11-inch M1867 cannon

11-inch M1867 cannon
Gun No. 4 in Sveaborg Fortress
General Information
Military designation:	11-дюймовая пушка обр. 1867 г
Manufacturer country:	North German Confederation Russia
Developer / Manufacturer:	Krupp Obuchow works
Development year:	1869
Start of production:	1869 1872
Number of pieces:	4 9-12
Weapon Category:	cannon
Technical specifications
Pipe length:	5,588 m
Caliber :	279 mm
Number of trains :	36
Elevation range:	angular degrees depending on the mount
Side straightening area:	depending on the carriage
Furnishing
Closure Type :	Cylindro-prismatic (round wedge) locking system Krupp
Charging principle:	Grenade and propellant bag

The 11-inch cannon M1867 (Russian: 11-дюймовая пушка обр. 1867 г, after conversion to the metric system: 280-мм орудие обр. 1867 г.) was a gun in the Russian Empire. It was used as a naval gun and in coastal defense.

history

Up until 1868, only 8- and 9-inch guns were represented in Russian heavy artillery. Many tests have shown that the 8-inch cannon was effective against ships with armor of 4½ inches up to a distance of about 1700 meters. At the same distance, the 9-inch cannon could still cause great damage to ships with a 6-inch tank. At a distance of about 640 meters, the 9-inch cannon could penetrate a ship's wall with 8-inch armor. The 9-inch armor was not effective enough for fighting ships with 8- and 9-inch armor at greater distances. Based on these findings, the Russian government felt compelled to procure an even more powerful cannon, and so an 11-inch cannon was planned. An 11-inch cast steel muzzle loader with ring reinforcements was ordered from the Krupp company as the first test cannon. In the course of the production of this tube, it was also changed to a breech loader, based on the experiences that had been made in Russia in the meantime with the drawn 8 and 9 inch Krupp breech loaders. After completion, this pipe was tested in Essen in a long-term test with 400 rounds. After the end of this attempt, the pipe was transported to Russia and here on the Volkov firing range near St. Petersburg subjected to a further attempt to shoot against a sample of the armored wall of the English battleship "Hercules". The shooting tests were carried out with unloaded Krupp cast steel grenades weighing 225 kg. A charge of 37.5 kg of prismatic powder was used for shooting. As a result of these shooting tests, it was found that at a distance of approx. 1175 meters, good 11-inch steel projectiles can penetrate an armored shield of the strength of Hercules, equipped with wrought iron plates of the best quality.

As a result of these results, Russia ordered 76 11-inch cannons from Krupp in 1869. From this order the cannons with the serial numbers 73, 74, 75 and 77 were delivered in August 1871, two of these guns (73 and 74) were installed on the Russian ironclad Novgorod (Новгород). The Artillery Headquarters gave the Navy another gun (No. 4) for testing shells with copper guide rings. Nothing is known about the rest of the order. The first cannon of this type made in Russia was cast in the Obukhov works in St. Petersburg in early 1872 and completed in 1873. The weapon was tested in the same year on a specially built test stand. After the end of the trial, the gunboat Jorsch (Ёрш) of the Doschd class (Дождь) was armed with this gun. According to this model, the Obuchow works produced eight more weapons with which the tower frigates of the admiral class of the Imperial Russian Navy were equipped.

In 1881, cannon No. 269 was dismantled by the frigate Admiral Tschitschagow (Адмирал Чичагов) and taken to the Obukhov works. It was to be converted into an 11-inch M1877 cannon . At the same time it was decided to convert the cannons no. 75 and 76 built by Krupp according to the new model.

Since the weapons no longer met the increased requirements in terms of range and penetration performance after a short time, they were not built in large numbers and soon replaced on the ships in active service. The following ships were equipped with the gun:

• the ironclad Novgorod (Новгород) (2 cannons)
• the gunboat Jorsch (Ёрш) (launched 1874) (one cannon)
• the frigate Admiral Tschitschagow (Адмирал Чичагов) (re-armament 1874, later replaced by model 1877) (2 cannons)
• the frigate Admiral Lasarew (Адмирал Лазарев) (rearmament 1876/77, later replaced by model 1877) (3 cannons)
• the frigate Admiral Greig (Адмирал Грейг) (re-armament 1875, later replaced by model 1877) (3 cannons)
• the frigate Admiral Spiridow (Адмирал Спиридов) (rearmament 1874, 2 cannons)

