| Shovel Feldspaten | |
|---|---|
| |
| General Historical Information | |
| Type | Melee |
| Effective range | 1–2 m |
| Rate of Fire | User dependent |
| General Ingame Information | |
| Used by | Various |
| |
The Shovel is a melee weapon in FHSW. It is based on the Kleines Schanzzeug or Feldspaten shovel that was issued in Germany during the war. Compared to a regular shovel it is smaller to be easier to carry in the field. The design hadn't changed much since the 19th century and the original design had been used concurrently since the 19th century. Russia and the countries that became of it after the Soviet Union had been established, such as Finland used a similiar shovel model. Japan copied the 19th century design from Germany as the japanese military took inspiration from the German armed forces as a whole.
In-game[]
This weapon functions similarly to a knife and is used exclusively by the Axis forces, mostly with the engineer class.
While not usable, the Japanese engineer carries the shovel according to regulations, shovel head and shaft not mounted on each other but bound to the backpack with straps (Not present on the model and the current model at the time had a spoon shaped shovel head).
The latest shovel in the Japanese army during the war was the type 98 Entrenching Tool. The special feature of it was that it could be used as cover. Since the shovel head was made from the same steel as body armour used at the time. The sleeve of it for the wooden handle was shaped like a stake to also be able to be set firmly in the ground. Two small peepholes could be looked through while being in cover.
Trivia[]
During the war folding shovels were issued, as they took up even less space on backpacks and other carrying systems. The German klappspaten was the first out of the major powers, the design which was later copied and became the US M43 Shovel. As early as 1909 an Japanese inventor offered a folding shovel design but it was rejected and the Japanese military stuck with the more traditional design.