The 10.5 cm leFH 18M ( "light field howitzer") was a German light howitzer used in the Second World War. The gun, less the carriage and shield, was also used as the armament of the Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe self-propelled artillery vehicle. It was an improved version of the 10.5cm leFH 18 howitzer that offered superior range.Bishop, Chris. The encyclopedia of weapons of world War II. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002, p.144
History The 10.5 cm leFH 18M superseded the 10.5 cm leFH 18 as the standard German divisional field howitzer used during the Second World War. It was designed and developed by Rheinmetall after the war broke out in an effort to get more range from the basic leFH 18 design. A muzzle brake was fitted and the recoil system adjusted to allow the use of a more powerful charge and new long-range shell. Generally it did not equip independent artillery battalions until after the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943. 53 were also exported to Finland, where they were known as 105 H 33.
During the Syrian Civil War, some rebel groups such as the Islamic Front and Ahrar al-Sham seized some guns and ammunition from museums or Syrian Arab Army warehouses.
Description Many were converted from the 10.5 cm leFH 18 and retained their original wood-spoked or pressed steel wheels. The former were only suitable for horse traction. Initially, it was fitted with a single-baffle muzzle brake of relatively low efficiency. This was later improved by welding two protruding ears to the rear of the port. However this style of muzzle brake proved troublesome with the early designs of high velocity anti-tank shells and a new cage-type muzzle brake was designed and fitted.
The new FH Gr Fern long-range shell was about longer than the normal shells used by the leFH 18 guns, but had a shorter streamlined section behind the driving band to accommodate the larger powder charge required. This fit in the standard cartridge case, but protruded about past its mouth.
Ballistically, the 10.5 cm leFH 18M and the leFH 18/40 are identical.
Operators
– Supplied by Nazi Germany. Saw use during the Portuguese Colonial War − Supplied by Czechoslovakia. Saw limited use during the Syrian Civil War
See also 10.5 cm leFH 16, a field howitzer used by Germany in World War I and World War II 10.5 cm leFH 18, previous version of the leFH 18/M 10.5 cm leFH 18/40, a light howitzer mounted on a 7.5 cm PaK 40 antitank gun carriage, used by Germany in World War II Wespe, a self-propelled gun based on a leFH 18/M mounted on a modified Panzer II chassis, used by Germany in World War II
Notes
Sources Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997