German Artillery

Heavy artillery

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Crew posing with a 17 cm Kanone 18 in Mörserlafette, probably in a training exercise. The 17 cm Kanone 18 in Mörserlafette (17 cm Cannon 18 on Heavy Gun Carriage), was a German heavy artillery piece used during World War II. It was of the "double recoil" or dual-recoil carriage, the normal recoil forces were initially taken up by a conventional recoil mechanism close to the barrel, and then by a carriage sliding along rails set inside the travelling carriage. The dual-recoil mechanism absorbed all of the recoil energy with virtually no movement upon firing, thus making for a very accurate weapon.