Lapotnaya Empire and WWII Artillery. Lapotnaya Empire and WWI Artillery Longest firing range, m

Did you know that the American Expeditionary Force in WWII was armed almost exclusively with French artillery?
And I'm not even talking about the Italians who tested carbide guns. Naturally, they haven’t sold them normal guns yet..
Well, the three-inch bast shoe empire, after some modifications, survived until the Second World War.
At the beginning of WWII, there were about 4,500 three-inch guns of the 1902/30 model in the Red Army units.
And if the mighty Soviet industry were concerned with the production of an armor-piercing projectile...
But she had no time. Therefore, according to German tanks three-inch guns fired shrapnel.
It’s all the fault of rotten tsarism, the bastards didn’t prepare armor-piercing weapons.
And the Mosin rifle served throughout the Second World War and was supplanted only by the Kalash.
But not just a three-inch gun, although it is recognized as the best divisional gun of WWII...

12" howitzer model 1915 in the workshop of the Petrograd Metal Plant

Original taken from kosmodesantnick in Artillery of the Great War. Special power
It is quite possible that I am the first person to notice the following very remarkable fact:

In total, during the entire Great War the German Empire produced 15 mortars: 5 (five) 42 cm (420 mm) long-barreled mortars Gamma Mörser (aka kurze Marinekanone 12) and 10 (ten) 42 cm (420 mm) short-barreled mortars Minenwerfer Gerät (aka kurze Marinekanone 14); and 4 guns: 4 (four) 30.5 cm (305 mm) guns ("L/30 Beta-M-Gerät"). Almost all the rest of the special-power artillery of the Imperial German Army was either manufactured before the war, or was not originally intended for use on the land front.

Total Germany during 1914-1918. 19 (nineteen) artillery systems of special power were newly manufactured.

And in "backward" Russian Empire The state-owned Obukhov Steel Foundry, for the period from 08/13/1915 to 01/01/1917, produced 33 (thirty-three) 12"" (305 mm) howitzers (siege) of the 1915 model.

In total, during the 16 months of the war, Russia re-manufactured 33 (thirty-three) artillery systems of special power.

Some notes:

1. In total, from 1897 to 1914, 12 Beta devices and 7 Gamma devices were produced in Germany:

9 (nine) 30.5 cm (305 mm) coastal mortars of the 1897 model (Küstenmörser 97 or Beta Gerät)
2 (two) 30.5 cm (305 mm) heavy coastal mortars of the 1909 model (schwere Küstenmörser 09 or Beta 09 Gerät)
One (1) 30.5 cm (305 mm) Beta howitzer on an I.R. wheeled carriage. (Haubitze Beta in Räderlafette)
5 (five) 42 cm (420 mm) long-barreled mortars Gamma Mörser (aka Kurze Marinekanone 12)
2 (two) 42 cm (420 mm) short-barreled mortars Minenwerfer Gerät (aka kurze Marinekanone 14)

2. Back to top Great War The German Imperial Army did not have a single mobile battery of special power, which were formed in a more or less improvised manner.

3. In total, at the beginning of the war, the Imperial German Army received 8.5 (eight and a half) batteries of special power:

5 (five) heavy batteries of coastal mortars (Schwere Küstenmörser Batterie)
3.5 (three and a half) batteries of short naval guns (Kurze Marine Kanone Batterie)

4. In addition, Germany had a number of 28 cm (280 mm) coastal howitzers (Küsten Haubitze).

The remains of Fat Bertha. Most of these M-Gerät mortars were lost as a result of their own shell bursting in the barrel.

PS. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the special power artillery of the RVGK included 30 305-mm howitzers of the 1915 model and25 280-mm Schneider mortars of the 1915 model.. Another 24 mortars and four 305-mm howitzers of the 1915 model were in warehouses, factories and training grounds.

It should be noted that the shells for the 280-mm Schneider and Br-5 mortars were the same, but the charges were different. The shells were only of the old type, that is, short-range. By June 1941, there were about 7 thousand 280-mm shells and 7.5 thousand 305-mm shells for howitzers of the 1915 model.

Interestingly, the Navy also had 305-mm howitzers of the 1915 model. They were armed with four-gun battery No. 911 near Vladivostok. For it, the fleet had 1,788 high-explosive 305-mm howitzer shells.

