4 pounder field cannon C / 67
| 4 pounder field cannon C / 67 | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| General Information | |
| Military designation: | Field and fortress gun C / 64/67 |
| Manufacturer designation: | C / 67 |
| Manufacturer country: | Kingdom of Prussia |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Croup , food |
| Production time: | 1867 to 1872 |
| Weapon Category: | Field cannon |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 74 Prussian inches = 1.935 m |
| Caliber : |
3.0 Prussian inches = 7.85 cm |
| Number of trains : | 12 wedges |
| Twist : | Right twist |
| Cadence : | up to 10 rounds / min |
| Furnishing | |
| Closure Type : | Double wedge lock C / 67 |
| Charging principle: | Breech loader |
The 4-pounder field cannon C / 67 was a Prussian field cannon that was introduced in 1867 and used in the Franco-German War . It was the successor to the 4-pounder field cannon C / 64 . Due to the failure of some 4-pounder C / 64 in the war of 1866, Prussia was forced to procure a replacement type, and so the 4-pounder field cannon C / 67 was created. The correct designation for the gun was: Drawn cast steel 4-pounder C / 67 or in military correspondence: signed Gussstahl 4pfdr. In 1871, as part of a reorganization, the type designation was changed to: "8 cm steel cannon C / 67". An alternative designation is C / 64/67 .
history
In the war of 1866, some of the 4-pounder field guns C / 64 had failed without any prior signs and without any detectable material defect. For some people in charge in Prussia, this did not seem to give an absolute guarantee for the long-term durability of the cast steel. Because of this repeated distrust of cast steel, the General Inspection of the Artillery considered it necessary to order the manufacture of drawn bronze field gun barrels. In October 1866, the Artillery Inspection Commission (APK) was commissioned to carry out the construction of a drawn bronze 9 cm pipe with maximum acceleration. Extensive tests were carried out with this pipe in the following year after its completion.
Independent of this development, the completion of the re-arming of the Prussian artillery with the Krupp cast steel tubes continued. On November 6, 1866, the most urgent introduction of the 4-pounder also for the mounted artillery was ordered by a very high cabinet order.
Meanwhile, an investigation was investigating the cause of the cracking of some 4-pounder field cannons C / 64. On the other hand, there were no problems with the 6-pounder field cannon C / 61 , which also had a barrel made of cast steel but was equipped with a piston lock and not the Wesener wedge lock . It turned out that the flaw was not in the material but in the design of the wedge hole of the closure. The gun barrel was changed accordingly and designated as C / 67. Guns with the new barrel did not break the barrel. As a confidence-building measure, officers at the Krupp company were supposed to convince themselves on site that the cast steel pipes were being produced properly. However, since the officers questioned uniform production, the distrust of cast steel pipes remained.
The baptism of fire for this type of gun took place in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. The Battle of Sedan in particular showed that a high rate of fire (up to ten rounds per minute) combined with a long range and good hit performance produced a devastating effect. During his subsequent capture, the French Emperor Napoleon III expressed. to Wilhelm I : “ C'est votre artillerie, Sire, qui a gagné la campagne. »(German:" It was your artillery, Your Majesty, who won the campaign. ")
technology
The changes mainly concerned the closure and some related details of the pipe. When locking, the approximately equal size wedges from 1862 were used again, but with the difference that now the fixed wedge was attached to the cargo hold and the rear wedge was the movable one. It has now also been provided with a nut thread into which the spindle was screwed. The rear wedge was now given a strong curve on the rear side and a groove for the pull pawl was provided on the rear side. The keyhole was shaped accordingly and the rear guide grooves were omitted. In the front wedge, as in the case of the C / 64 lock, a recess was made for a steel disc. This was available in two versions, one as a full disk and one as a turned disk, suitable for the use of copper lids . According to an instruction, the full target had to be shot. The copper liner could only be used if there were no pressboard disks. A bell-shaped hood was now mounted on the spindle, which was provided with rectangular recesses on part of its circumference, into which a spring-mounted pawl could engage and thus prevent unintentional opening of the lock. The other part of the hood was reduced in diameter.
Changes have also been made to the pipe. The weight of the pipe was increased by approx. 26.5 kg. Another hole for the pull pawl was made in the rear surface of the square, but the hole for the limit screw was omitted on the upper surface. On the right side of the square a round locking frame was now mounted on which a leather locking cap could be mounted. On the left side, instead of the limit piece, there was the pawl with locking spring and the limit screw.
The improved leveling machine designed by Hauptmann Richter was also new. The crank no longer worked directly on a screw under the gun barrel, but via a double screw on a cradle on which the gun barrel rested. Judging was made easier by the cradle and the time required was reduced by half.
The accessories such as the mount and limber largely corresponded to material C / 64.
The 4-pounder field cannon was replaced by the 8 cm steel cannon C / 73 . The existing stocks were handed over to the fortress artillery and were used there with the casemate frame carriage C / 73.
The charging process for the C / 67 was as follows:
- Lifting the pawl or pull pawl
- Use the crank to turn the bell cover until its side with its reduced diameter is free under the limit screw.
- Pull out the shutter. The hole in the cap, the size of a potash, is 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 seals the cannon's cartridge chamber gas-tight.
- Inserting the hammer tube (or the friction ignition screw ).
- The gun is 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 at the cargo bay was 0.675 inches and at the mouth 0.515 inches, with a depth of 0.05 inches. The panels were 0.11 and 0.27 inches wide, respectively. The twist was 12 feet 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: A distinction must be made between the so-called light and the mounted battery. The weights mentioned apply to the light batteries. The fully equipped gun of the light batteries weighed approx. 1997 kg.
- Tube weight including cap: approx. 301.5 kg.
- Weight of the empty carriage without tube: approx. 450 kg.
- Weight of the gun carriage, equipped for the war, including the barrel: approx. 785.5 kg.
- Weight of the empty limber: approx. 425.5 kg.
- Weight of the war-equipped limber: approx. 786.5 kg.
- Weight of the crew (5 people) mounted directly on the mount and limber: 425 kg
literature
- Gun. In: Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon . 14th completely revised edition, Volume 7. Verlag FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1894 to 1896.
- Wilhelm Witte: The rifled field guns according to their arrangement, equipment etc. 3rd edition, Verlag Ernst Siegfried Mittler and Son , Berlin 1867. (online)
- Hermann von Müller: The development of the field artillery in terms of material, organization and tactics, from 1815 to 1870. Verlag R. Oppenheim, 1873. (online)
- Max Köhler: The Rise of Artillery to the Great War. Barbara-Verlag Hugo Meiler, Munich 1938.
Individual evidence
- ↑ War Ministry Berlin (ed.): Army Ordinance Gazette, 5th year, No. 18 v. August 14, 1871. Mittler und Sohn Verlag, Berlin, p. 195. [1]
- ^ Witte: The rifled field guns
- ↑ Diedrich Baedecker: Alfred Krupp and the development of the cast steel factory in Essen. Publishing house GD Baedecker, Essen 1889, p. 75.
- ↑ Diedrich Baedecker: Alfred Krupp and the development of the cast steel factory in Essen. Publishing house GD Baedecker, Essen 1889, p. 75.
- ↑ Müller: The development of field artillery , p. 283 [2]
- ↑ The template for this picture comes from the publication: Zeitschrift des Verein deutscher Ingenieure. Volume XV Plate XVI. Self-published by the association, Berlin 1871.
- ^ R. Wagner: Collection of technical regulations.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Witte: The rifled field guns , pp. 13-16.
- ^ Müller: The development of the field artillery , p. 346