7.5 cm Krupp M1903 Field gun (Turkey)

Light field artillery piece. Horizontal sliding breech. Steel box carriage, with two wooden spoked wheels. Breech is stamped with the gun number: 35, and Friedrich Krupp, Essen, 1913. The weight of the barrel assembly '344kg' is also stamped into the face of the breech.

The gun has a splinter proof shield. This is pierced on the extreme right hand side in a number of places, particularly near the barrel. The shield appears to have sustained considerable damage while in service, and has been extensively repaired with three rivetted plates, applied on both surfaces of the shield. The barrel has been scarred with shrapnel hits. Wheels are unpainted. The brake assemblies are both stamped with the gun number: 35, while the left brake has the addidtional number '5' stamped into it, and the right hand side has the number '6' stamped. Barrel is slightly flared, and is stopped with a brass tompion.

Tow hitch on the carriage is stamped with the carriage number: 25204 and the Krupp logo of three intertwined circles. The recoil assembly is leeching considerable amounts of oil. The gun has a standard panoramic sight holder attaced on the left side of the breech. There is no sight attached, however, and the handwheel for making coarse adjustment is missing. The gun is missing its wooden seats. However, the four-flanged steel seat supports are still extant. There is shrapnel damage on the range drum, the scale gradations of which are marked with Turkish numbers.

This gun is currently on outdoor display at the Royal Military College, Duntroon.

This Krupp export model field gun was captured by the 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment near Amman on the 25th of September, 1918. After Amman had been occupied by the Anzac Mounted Divison the Turks retreated northwards along the Hejas railway and the Pilgrim route, utterly disorgenized and harassed by aeroplanes and the predatory Bedouin. Pursuing them, the Anzacs captured 5,000 prisoners and 28 guns, of which this is one.

The breech mechanism is the wedge type. Its carriage permits of a small amount of traverse, and of elevation by telescopic screw to 25 degrees; the quadrant elevation and tangent elevation are independent, allowing the angle of sight and range to be set independently. Note that the carriage has been pierced, the barrel scarred and the wheels splintered by shell fragments.