Krupp 546
Krupp 546 is a 75mm Field Artillery Gun. Restored and unveiled to the public on 31 October 2018, on the centenary of the cessation of hostilities on the Eastern Front. New wheels of American White Ash with metal tyres fitted. Badly corroded metal and new metal was sandblasted and painted a deep brown colour to match original bore-water stained barrel. Two wooden stools are situated at the back of the gun and a latched compartment is located nearby on central column. New cushions were made for the travelling seats at the front of the gun, construced from rag felt underlay covered with grey canvas which was tinted using shellac to subdue effect of new fabric. Shock absorber and springs were removed, with one of four being shattered. Three full springs, one broken piece and one shim have been returned to the casing and the remaining broken pieces have been kept outside to illustrate the story of what was probably a fatal blow to the gun. Original shield remains with single major dent from battle on RHS. Finger-sized hole in recuperator retained.
We do not know where it was used before the outbreak of what we call the Great War 1914-1918 but we do know that it was captured as a trophy by the Australian Light Horse on the eastern front, probably in 1918, at the end of what we call the Desert War (Middle East/Syria/Palestine). It was shipped to Melbourne with many other trophies, mainly artillery and machine guns, in 1919. In 1920 the West Australian Trophy Committee allotted 546 to the Pingelly Road Board. It was shipped to Fremantle on the Katoomba in April 1921 and put on a train to Pingelly. It appears in photographs at the Pingelly Memorial Park in proximity to the Memorial Rotunda. Work on the park began in 1922 and there was an official opening of the Memorial Park on Sunday 28 March 1926. At some point it disappears from view and without fanfare was removed from the Memorial Gardens. The next record of the gun is in a photograph taken at Mussel Pool picnic area, on land owned by the late Lew Whiteman. In 2011 as the significance of the object was realised, it was removed from the public arena into storage. In light of its degraded condition and in recognition of the gun’s significance, the park made the decision to restore the gun to dignity and the process of conservation and restoration was commenced. It is currently on display at Revolutions Transport Museum.
Details
Details
Breech shows makers name, date and number in Ottoman language.
This one is the 1905 pattern and was part of an order for over 600, for the Ottoman Empire (also now known as the Turkish Empire or Turkey).
