Canon de 120 mm L modèle 1878

Canon de 120 mm L modèle 1878
Canon de 120 long modèle 1878 in the Finnish Military Museum Hameenlinna
General Information
Military designation:	Canon de 120 long
Manufacturer country:	France
Model variants:	Either field or fortress mount
Weapon Category:	Heavy artillery
Technical specifications
Pipe length:	3.25 m
Caliber :	120 mm
Cadence :	2 to 3 rounds / min
Elevation range:	−17 ° to + 30 ° angular degrees

The Canon de 120 long modèle 1878 was a gun of the French fortress artillery from the time before the First World War . It was developed by Colonel de Bange . It is a steel tube that was initially placed on a siege or fortress carriage. Basically it only consisted of the older 155 L cannon, which was easier and better to maneuver due to the smaller caliber. In order to bring the gun to use, it had to be placed on a gun platform. Some variants have been equipped with a hydraulic return brake to improve stability.

The cannons were originally used in the fortifications, but were also used as field guns and equipped with the appropriate mount. The guns used in coastal defense were equipped with a center pivot mount .

After some of the cannons could still be found in the Atlantic Wall , the useful life did not end until the end of the Second World War .

The bullet weight was up to 40 kg, depending on the type of ammunition.

More guns with the breech of the System de Bange

• Canon de 80 modèle 1877 : 80 mm mountain gun
• Canon de 90 mm modèle 1877 : 90 mm field gun (1878);
• Canon de 155 mm L modèle 1877
• Mortier de Bange de 220 : 220 mm siege gun (1880);
• Canon de Bange de 240 : 240 mm coastal and siege gun (1884);
• Mortier de 270 modèle 1885 : 270 mm coastal and siege gun
• Mortier de 270 modèle 1889 : 270 mm coastal and siege gun

Commons : Canon de 120 long modèle 1878  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

• Marco Frijns, Luc Malchair, Jean-Jacques Moulins, Jean Puelinckx: L'Index de la Fortification Française 1874–1914. Autoédition, Paris.