Despite its interesting ballistic properties, the 10cm K 99 was quickly overcome by the absence of a modern recuperator mechanism. The German Army therefore asked Ehrardt to design a new gun of the same caliber and properties but equipped with this apparatus and not needing a platform.

The model proposed by Ehrardt in 1902 was not found convincing, but meanwhile the challenge was particularly well accepted by Krupp whose 10cm modern gun was adopted under the name '10 cm K 04' ('K' = Kanone = Canon), inheriting some of the developpments this company made for the modern 15cm sFH 02 howitzer.

The gun used fixed ammunitions and was equipped with a recoil system and a long tube quasi-identical to the one of the 10cm K 99, inclmuding the typical vertical sliding block breech mechanism. There was no shield, at the expenses of the servants safety.

Its precision, range and fire rate made this gun one of the best assets of the German Army, who will use it on all the battlefields for different types of missions, and will continuously manufacture new ones until the end of the war, despite the apparition of the newest versions 10cm K 14 and 10cm K 17. This gun was incorporated in the units of the Fuss Artillerie

Germany entered the war with 182 such guns. At the end of the war, it had 484 10cm K04.

Main characteristics :

• Poids en position : 2800 kg
• Calibre : 105.2 mm
• Longueur du tube : 29.8 calibres
• Number of grooves : 32
• Projectile weight : 16.1 / 18.75 kg
• Initial velocity : 560 / 551 m/s
• Maximum range: 10200 / 12700 m
• Elevation range : max +30 degrees
• Direction range : 4 degrees total range