The howitzer here on Peanut Island had disappeared for much of 2018. It was home to a very well camo'd hide for a good number of years, until earlier this year when the big gun was reported MIA from Peanut Island. The original cache was archived at that point.
As I was out in the area today to confirm that a cache of mine was missing, I was surprised to see the howitzer had returned to it's original spot. It appears that a little cosmetic maintenance had been performed in it's absence. This would present a nice opportunity to renew an old cache placement spot.
The Japanese Type 91 105mm howitzer was based on the French Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider howitzers ordered during the late 1920s by the Japanese Army Technical Bureau for evaluation purposes. The Type 91 saw action in the Second Sino-Japanese War and WWII. The Osaka Arsenal made some 1100 of these commencing in 1931; however the first 300 Type 91s were made by Schneider. It was smaller and lighter than its American and German counterparts. It had a split trail carriage and interrupted screw breech mechanism. Early carriages had wooden spoke wheels; while later ones had steel wheels with pneumatic tires.