The 10,5 cm gun was for a long time the standard medium gun of the Swiss forts. It was originally based on a Bofors design of the thirties which was introduced in the field army before World War Two. Several versions were in use in the forts until the eighties. Fort Champex was equipped with two of these guns that had to cover the Great Saint Bernard Pass. So in fact they fired frontally, but nevertheless the barrels were exposed.

The 10,5 cm gun had originally a conical shaped breechblock and used powder bags. However the two guns of Champex, like most other fortress gun, had a horizontal sliding breechblock. Therefore they used cartridge cases, but had a higher rate of fire. The guns had a range of 18,5 km. The ring around the barrel end is often confused with a muzzle brake. However in fact it is designed to attach a velocity meter. The initial velocity of the shell was measures and transmitted to the central command post of the fort.

For more information about the fort please visit www.profort.ch.