The following equipment is given for 1902:

• Frigate Admiral Spiridow : 2 (originally Krupp)
• Ironclad Novgorod : 2
• Gunboat Wichr : one
• Gunboat Grosa : one (stored)

construction

Frigate Admiral Greig

The gun consisted of a core barrel reinforced with three layers of jacket rings, a total of 23 pieces. The weapon was a total of 5.588 m long, which corresponds to a length of 20 calibers. To distinguish between the following types of the same caliber, the cannon is therefore also referred to in the literature as a 280/20 mm cannon . The reinforced part of the pipe was 2,642 m long, the part of the pipe provided with pulls was 3,480 m. The tube had a total of 36 puffs with a depth of 3.3 mm. The improved cylindro-prismatic round wedge lock C / 1868 from Krupp was used. The ignition was carried out through the wedge for better powder combustion. The answer was given with the Broadwellring . The breech alone weighed approx. 1000 kg, the total weight of the weapon with the breech but without the mount was approx. 26,000 kg. The weapons manufactured in the Obuchow factories differed in the number, location and attachment of the reinforcement rings. The weight of these weapons with breeches was 28,698 kg.

For the gun, projectiles with a length of 2.5 calibers (approx. 700 mm) were used. These grenades had a lead jacket. The lead jacket was necessary in order to be able to guide the projectile in the barrel of the cannon in a gastight manner. The ordinary cast iron bullet weighed 222 kg, 7.45 kg of which was accounted for by the explosives in the grenade. Grenades made of chilled cast iron weighed 225.2 kg, 3.28 kg of which was the explosive charge made of black powder. On November 24, 1876, a grenade grenade was also introduced. It weighed 98.28 kg and was filled with 95 balls, each 55.4 mm in diameter. One bullet weighed 0.836 kg, the grenade itself was filled with 18.02 kg of black powder. A propellant charge made of prismatic powder with a weight of 36.4–37.5 kg was used for the cannons manufactured by Krupp. At a muzzle velocity of 392 m / s, a range of 3704 m was achieved with a pipe elevation of + 9.5 °. A strong propellant charge with a weight of 41 kg was used for the guns manufactured in the Obuchow works; the muzzle velocity increased to 404 m / s.

On the frigates, the guns were set up in two or three individual towers. The carriage was designed according to the system developed by Lieutenant General FW Pestitsch (Ф. В. Пестич), the head of the artillery department of the Kronstadt war port, and was also designed by the Obukhov works for the Admiral Spiridow and the Golubev works for the other three frigates manufactured. According to the height, the weapons were roughly aimed by raising or lowering the pivot pin. The weapon stood on an inclined platform, which in turn stood on the actual turntable. The pivot pin was moved up or down by a drive using a hydraulic press. The exact alignment according to the height was done manually using a conventional alignment drive.

The trunnion could take up three positions, the distance between the middle and lower position was 330 mm. On the Admiral Spiridow the trunnion was moved by means of hydraulic pumps, the time for straightening was 3.5 minutes. Because of this unsatisfactory recommended speed, Pjotr ​​Veliki later switched to steam-driven pumps. Depending on the position of the trunnion, the directional range was between −3 ° and + 6 ° (upper position), 0 ° to + 9 ° (middle position) or + 6 ° and + 13 ° (lower position). Effective tube brakes were not available at the time. The recoil was achieved by running back the weapon on the platform inclined by 5 ° to the weapon, while the weapon ran back a maximum of 1.333 m and followed the slope of the platform upwards, which braked the weapon. This construction required a certain angle between the soul axis of the tube and the platform on which the weapon ran. If the angle was too small, the weapon was not braked sufficiently, if it was too large, unacceptably high forces acted vertically on the platform. Due to the principle, the leveling range of weapons constructed in this way was limited. Pestitsch solved the problem by increasing the height adjustment range by raising and lowering the pivot pin. Since the lower mount was designed as a turntable mount, the pivot pin was free from radial forces. The weapon automatically rolled back into the firing position on the inclined platform. A hydraulically operating pipe brake was available, but was only used when the self-braking return was not possible due to the offense of the ship. It consisted of two cylinders which, if necessary, slowed down the return, and two cylinders to slow down the pipe flow. The cylinder pairs were connected to one another via pipes. With the help of these cylinders, the weapon could also be moved on the platform, the cylinders work hydraulically. If they acted as a pipe brake, the hydraulic fluid was drained, the air compressed in the cylinders then dampened the return and forward movement of the weapon. The hydraulic hand pump for raising and lowering the pivot pin was located in the tower. The construction was similar to a Vavasseur slideway . Basically, this construction enabled a large height straightening range while controlling the return of the pipe, but it was complicated and heavy, and the straightening speed could not be satisfactory either. The side straightener was driven by an auxiliary steam engine. The weight of the carriage was 6.405 t.

