training entry question

[Radcollector]

Hello,

I have a wehrpass for a man in 2.schw.Art.Ers-Abt (mot) 53. he was trained on I.F.H 18 standard 105mm howitzer and S.F.H 18 standard 150mm howitzer.I assumed a mot. Art Btl would be equiped with self propelled art. yet he has no training for this?am i wrong in assuming that a (mot) art. unit is self propelled art.?

Yancy

[Brad Haner]

Yancy,I know I will be quickly corrected if I am wrong,I believe that it would depend on what year his training was in,and where his traing occured.I have read several wehrpass that have similar enteries,it perplexed me as well.I just finished a book called Soldat by Seigfried Knappe,and he addresses this issue.His explanation boiled down to there were not enough in service to be giving them to train with.

[Gary T]

Hi,

lFH (l is leichte - light) is the 105mm, sFH (s for schwere - heavy) is the 150mm.

A motorised artillery unit used exactly the same weapons as a horse drawn unit...it was the method of towing that was different - trucks and gun tractors for any artillery unit designated 'mot.' and horses for the run of the mill infantry division artillery regiment.

What you are thinking of is self propelled artillery (sfl.) - Wespes and Hummels. These were very much the exception to the rule - only 1 battalion in each panzer division artillery regiment was supposed to be equipped with these from 1942 onwards. Additionally the actual artillery pieces on these weapons were exactly the same as the towed pieces (105 - Wespe, 150 - Hummel) - of course without the gun carriage!

HTH,
Gary.

[Radcollector]

Hello Gary,

thanks for clearing that up-I had IFH (105mm) and SFH (150mm)wrong in my post but right when i wrote it down in my notes-i need to start proof reading my threads before I post them!BTW I found this info on your website!you also answered what would have been my next question and that is wouldnt all art. units be considered motorized besides horsedrawn ones?So it is safe to assume that all wehrpass unit entires for Art. units are horsedrawn unless designated (mot).or (sfl)

Yancy