It is impossible not to mention such an interesting fact here. In the 20-30s, the army command conducted experimental firing from 305-mm howitzers of the 1915 model with 305-mm shells ship guns. As a result, Tables for firing naval shells of the 1907 model and the 1911 model from a 305-mm howitzer were created.

In 1937, a specially created commission, which included many of the famous Soviet artillerymen, went to Czechoslovakia to the Skoda plant, where they were presented with samples of several guns, one of which was a heavy-duty howitzer with a barrel diameter of 305 mm. It made a favorable impression on Soviet specialists and, as a result, in 1938 an agreement was concluded between the countries on the supply of several prototypes and the necessary documentation for its production on the territory of the USSR. In May, the Defense Committee ordered plant No. 221 to develop and manufacture a series of prototypes of 305-mm howitzers based on Czechoslovak models.

In order to simplify production and save money, it was decided to change the original design of the gun. As a result of numerous alterations, the production of the first series of howitzers was delayed for almost a year. By that time, the territory of Czechoslovakia had been captured by the Germans. However, oddly enough, supplies of parts to the USSR from the Skoda plant practically did not stop, although they were carried out with a delay of several months. Thus, the first model of the 305-mm howitzer of the 1939 model with the factory designation Br-18 arrived for field testing only in September 1940. Three such howitzers were manufactured that year.

Attempts to create large-caliber artillery of special power have been actively carried out in the USSR since the beginning of the 1930s. Among the projects there were even howitzers with a barrel diameter of 350 mm. Unfortunately, due to the illiteracy of management, the development of these projects was completed a complete failure. As a result, during the Winter War Soviet Union faced a shortage of powerful artillery systems capable of destroying the bunkers of the Mannerheim line. If the USSR had had enough artillery pieces like the Br-18 in 1939, it could have dramatically changed the course of the Winter War and saved tens of thousands of lives of Soviet soldiers.

For some reason, information about the fate of the manufactured guns is not described in any way by official Soviet military statistics as of June 22, 1941. One gets the impression that they were not adopted by the Red Army at all. However, their trace was found. It turns out that after the end of the winter war, the Soviet Union was equipped with 7 Br-18 howitzers mounted on railway platforms. military base, based on the island of Hanko. The basis of its garrison was the 8th Infantry Brigade, which was subordinate to one engineer, as well as three construction battalions. This garrison also included two coastal defense artillery divisions with Br-18 howitzers.

With the advent of the base, it was planned to close the entrance to the Gulf of Finland with the help of heavy-duty artillery. However, she was not destined to play any significant role. The base existed only until December 2, 1941, after which a rather controversial decision was made to evacuate it. As a result, the Red Army was deprived not only of three destroyers, but also of all equipment and weapons located on the island. During the retreat, all this was destroyed, including the heavy-duty Br-18 howitzers.

The Red Army during the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War had practically no modern artillery of special power. Therefore, already in 1945, the TsAKB began the development of guns of special power. V.G. Grabin considered it expedient to create a duplex consisting of a 210-mm long-range cannon and a 305-mm howitzer to replace the low-volume duplex: 210-mm Br-17 cannon and 305-mm Br-18 howitzer. In 1945, this duplex received the code H6.565. Grabin, out of habit, decided to play it safe, and the duplex was developed in two versions: on a single self-propelled gun and in a towed version. In the latter case, the system was transported on three carts.

In 1945, the idea arose to turn the self-propelled version of the duplex into a triplex, introducing a 500-mm mortar into its composition. But for unclear reasons, this mortar was not included in the 1946 plan. The barrels of the 210 mm cannon and 305 mm howitzer consisted of a free tube, casing and breech. The slope of the rifling of both barrels is constant. Push-pull piston valves with manual drive. The howitzer barrel was equipped with a muzzle brake, which was a cylinder with round holes. The carriage is the same for both guns. The recoil brake is a hydraulic spindle type with variable recoil length. The knurling and balancing mechanism are hydropneumatic. The lifting and turning mechanisms were powered by an electric drive, but a manual drive was also provided.

The system's electric motors were powered from a generator direct current with a power of 50 kW, mounted on a “re-equipment crane”. Loading of both guns is cap-type. The howitzer was loaded with a projectile using a special mechanism that had an electric drive. The cannon was loaded with a shell using a manual rammer. The charges of both guns were loaded manually. The design of the carriage is similar to that of field guns. The beds are sliding, they were fastened to the ground using winter driving coulters (like S-23) and a summer frontal beam coulter. The transition from the traveling position to the combat position and back was carried out using an automatic crane with a lifting capacity of 20 tons.

