Cannone da 149/35 A

Cannone da 149/35 A

Company type	Heavy artillery
Industry	Military
Founded	c. 1900
Area served	Italy, North Africa, France, Balkans
Products	Artillery piece

The Cannone da 149/35 A was a heavy artillery piece utilized by Italy throughout both World War I and World War II. Introduced around the year 1900, it was already considered outdated upon deployment. Notably, this gun lacked any form of recoil absorption system and was incapable of traversing horizontally. Instead, after firing, the weapon rolled backward up two ramps located behind its wheels and required manual realignment before firing again. To mitigate recoil forces and improve mobility over soft terrain, wheel plates were installed. Despite these significant limitations, its low production cost and simplicity led to widespread manufacturing and extensive deployment during World War I. By June 1940, approximately 895 units remained in Italian service and were actively employed in World War II across Italy and North Africa, as well as for coastal defense roles in France and the Balkans. Following Italy's surrender in 1943, any units captured by German forces appear to have been discarded or left unused, as there is no documentation of their incorporation into German arsenals.

This model was designed to supersede the older Cannone da 149/23, which had been part of the Italian military inventory since 1882.

References

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

External links

149/35A howitzer positioned in the Carnian Alps during World War I

Lateral perspective of a 15 GRC Ret (subsequently identified as Cannone da 149G and it:149/23), originating from 1882