| 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 | |
|---|---|
 Preserved sFH 18 howitzer at CFB Borden, Ontario, Canada | |
| Type | Howitzer |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1934–1945 (Germany) |
| Used by | Germany See Operators |
| Wars | World War II Second Sino-Japanese War Portuguese Colonial War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krupp Rheinmetall |
| Designed | 1926–1930 |
| Manufacturer | Krupp, Rheinmetall, Spreewerke, M.A.N. and Skoda |
| Unit cost | 40,400 RM (1944) |
| Produced | 1933–1945 |
| No. built | 6,756[1] |
| Variants | sFH 18M |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Travel: 6,304 kg (13,898 lb) Combat: 5,512 kg (12,152 lb) |
| Length | 7.849 m (25 ft 9.0 in) |
| Barrel length | 4.440 m (14 ft 6.8 in) L/29.5 |
| Width | 2.225 m (7 ft 3.6 in) |
| Height | 1.707 m (5 ft 7.2 in) |
| Crew | 7[2] |
| Shell | 149 mm × 260 R Separate loading cased charge |
| Shell weight | 43.52 kg (95.9 lb) (HE) |
| Caliber | 149 mm (5.9 in) |
| Breech | horizontal sliding-block |
| Recoil | hydro-pneumatic |
| Carriage | split trail |
| Elevation | 0° to +45° |
| Traverse | 60° |
| Rate of fire | 4 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 520 m/s (1,700 ft/s) |
| Maximum firing range | 13,325 m (14,572 yd) RAP: 18,200 m (19,900 yd) |
| Sights | Model 1934 Sighting Mechanism |
The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 or sFH 18 (German: "heavy field howitzer, model 18"), nicknamed Immergrün ("Evergreen"),[3] was the basic German division-level heavy howitzer of 149mm during the Second World War, serving alongside the smaller but more numerous 10.5 cm leFH 18. Its mobility and firing range and the effectiveness of its 44 kilogram shell made it the most important weapon of all German infantry divisions.[4] A total of 6,756 examples were produced.[1]
It replaced the earlier, First World War-era design of the 15 cm sFH 13, which was judged by the Krupp-Rheinmetall designer team of the sFH 18 as completely inadequate.[4] The sFH 18 was twice as heavy as its predecessor, had a muzzle velocity increase of forty percent, a maximum firing range 4.5 kilometers greater, and a new split-trail gun carriage that increased the firing traverse twelvefold.[4] The secret development from 1926–1930 allowed German industry to deliver a trouble-free design at the beginning of German re-armament in 1933.[4] It was the first artillery weapon equipped with rocket-assisted ammunition to increase range. The sFH 18 was also used in the self-propelled artillery piece schwere Panzerhaubitze 18/1 (more commonly known as Hummel).
The sFH 18 was one of Germany's three main 15 cm calibre weapons, the others being the 15 cm Kanone 18, a corps-level heavy gun, and the 15 cm sIG 33, a short-barreled infantry gun.