95 mm Smoothbore Cannon (Turkey)

95mm smoothbore artillery piece, carriage serial number 243 (in Arabic script), with an horizontal acting, screw operated, Krupp-style breech block. The barrel is elevated by means of a horizontal handwheel acting on a steel threaded rod, which is attached at its upper end to the underside of the barrel, and at its lower end to a horizontal bar which is clamped onto the carriage. The clamps can be easily undone, presumably so that the entire barrel can be unshipped and made to lie close to the carriage, for transportation.

On the left side of the gun carriage, near the trunnion is attached a brass clinometer, with gradations in both European and Arabic numbers, from 45 degrees to 80 degrees. The gun has a steel carriage, fabricated from two side plates of '[' angle, joined together with steel transoms. The carriage is of rivetted construction, and is fitted with two twelve spoked wooden wheels with steel tyres. At the extreme front of the carriage is a steel "foot" which is mounted on the carriage with a pivot on each side. The foot appears to be designed to lift the carriage (in the absence of wheels) so the barrel can fire over a parapet. The foot is locked to the carriage in its downward configuration with a pair of removable bars which fit into a brackets on each side of the carrige. The rear towing hitch has been removed and replaced by a large diameter pin. Each side of the carriage is pierced with a large 100mm diameter holes. These may be associated with the process of unshipping the barrel and locking it into its travel position. The barrel, carriage and wheels are thickly covered with a semi flat olive green paint. The breech block is unpainted. The breech is also unpainted, but is covered with a thin brown corrosion layer. Stamped into the breech block is the number '291'. Stamped onto the barrel of the gun is '10TH LIGHT HORSE PERTH W. AUSTRALIA'.

This gun was one of a number captured by the 10th Light Horse Regiment from the Turks in Palestine. The Regiment's war diary mentions the capture of guns during the Gaza-Beersheba battles, with 3 captured on 8 November.

The barrel of this example is somewhat similar to the Krupp 9 cm C/73, with the same screw operated sliding breech block. It difffers, however, in having the right side of the breech cut away, which allowed more rapid loading and ejection of shell cases. The barrel is smooth bored, of 95 mm, capable of firing a 30 Ib projectile to a distance of 5,000 meters. The piece seems to have been an archaic piece at the time of capture, with no recoil system, and rudimetary sights. It is thought that before firing its wheels were removed and it laid in a bed formed by its carriage. It could be loaded only in a horizontal position and two special collars provided with flats on the circumference permitted the barrel to be quickly depressed from its high angle attitude for this purpose.

The remains of an identical model are on display at Mount Morgan, Qld. This gun has the number 291 and the place of manufacture stamped into the barrel: Karlsruhe 1872. It is probable that the Memorial's breech block came from that gun at some stage.