In the early 1950s. The duplex guns were assigned the indices TsNII-58: the 210-mm cannon began to be called S-72, and the 305-mm howitzer - S-73. In 1954, the 280-mm howitzer gun, which was supposed to be installed on a duplex carriage, was assigned the index S-90. On July 10, 1947, the Ministry of Armaments, by order No. 212, included in the work plan for 1948 “the production of two 210-mm cannons and two 305-mm howitzers on a single carriage (“Big Duplex”) with carts.” However, due to modifications to the design at TsNII-58, they were able to start manufacturing the guns no earlier than 1950. Both systems were transported on three separate wagons in disassembled form. The carts for the gun had the index S-74, and for the howitzer - S-75. To transfer the gun from the traveling position to the combat position and back, it was given a special 20-ton jib-type truck crane and an auxiliary MAZ-200 vehicle.

The 280 mm S-90 howitzer gun weighed combat position 62 t. Vertical guidance angle 0°; +70°, horizontal guidance angle 50°. The rate of fire, transition time from traveling to combat position, carriage speed, etc. are the same as for duplex guns. The S-90's ammunition included a high-explosive projectile weighing 246 kg and a concrete-piercing projectile weighing 395 kg. Initial speed and firing range for a high-explosive projectile were 820 m/s and 30 km, and for a concrete-piercing projectile - 525 m/s and 19.2 km.

The Barrikady plant was given an order to manufacture the barrel of a 280-mm S-90 howitzer gun and place it on the carriage of the “Big Duplex” by June 1, 1955. In the period from January 29, 1953 to November 30, 1954 at the Rzhevka training ground Factory tests of a prototype 305-mm howitzer S-73 were carried out. Based on the results of factory tests, Central Research Institute-58 carried out its modification, after which the howitzer was again delivered to Rzhevka on November 27, 1956. Firing from the howitzers was carried out from March 26 to December 7, 1956, as well as May 10-13, 1957. In total, since the beginning of testing, 621 shots were fired from the howitzer, of which 100 shots were fired with an enhanced charge (full charge heated to a temperature of 40 ° WITH). When firing, the projectile was lifted using a loading crane, and it was sent into the barrel manually using a rammer. The charge was supplied to the chamber manually. The exception was the shooting on May 13, 1957, during which the loading mechanism was used.

Judging by the report, the howitzer fired perfectly, but the management of the training ground was extremely unfriendly towards it. The head of the test site, Major General Bulba, was unable to point out a single flaw during the testing of the howitzer. But he said that, supposedly, the re-equipment of the system is impossible without the AK-20 crane, which has low maneuverability... “Military unit No. 33491 believes, it was written in the report, that if there is a need for a weapon with the ballistic characteristics of the S-73 howitzer, then it It is advisable to attach the swinging part to an artillery self-propelled vehicle of type 271.” I have no words! The “wise” General Bulba proposed to superimpose the S-73 on an “artillery self-propelled vehicle like object 271,” but did not specify how much it would cost the state and how many years it would take. And most importantly, Bulba kept silent about the fact that the artillery self-propelled gun object 271 (406-mm SM-54 cannon) was a monstrous monster that could not pass through ordinary bridges, did not fit into city streets, tunnels under bridges, got stuck under power lines, could not transported on a railway platform... Because of this, this unit was never put into service.

According to common sense, in the event of an “AK-20 crane failure,” one, two or even four spare cranes can be added to the S-73 battery. If one fails, another will replace it, but what to do if the engine of an artillery self-propelled gun breaks down? In addition, the issue of insufficient maneuverability of a crane is most easily resolved by mounting the crane itself on a tracked chassis, rather than the entire implement! How could the major general of the technical service not understand that the S-73 is not a regimental or divisional gun, obliged to accompany the advancing infantry. This is a one-piece weapon of special power! Nevertheless, Grabin had to give in to the generals from the GAU and deal with giant self-propelled artillery installations. Based on S-72, S-73 and S-90 in 1954-1955. at TsNII-58 the “Big Triplex” was developed - the 210-mm S-110A cannon; 280 mm S-111A gun-howitzer and 305 mm howitzer on a single self-propelled carriage. The technical design of the self-propelled triplex was sent to the Ministry of Defense Industry on December 31, 1955. But all this was in vain - not a single special-power weapon developed by Grabin was accepted for service. The country's leadership, led by Khrushchev, believed that artillery had outlived its usefulness.

