4 pounder field cannon C / 64
| 4 pounder field cannon C / 64 | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Military designation: | Field and fortress gun C / 64 |
| Manufacturer designation: | C / 64 |
| Manufacturer country: | Kingdom of Prussia |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Prussian Artillery Examination Commission |
| Development year: | 1861 to 1864 |
| Production time: | 1864 to 1866 |
| Weapon Category: | Field cannon |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 74 pruss. Inch = 1,935 m |
| Caliber : |
3.0 pruss. Inch = 7.85 cm |
| Number of trains : | 12 wedges |
| Cadence : | up to 5 rounds / min |
| Furnishing | |
| Closure Type : | Double wedge lock |
| Charging principle: | Breech loader |
The Prussian 4 pounder field cannon C / 64 was a supplement to the 6 pounder field cannon C / 61 . Shortly after the 6-pounder was introduced, work began on a lighter gun that was supposed to be more mobile. The 4-pounder was a completely new design.
The 4-pounder had a caliber of 7.85 cm. The correct designation for this gun was: drawn cast steel 4-pounder or in military correspondence: drawn. Cast steel 4pfdr. The addition C / 64 as a classification feature was only added with the introduction of further models. In 1871, as part of a reorganization, the type designation was changed to "8 cm Stahlkanone C / 64".
history
Until 1860 a Prussian artillery regiment consisted of:
- 3 foot sections, consisting of:
- 2 smooth 12-pound batteries (the short 12-pounder)
- 1 smooth 7-pound howitzer battery
- 1 riding department, consisting of:
- 3 smooth 6 pound batteries.
Each battery consisted of 8 guns. In total these were, based on the regiment:
- 6 smooth 12 pound batteries = 48 guns
- 3 smooth 6 pound batteries = 24 guns
- 3 smooth 7-pound howitzer batteries = 24 howitzers.
After the successful introduction of the 6-pounder rifled (C / 61) in 1859 it was determined by means of a Highest Cabinet Order of January 31, 1860 that the 4th, 5th and 6th 12-pound batteries of an artillery regiment should be carried by the drawn 6-pounder was to be replaced. At the same time it should be checked whether the introduction of a towed 4-pounder would make sense. As a result of this examination, the Artillery Examination Commission decided at the meeting on November 21, 1860 to apply to the responsible war ministry for the production of a towed 4-pounder. Although no agreement could yet be reached about the execution of such a cannon, two test tubes have already been ordered from the Krupp company in Essen, which were delivered in March 1861. After the final completion of these pipes in the artillery workshops in Spandau, the tests began on May 2, 1861. These pipes were tested in two different versions. In the meantime, the construction of the entire system had also been tackled, so that the first test gun could be presented on September 1, 1861. As early as November 1861, the War Ministry requested a report on the status of the tests with the pipes, which was delivered on December 11, 1861. Based on this report, a decision was made in favor of one of the two variants and on January 6, 1862 the War Ministry issued an instruction that such a cannon should be tested in 4 copies per regiment, especially with regard to a use as a replacement for the 7 pound howitzers. The experiments began in July 1862. Independently of this instruction, the very highest cabinet order of May 1, 1862 ordered the introduction of a towed 4-pounder. By means of a further Supreme Cabinet Order of December 3, 1863, the instruction was issued that the final form of the model of a drawn 4-pounder should be created by the King by April 1, 1864. The model gun was ready on March 23, 1864 and was inspected on April 4, 1864 by Sr. the King. In the meantime, a battery of eight guns had been formed from the previous 4-pounder test guns, which had successfully participated in the German-Danish war. Due to the favorable reports resulting from this and the result of the inspection, the royal approval for the introduction of a towed 4-pounder in place of the smooth howitzers was given on April 18, 1864. The final discontinuation of the towed 4-pounder in the foot artillery was carried out by a very high cabinet order of August 11, 1865 on October 1, 1865. After the negative experiences that the Prussian artillery, especially the mounted detachments, with the short, smooth 12-pounder in the German-Austrian at that time Had made war, by means of a Supreme Cabinet Order of November 6, 1866, the replacement of the above-mentioned guns by the rifled 4-pounder also for the mounted departments was ordered. The conversion was already completed in April 1867.
