Canon de 120mm L mle 1931

The Canon de 12 cm L mle 1931 was a medium field gun made and used by Belgium in World War II. Captured guns were taken into Wehrmacht service after the surrender of Belgium in May 1940 as the 12 cm K 370(b) where it was generally used on coast defense duties.

Canon de 12 cm L mle 1931
In the Atlantic Wall Open Air Museum
Type	medium field gun
Place of origin	Belgium
Service history
In service	1934-~ 1950
Used by	Belgium Nazi Germany Norway
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Cockerill
Manufacturer	Cockerill
No. built	48
Specifications
Mass	5,450 kilograms (12,020 lb)
Barrel length	4.426 metres (14.52 ft) L/37
Shell	21.93 kilograms (48.3 lb)
Caliber	120 mm (4.72 in)
Carriage	Split trail
Elevation	0° to +38° 30'
Traverse	60°
Rate of fire	1 rpm
Muzzle velocity	760 m/s (2,493 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	17,500 metres (19,100 yd)

It was rather heavy for its size, but had a good range. The split trail had large spades that had to be pounded into the ground to anchor the weapon in place.

See also

• BL 4.5 inch
• 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19)

References

Media related to Canon de 120 L mle 1931 at Wikimedia Commons

• 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 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
• Chamberlain, Peter & Gander, Terry. Heavy Artillery. New York: Arco, 1975 ISBN 0-668-03898-5

setting of the Belgian FRC 120 mm mle 1931 gun of the 26A regiment of the Belgian army.