German designations of foreign artillery in World War II
During World War II, Germany maintained comprehensive lists of enemy weapons which were given designations in German in a system that matched that of German weapons. When these weapons were captured and put into use with German forces, they were referred to by these designations.
Background
Before the war began, the German armed forces Heereswaffenamt compiled a list of known foreign equipment and assigned a unique number to each weapon. These weapons were called Fremdgerät or Beutegerät and their technical details were recorded in a fourteen-volume set that was periodically updated. The Germans also captured large amounts of foreign equipment during WWII that they tested and cataloged using the same system. The Germans sometimes referred to these weapons as Kriegsbeute and the Fremdgerät numbers are sometimes referred to as Beutenummern. See also Glossary of German military terms.| Volumes | German | Content |
| D.50/1 | Handwaffen | Pistols, rifles and sub-machine guns |
| D.50/2 | Maschinengewehre | Light and heavy machine guns |
| D.50/3 | Werfer | Mortars |
| D.50/4 | Leichte Geschütze | Light artillery |
| D.50/5 | Schwere Geschütze | Heavy artillery |
| D.50/6 | Schwerste Geschütze | Siege and railway artillery |
| D.50/12 | Kraftfahrzeuge | Vehicles |
| D.50/14 | Pioniergeräte | Engineering equipment and explosives |
Designation format
The format for these designations is made up of the following elements:- Calibre expressed in centimetres
- The type of weapon
- A model number or year
- In the absence of a model or year number, a unique number was assigned.
- A subvariant is indicated with a number after a "/".
- A letter indicating the national origin of the weapon.
| Letter code | German | English |
| Amerikanisch | American | |
| Belgisch | Belgian | |
| Dänisch | Danish | |
| Englisch | English | |
| Französisch | French | |
| Griechisch | Greek | |
| Holländisch | Dutch | |
| Italienisch | Italian | |
| Jugoslawisch | Yugoslavian | |
| Norwegisch | Norwegian | |
| Österreichisch | Austrian | |
| Polnisch | Polish | |
| Russisch | Russian | |
| Schweizerisch | Swiss | |
| Tschechisch | Czechoslovak | |
| Ungarisch | Hungarian |
German artillery types
| Short designation | Full designation | English |
| K. | Kanone | Gun/Cannon |
| s. K. / s.K. | schwere Kanone | Heavy Gun/Cannon |
| KH. | Kanonenhaubitze | Gun-howitzer |
| K. auf Sfl. | Kanone auf Selbstfahrlafette | Gun on self-propelled mount |
| Kst.K. | Küstenkanone | Coastal cannon |
| Short designation | Full designation | English |
| H. | Haubitze | Howitzer |
| s.H. | schwere Haubitze | Heavy howitzer |
| Mrs. | Mörser | Heavy mortar |
| kz. Mrs. | kurze Mörser | Short heavy mortar |
| Mrs. auf Sfl. | Mörser auf Selbstfahrlafette | Heavy mortar on self-propelled mount |
| Kst.Mrs. | Küstenmörser | Coastal heavy mortar |
| Short designation | Full designation | English |
| FK. | Feldkanone | Field gun |
| le.FK. | leichte Feldkanone | Light field gun |
| le.FH. | leichte Feldhaubitze | Light field howitzer |
| s.FH. | schwere Feldhaubitze | Heavy field howitzer |
| Short designation | Full designation | English |
| K. | Kanone | Railroad gun |
| K.-Gl.- | Kanone in Gleitlafette | Railroad gun |
| K.-W.- | Kanone in Wiegenlafette | Railroad gun |
| Kst.K. | Küstenkanone | Coastal defense railroad gun |
| H. | Haubitze | Railroad howitzer |
| Short designation | Full designation | English |
| GrW | Granatwerfer | Mortar |
| Fest.GrW | Festungsgranatwerfer | Fortress mortar |
| Grb.GrW | Grabengranatenwerfer | Trench mortar |
| Geb.GrW | Gebirgsgranatwerfer | Mountain mortar |
| Sp.GrW | Spatengranatwerfer | Spade mortar |
| MnW | Minenwerfer | Mortar |
| NbW | Nebelwerfer | Smoke mortar |
| Kw.NbW | Kampfwagennebelwerfer | Tank smoke mortar |
| Br.KgW | Brandkugelwerfer | Ampoule thrower |
| Short designation | Full designation | English |
| Geb.K. | Gebirgskanone | Mountain gun |
| Geb.H. | Gebirgshaubitze | Mountain howitzer |
| le.Geb.H. | leichte Gebirgshaubitze | Light mountain howitzer |
| Short designation | Full designation | English |
| FlaK | Flugabwehrkanone | Anti-aircraft gun |
| PaK Fest.PaK | Panzerabwehrkanone Festungspanzerabwehrkanone | Anti-tank cannon Fortress anti-tank cannon |
| KwK KwK auf Kas.Laf. | Kampfwagenkanone Kampfwagenkanone auf Kasematelafette | Tank cannon Casemate gun |
| SK | Schnelladekanone in Drehscheibenlafette | Quick-loading naval cannon in turntable mount |
| IG. IK. IKH. | Infanteriegeschütz Infanteriekanone Infanteriekanonehaubitze | Infantry gun Infantry gun Infantry gun-howitzer |
Sort by Letter Code/Country
(i)/Italy
Other howitzers
Note: This is a general desgination to a variety of howitzer; except for infantry, mountain, and field howitzers.Mortars
Without number designation
| Short Designation | Weapon | Cal. | Image | Notes |
| 8.14 cm GrW 33 | Brandt Mle 27/31 | 8.14 | ||
| 4.6 cm GrW 36 | Granatnik wz.36 | 4.6 | ||
| 8.14 cm GrW 31 | wz. 31 | 8.14 | ||
| 14 cm MnW 18 | 14 cm hrubý minomet vz. 18 | 14 | ||
| 8 cm GrW M.36 | 8 cm minomet vz. 36 | 8 |