Gr 12)'

The fuze type is inscribed on the handle as a 'Dopp L 15' . This was a 'Doppelzunder 15' time and percussion fuze. This fuze type had three settings: time, and percusssion with and without delay. The device is stamped with the number '1538', which probably conforms to the number of the parent howitzer.

This device was used by German artillerymen operating a 15 cm heavy field howitzer to manually adjust a shell fuze based on time of flight, range and bursting charge.