	A mixed battery of 305-mm howitzers on railway transporters is prepared for transfer to a new firing position

The Mk1 transporters, on which the 305-mm Mk1 and MkZ howitzers were installed, in principle allowed all-round firing, but due to their lack of stability when firing across the rail track, instructions on combat use 305 mm rail artillery installations it was prescribed to shoot along the railway track with a horizontal aiming angle of no more than 20° in both directions.

In practice, this meant the need in some cases to build additional railways, which was not always feasible in front-line conditions. Therefore, Elswick Ordnance Co. The task was set to create a 305-mm railway artillery mount that was actually capable of conducting all-round fire over the entire range of gun elevation angles.
The company completed the task in 1917, presenting the 305-mm Mk5 howitzer on the Mk3 railway transporter for testing.
The Mk5 howitzer was developed on the basis of the MkZ howitzer and had the same barrel length. Its barrel bore was threaded with a modified profile, which somewhat improved the ballistic characteristics.
In order to reduce the weight of the howitzer, its breech was reduced, and to more effectively dampen the recoil energy, a new design of recoil devices was installed.
The MkZ railway transporter was in many ways similar to the Mk2 transporter for the Mk10 and Mk10 guns. To ensure all-round firing, there were outriggers and folding supports with wide openers on both sides; the use of rail grips and steel ropes was also provided for fixing the vehicle in the firing position.
However, the installation did not provide 360° firing - it was quite stable when firing with horizontal aiming angles of 120° on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the conveyor. As experience in using the installation in real combat conditions has shown, this aiming range turned out to be sufficient to solve most combat missions, and the military dropped its requirement for all-round firing.
The range of vertical aiming angles at which installation stability is ensured included angles from +20° to +60°. When using reduced charges, it was allowed to shoot at elevation angles of less than +20°.

Shooting was carried out high explosive shells weighing 340.2 kg. At initial speed projectile 447 m/s, the firing range was 13120 m.
Elswick Ordnance Co. produced the Mk5 howitzer on the MkZ transporter since 1917 instead of the MkZ howitzer on the Mk2 transporter.
The total number of railway artillery installations was 35. They were used in the battles of the First World War, and during the Second World War they were used as coastal defense weapons on east coast England.

305 mm howitzer Br-18

In 1937, a Soviet military delegation visited the Skoda plant in Czechoslovakia. The purpose of the visit was to acquire documentation and prototypes of high-power artillery systems for their subsequent production at Soviet factories. The military's attention was drawn to the projects of a 210-mm cannon and a 305-mm howitzer - both guns had separate case loading and a wedge-type horizontal breech. The carriages were also the same. In principle, the systems differed only in their barrels: the gun had a lined barrel, and the howitzer had a bonded one.

The concluded agreement provided for some changes in the projects. In particular, at the request of Soviet representatives, cap loading was introduced, and the bolts became piston. Instead of a bonded howitzer barrel, a lined one was used. The Czechoslovak company promised to provide two prototype guns to the USSR in December 1939, but the drawings arrived much earlier. Therefore, in order not to waste time, it was decided to begin production of artillery systems without waiting for the delivery of prototypes. To simplify the production technology, the engineers of the Barrikady plant significantly revised the drawings. A domestically manufactured 305-mm howitzer, designated Br-18, entered field testing in the fall of 1940 and showed generally satisfactory results. It was noted that the gun was capable of firing high-explosive shells weighing 330 kg at a distance of 16,500 m, and concrete-piercing shells weighing 465 kg flew at a distance of 13,100 m. Serial production of howitzers was interrupted with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, and the exact number of them received by the Red Army units was determined. unknown. But at least three 305-mm guns took part in combat operations as part of separate artillery divisions of special power of the RGK. Like all heavy artillery systems, they were used in the second period of the war. One of the Br-18 howitzers is currently in the artillery museum of the city on the Neva.

Tactical and technical data

Designation: Br-18

Type: howitzer RGK

Caliber, mm: 305

Weight in combat position, kg: 43000

Barrel length, calibers: 22

Angle GN, deg: 90

Angle BH, deg: -4; +70

Initial projectile speed, m/s: 530 (high explosive)

Rate of fire : 1 shot in 2.5 minutes

Max. firing range, m: 16500

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