On the armored ship Novgorod , two of the guns were placed in a shared barbette. Each cannon stood on a Pestitsch type carriage, which was manufactured in the Obuchow works. The mounts made it possible to pivot the weapons independently of one another within certain limits. The inner diameter of the bar beds was 8.23 ​​m at a height of 2.9 m. The armor was 229 mm thick. The recoil of the weapon was absorbed by a 6 ° inclined platform, on which the weapon slid backwards after the shot had been fired. In addition, the recoil was dampened by a buffer. In contrast to the construction used on the frigates, it was not possible to raise or lower the central pivot pin. A loading crane was available for each weapon. The elevation range was between −4 ° and + 15 °, the side alignment range was 360 °, while the two gun platforms could be rotated against each other by 95 °. A full 360 ° swivel took four minutes.

On the gunboat Jorsch (Ёрш) a disappearing carriage designed by Popow was used. The carriage was submitted to the Naval Technical Commission in 1874 and confirmed without changes. The mount was manufactured by the Obuchow works. For reloading, the weapon lay below the deck. An auxiliary steam engine moved four threaded spindles over two shafts, which raised the platform with the weapon for firing. On the platform, the weapon stood on a slideway that was inclined by 4.5 ° and was 2.235 m long. The recoil was compensated by the movement of the cannon on this slide. In addition, the pipe return was dampened by a pneumatic pipe brake. The platform was rotatably mounted on a pin and thus enabled side straightening. The platform was rotated using cables, the auxiliary steam engine served as the drive source. In October 1874, the construction was tested in a sharp shot, the tests were overall satisfactory. The elevation range was between −2 ° and + 10 °, the side alignment range was 17 °. The pipe return was normally 1.422 m, a maximum of 2.133 m was possible. The platform had a total length of 5.486 m. The weight of the gun carriage with weapon was around 40 t.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Krupp
2. ↑ ^{a b} Obuchow
3. ↑ according to navy.su: 11 "пушка обр.1867 г. , accessed on July 2, 2010, the installation of a total of 13 cannons can be traced, according to navy.su: 11" пушка обр.1877 г. , Accessed on July 2, 2010, 12 pieces are said to have been produced at Obuchow, which would result in a total of 16 pieces with the weapons from Krupp
4. ↑ Testing of an 11-inch cast steel rear-loading cannon firing against the "Hercules" armored shield in Russia. In: Archives for the officers of the Royal Prussian Artillery and Engineer Corps. Volume 34, Volume 67, Berlin 1870.
5. ^ Krupp 1812 to 1912. Verlag von Gustav Fischer, Jena 1912. P. 153.
6. ↑ The individual weapons were not numbered consecutively for reasons that were no longer comprehensible
7. ↑ the weapons manufactured in the Obukhov works were given serial numbers over 200
8. ↑ see here: http://www.navy.su/navyarms/bronen/1877/11/11.htm , some other information can be found in the literature
9. ↑ Side elevation and top view of the mount.
10. ↑ see hydraulic press for lifting the pivot pin in the towers of the battleship Pyotr Veliki.
11. ↑ Side elevation and top view of the mount.

literature

• Р. М. Мельников: Башенные броненосные фрегаты. С-Петербург, 2002 (Russian)
• Л. И. Амирханов: Артиллерия российских мониторов. (Russian)
• В. Г. Андриенко: КРУГЛЫЕ СУДА АДМИРАЛА ПОПОВА. (Russian)

Web links

• Information about the gun (Russian)
• Description and drawings of the gunboat Jorsch (Russian)