technology
The construction, which was carried out by the Artillery Examination Commission (AKP), went completely new ways. The pipes were designed in Krupp cast steel, which has proven itself in the six-pounder. The first pipe blanks were manufactured by Krupp, while the mechanical processing took place in Berlin. A modified version of Kreiner's wedge lock was chosen as the lock , which had been in use in siege and fortress artillery since 1862 (see sketch on the right). However, this closure had caused problems in practical operation, since with this construction the movable wedge rested on the cargo space and if burnouts occurred due to the powder gases, difficulties in opening the closure could arise. With this design it was also necessary to use pressboard for leaning . The idea was therefore to simply turn the wedge around so that the fixed wedge would now lie on the cargo hold. This change now also made it possible to provide the front wedge with a device that could make the pressboard floor unnecessary. For this purpose, a recess was made in the front wedge, where it covered the core, into which a steel plate could be inserted. This was done so that repairs could be carried out quickly in the event of burnouts through the powder alley. In this case, the so-called pressboard floor was used to completely lighten the floor. The separate steel plate also made it possible to use the copper liner proposed by Kreiner. For this purpose, a recess was made in the steel plate, into which the linging ring, which was triangular in profile, had to be inserted in such a way that its free cathetus was directed towards the cargo space. The wedge hole was provided with a corresponding groove for easier cleaning or replacement of the copper ring. The copper rings could withstand about 100 shots under favorable conditions. Depending on the condition of the rings, they were almost 100% gas tight. The resulting lock was called Wesener's wedge lock. The attached sketch shows a corresponding closure with its eyelid.
With this version you only needed two artillerymen to load and fire. A single gunner was enough to open and close the breech. The entire operating team consisted of five soldiers.
This breech, however, did not meet the expectations placed in it and caused some guns to fail in the war of 1866. The failures were caused by the too weak design of the front wedge, especially in the insufficient distance of the front wedge between the recess for the copper ring and the loading hopper. In individual cases, this small protrusion resulted in this area being blown away by the powder gases and the pressure being thrown out by the wedge. Cases have even become known in which the entire piece of soil was blasted off. As a result of these circumstances, it was only allowed to shoot with a full steel plate using chipboard discs. The use of the copper liner was only permitted in extreme emergencies.
This failure of some guns meant that members of the AKP questioned the entire development of rifled cast steel cannons. Since Krupp has meanwhile claimed that the failure was due to an inadequate lock, extensive shooting attempts were made on the company's own shooting range in Essen at the instigation of the Prussian War Ministry with the cooperation of the Krupp company between November 28 and December 2, 1866 carried out with three 4-pounder tubes. These tubes were chosen at random from a batch of 400 tubes. The pipes were technically identical, but equipped with different closures:
- Tube 1 had a modified Kreiner double wedge lock.
- Tube 2 had the double wedge lock from Krupp.
- Tube 3 had the newly developed simple round wedge lock from Krupp.
All three pipes had the Broadwell ring as a relief.
In the tests, no serious faults could be found in the tubes or the closures, so that there were no longer any concerns about further use of the cast steel tubes. With regard to the closures, however, the following findings were made:
- Tube 1 had shown that the closure was sufficiently durable for normal use. But it was not suitable for heavy loads. Closures of this type were then used in the C / 67 series.
- Tube 2 had behaved quite well overall. Only at the end of the experiments did the eyelid leave much to be desired in the case of extreme charges.
- Tube 3 gave the best result in this series of tests. As a result, Krupp recommended the use of this closure to its customers. Prussia first used it, albeit in a modified version, for the field artillery material C / 73.
When designing the 4-pounder, efforts were made to make handling easier in all parts and to make it a real field gun. In addition to a significant reduction in the weight of the carriage (this was now equipped with cast steel axles, wheels with bronze hubs and two axle seats), this also included the introduction of a newly developed straightening machine, the so-called Richter straightening machine C / 64 with double screw.
The separate greasing of the pipe core was also eliminated. Instead, glycerine capsules were inserted into the cartridges, which burst when fired and thereby greased the barrel.
The C / 64 was supplemented or replaced in 1867 by the 4-pounder field cannon C / 67 . The existing stocks were given to the fortress artillery.
The loading process of the 4-pounder proceeded as follows:
- Opening the shutter: three-quarters turn of the crank counterclockwise.
- Pull out the shutter. The potash-sized loading hole of the closure was now congruent with the core axis of the tube.
- Insertion of the grenade and the powder bag.
- Push in the lock and turn the crank clockwise. The double wedge lock sealed the gun's cartridge chamber gas-tight.
- Inserting the hammer tube (or the friction ignition screw ).
The gun was ready to fire.
