122 mm M1909 Field Howitzer

A Russian 122 mm field howitzer. The gun has an horizontal sliding breech block, (missing) and a curved steel splinter shield. A steel box trail of rivetted construction mounts an axle on which are supported two wooden spoked wheels with iron rims, each wheel of 12 spokes. The gun is missing the wooden portion of the left hand side layer's seat. The bright metal components on the breech and on the sight supports show slight uniform surface corrosion. The breech is engraved with the gun number: 251. A Cyrillic inscription is engraved on the uppermost part of the barrel, forward of the breech. The gun is painted greyish green. Recoil was limited by an oil buffer and recuperation achieved by springs. Angles up to 45 degrees of elevation were provided for, and obtained by means of a telescopic screw mounted under the recuperator. The gun is sometimes described as a '48 line' gun. This is a reference to its calibre of 48 lines of 1/10 inch.

Originally manufactured in Russia to a German (Krupp) design, this gun had been captured and put into service by the Turkish Army. It was subsequently re-captured by the Australian 4th Light Horse in Palestine. The exact circumstances of its capture are unknown. The 4th Light Horse War diaries show that considerable numbers of comparable light field artillery were captured, particularly in October 1918 near Damascus.