The cannon da 65/17 model 13 was developed for difficult terrain and bad weather. It was horse drawn and could be disassembled into 5 pieces. A folding gun shield was added in 1935. The gun was in use from 1913. da 65/17 means it had a 65 mm caliber barrel with 17 times its caliber length. It fired low-trajectory shots.
It was also used as main armament in the Fiat 2000 heavy tank, only 2 were made during World War One. As artillery piece it was used by the Alpini, the mountain troops of the Italian army. It was a light artillery piece but reliable and favored by the infantry as well. It was in use throughout World War Two as close support weapon and due to its low weight used at be back of trucks in an anti-tank role.
It had an effective firing range of 6,8 Kilometers and fired a 4,3 kilogram shell. It was built by Royal Army Arsenal of Naples from 1911, in service from 1913 until 1945.
