Obice da 210/22

Ansaldo

Industry	Arms manufacturing
Headquarters	Pozzuoli , Italy
Products	Artillery, including Obice da 210/22 modello 35 howitzer

The Obice da 210/22 modello 35 was a heavy howitzer developed in Italy by the Italian Arms and Munitions Technical Service (STAM) and officially adopted by the Royal Italian Army in 1938. Although an order for 346 units was placed, production proceeded slowly, with only about 85 pieces completed by September 1943 at Ansaldo's factory in Pozzuoli. Following Italy’s armistice, German forces seized as many of these artillery pieces as possible, and a northern Italian plant continued limited manufacturing for the German military. The weapon featured a four-wheeled split trail carriage that lifted off the ground during firing. Its breech was mounted on trunnions beneath to optimize recoil absorption and allow for a high elevation angle.

Derivatives and designations

• 21 cm 39.M: Hungarian designation assigned to units acquired from Italy.
• 21 cm 40.M: Version produced in Hungary incorporating modifications to the carriage.
• 21 cm 41.M: Hungary’s final iteration of the howitzer, entering production in 1943.
• 21 cm Haubitze 520(i): German nomenclature for captured Italian guns post-1943 surrender, which remained in production until war’s end.

See also

• List of artillery

References

• Hogg, Ian V. Twentieth-Century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2000 ISBN 0-7607-1994-2
• Archived webpage: https://web.archive.org/web/20170401233549/http://ww2photo.se/gun/ita/ha/210-22.htm