Technical specifications
- Caliber: 3 inches = 7.85 cm
- Pipe length: 74 inches = 1.935 m
- Length of the drawn part: 57.85 inches
- Transition Cone Length: 2.0 inches
- Length of cargo space: 8.2 inches
- Trains: The 4-pounder had 12 cotter pins. The width was 0.675 inches (17.7 mm) at the cargo bay and 0.515 inches (13.5 mm) at the muzzle, with a constant depth of 0.05 inches (1.3 mm). The panels were 0.11 (2.9 mm) and 0.27 inches (7.0 mm) wide, respectively. The twist length was 12 feet (3.766 m) with a twist angle of 3 ° 45 '.
- Elevation range: −8 ° / 13 1/2 °
- Directional range: 0 ° (the entire gun was aimed)
- Ammunition type / weight:
- Charge: The shot was usually with 500 gr. Gun powder in a cartridge pouch. Cartridges of 0.25 and 0.5 pounds were also available for the so-called high bow shot
- Muzzle velocity: 341 m / s
- Maximum firing range: grenade 3450 m, grapefruit 450–500 m
- Weight: The fully equipped gun of the moving batteries weighed 3,659 pounds
- Tube weight including cap: 550 pounds
- Closure weight: 42.5 pounds
- Empty carriage weight: 828 pounds
- Weight of the equipped carriage without tube: 877 pounds
- Empty limb weight: 850 pounds
- Weight of the equipped limber: 1382 pounds
- 5 men staff: 850 pounds
literature
- Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. 14th edition, Volume 7 from 1894 to 1896. Keyword: Gun
- Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 4th edition, Volume 7 from 1885 to 1892. Keyword: Gun
- W. Witte: The rifled field guns C / 61, C / 64 and C / 64/67. 3rd edition, Ernst Siegfried Mittler and Son, Berlin 1867. Reprinted here from 1971 by J.Olmes, Krefeld.
- Max Köhler: The Rise of Artillery to the Great War. Barbara-Verlag Hugo Meiler, Munich 1938.
- D. Baedecker: Alfred Krupp and the development of the cast steel factory in Essen. GD Baedecker, Essen 1889.
Individual evidence
- ^ War Ministry (Ed.): Army Ordinance Sheet. 5th year, No. 18 of August 14, 1871, p. 195, Mittler und Sohn, Berlin (the spellings correspond to the spelling of the time).
- ↑ H. v. Decker: Historical reviews of the formation of the Prussian artillery since 1809. Berlin 1866, pp. 34–43.
- ^ Herrmann von Müller: The development of the field artillery in relation to material, organization and tactics from 1812 to 1870. Verlag von Robert Oppenheim, Berlin 1873, pp. 207-218. Reprint: Salzwasser Verlag, Paderborn 1st edition, ISBN 978-3-84603-766-9 .
- ↑ Fw Beutner: The köninglich Prussian Guard artillery, Supplement 1, published by Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1894th
- ↑ The template for the drawing comes from the book by K.Th. von Sauer: Atlas for the outline of the weapon theory. Plate XVII Fig. 2., Literarisch-Kunstistische Anstalt, Munich 1869.
- ^ Karl Theodor von Sauer: Outline of the weapon theory. Literary and artistic establishment of the IGGolla'schen Buchhandlung, Munich 1869, p. 355.
- ↑ Diedrich Baedecker: Alfred Krupp and the development of the cast steel factory in Essen. GD Baedecker, Essen 1889, p. 75.
- ↑ J. Sauer: Plan of the weapon theory. Eduard Zernin, Darmstadt / Leipzig 1868, p. 65.
- ↑ A shooting attempt with rifled rear-loading guns from F. Krupp's cast steel factory. In: Allgemeine Militär-Zeitung. Volume 43, Eduard Zernin, Darmstadt / Leipzig 1868, pp. 107-109.
- ^ Karl Theodor von Sauer: Outline of the weapon theory. Literary and artistic establishment of the IGGolla'schen Buchhandlung, Munich 1869, p. 357.
- ↑ The numerical values refer to the values of the Prussian order of measurements and weights of May 16, 1816 and for the weights to the law of May 17, 1856. 1 (Prussian) inch = 2.615 cm; 1 (Prussian) foot = 31,385 cm; 1 (Prussian) pound (inch pound) = 30 Lot = 500 gr; 1 lot = 16.67 gr.
- ^ W. Witte: The rifled field guns C / 61, C / 64 and C / 64/67. 3. Edition. Verlag Ernst Siegfried Mittler and Son, Berlin 1867, pp. 13-16. Reprint: Verlag "Heere der Historische," J. Olmes, Krefeld 1971.