Hi.
I´d like to start a series of articles on very less known japanese equipment. This is part 1:
During the russo-japanese war 1904/05 the japanese army realised that there was a lack of heavy artillery avaliable for attacks on fortresses and heavy field fortifications. This lead to the decision to introduce a heavy fortress howitzer which could be disassembled for transport.
In 1912 the type Meiji 45 240 mm howitzer was introduced.
The gun could be disassembled in 8 loads which had to be transported by horse or trucks. As the loads were heavy (up to 6 t) transport was problematic especially as most roads were in bad shape. Cross-country transport was even more problematic. So the guns were rated only semi-transportable.
In the late 1920th large efforts were made to mechanise the army. This includes also mechanisation of heavy artillery pieces like the type Meiji 45 240 mm howitzers and the type Taisho 7 305 mm howitzers.
In 1933 the type 92 8t prime mover for loads up to 7t was introduced. With this vehicle the transport of the type Meiji 45 howitzer on many terrains became possible.
The next step was to develop a standardised heavy loads trailer with compareable cross-country abilities. This was done until 1934.
Yours
tom!
