7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.

7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art
A captured FK 96 n.A. on display at the War memorial of Pébrac, Loire
Type	Field gun
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
Used by	Kingdom of Bulgaria Estonia Finland German Empire Latvia Lithuania Second Polish Republic Ottoman Empire
Wars	World War I
Production history
No. built	5,086
Specifications
Weight	1,020 kg (2,250 lb)
Barrel length	2.080 m (6 ft 10 in) L/27
Width	1.53 m (5 ft)
Crew	5
Shell	separate loading, cased charge
Shell weight	6.8 kilograms (15 lb)
Caliber	77 mm (3 in)
Breech	horizontal sliding wedge
Recoil	hydro-spring
Carriage	pole trail
Elevation	-12° 56' to +15° 8'
Traverse	7° 15'
Rate of fire	10 rpm
Muzzle velocity	465 m/s (1,530 ft/s)
Effective firing range	5,500 m (6,000 yd)
Maximum firing range	8,400 m (9,200 yd) with trail dug in

The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art (7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.) was a field gun used by Germany in World War I.

The gun combined the barrel of the earlier 7.7 cm FK 96 with a recoil system, a new breech and a new carriage. Existing FK 96s were upgraded over time. The FK 96 n.A. was shorter-ranged, but lighter than the French Canon de 75 modèle 1897 or the British Ordnance QF 18 pounder gun; the Germans placed a premium on mobility, which served them well during the early stages of World War I. However, once the front had become static, the greater rate of fire of the French gun and the heavier shells fired by the British gun put the Germans at a disadvantage. The Germans remedied this by developing the longer-ranged, but heavier 7.7 cm FK 16.

As with most guns of its era, the FK 96 n.A. had seats for two crewmen mounted on its splinter shield. Guns taken into service by Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia upon independence in 1919 served until replaced during the 1930s.

It mainly used the K.Z. 11 time fuze or the later L.K.Z. 16 contact fuze.