The first eight were built for coastal defence and attack of battleships. They were quickly transferred to heavy siege duty on the eastern fronts. The last gun (seen here) became the largest artillery piece of the new Czechoslovakian Army. The version here is how the gun would have looked in 1919 right after the Great War. As a footnote of history the gun was eventually acquired by the Nazis after the takeover of Czechoslovakia, and used against the Maginot Line in France, and at the siege of Sevastapol USSR. Strangely the box art on the kit shows two gun at Sevastapol, but only one existed.
The kit is by Takom (kit #2018) is in 1:35 scale, and is larger than most tank kits. Colours are Tamiya spray cans and Vallejo acrylic airbrush paints and powders.
This is a fantastic kit with well thought out engineering. The plastic barrel is even rifled! The only problem is the pivot point for the gun body on the cradle/carriage - these are molded as a single part on each side, but need to be separate so the whole cradle can be assembled and painted without the gun in place. I cut them off to do this.
Random Facts about the 1917 howitzer in Czech army service...
Calibre 420mm
Min/Max Elevation +40° / +70°
Traverse 360
Total Weight 112.7 tonnes
Shell weight 1000 kg
Crew approx. 200 officers and men
Time to Assemble / Disassemble 12-40 hours / 12-26 hours
Rate of fire approx. 1 shell per eight minutes
Max. Range 12.7 km
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
A real one...
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
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| SKODA M.1917 HEAVY HOWITZER |
