Canon de 240 mm modèle 1884

Canon de 240 mm modèle 1884
A "Canon de 240 mm en acier modèle 1884 sur affût à échantigolles" in August 1916 near Dammerkirch in Alsace . It is split into two loads for transport
General Information
Military designation:	Canon de 240 G mm modèle 1884
Manufacturer country:	France
Developer / Manufacturer:	Schneider et Cie
Development year:	1884
Model variants:	4th
Weapon Category:	Coastal Artillery / Heavy Field Artillery / Railway Artillery
Technical specifications
Pipe length:	6.24 m and 7.22 m
Caliber :	240 mm
Caliber length :	L / 27 and L / 30
Cadence :	0.25 rounds / min
Elevation range:	- 5 ° to + 20 ° angular degrees
Side straightening area:	up to 360 °
Furnishing
Closure Type :	System de Bange System Dormancier et Dalzon System Canet
Ammunition supply:	Manually

The Canon de 240 mm mle 1884 was a heavy gun of the French artillery, which was developed among others by Colonel Charles Ragon de Bange . The gun was already equipped with a barrel made entirely of steel, instead of the cast iron barrel used until then with a steel core barrel . It was originally intended to be used as a coastal gun, but later it was also used in the field artillery and as a railway gun and was in service in World War I as well as in World War II . It was the successor to the Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 .

history

On May 11, 1874, the French War Ministry set the calibers 120 mm, 155 mm and 220 mm for the heavy field artillery and the calibers 220 mm and 270 mm for the mortars as standard. On December 31, 1875, development of the 270 mm mortar was stopped, and the order was withdrawn on January 22, 1876. Instead, the "Canon de 24 C modèle 1876" was preferred. This was originally mounted on a mount G and was used as a coastal gun.

Although the majority of the leading military powers had heavy field artillery before the outbreak of World War I, France did not have a sufficient number of guns with a caliber of over 220 millimeters. Nor had the growing importance of heavy artillery been foreseen. When the western front stagnated and trench warfare began, the lack of heavy and super-heavy artillery made itself felt; numerous improvisations emerged in a hurry. A quick replacement for the missing heavy artillery was seen in the use of excess marine and coastal artillery. For these guns, however, their mounts had to be modified for field use, so that suitable field and railway mounts were developed in a short time, which could then support the heavy field artillery in combating fortified targets.

Field use

During the First World War, the French high command was confronted with an overpowering German heavy artillery. It was then decided to create its own reinforced heavy artillery , called Artillerie lourde à grande puissance - ALGP (heavy artillery of great effect)

Another version was put into service during the war as a railway gun (ALVF - Artillerie lourde sur voie ferrée) with a 360 ° lateral directional range for both the “modèle 1876” gun with short barrel and the “modèle 1884” gun. The railway chassis required for this were different; on the one hand, it was a simple frame with an attached carriage to which heavy artillery bed wagons were later added.

Although it was an older model, the need for heavy artillery on the western front was so great that at least five different mobile mounts were created for the "mle 1884", two for use in the field and three on railway chassis.

At the beginning of the war, 149 of these guns were placed in coastal batteries.

Field guns

For the transport of the guns in the field, the mount and barrel were loaded onto two wagons. Due to the weight of the car, two tractors per car were required for most journeys. The tractors used around four thousand liters of gasoline per 100 km. Therefore, they were only used near the front. For longer journeys everything was loaded onto railway wagons.

Canon de 240 mm en acier modèle 1884 sur affût à échantigolles

(Cannon 240 mm made of steel model 1884 on auxiliary carriage)

• Model: 1884
• Weight of the pipe: 14,000 kg
• Caliber: 240 mm
• Pipe length: 6.24 m
• Closure: System De Bange
• Elevation range: −0 to + 38 °
• Max firing range 16.5 km
• Total weight: 25,000 kg
• Cadence: 1 shot in six minutes

French 24 cm gun on auxiliary mount "à échantigolles"

The Colonel Leduc developed a mobile artillery gun carriage, which was made from steel and wood. This mount was made by the “Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécourt” in Saint-Chamond.

The retrofitting of 16 cannons was carried out in 1915 by the “Arsenal de Toulon” and referred to as “Canon de 240 mm mle 1884 sur affût à échantigolles”. For this purpose, an old-fashioned iron wall mount was made, the side parts of which were lined with wooden beams. Since there was no side-to-side mechanism, the entire mount, which stood on a wooden platform, had to be aligned with the target. The height direction was made by wooden wedges under the breech block. There was also no return system; the kickback was absorbed by the friction between the mount and the platform and by two hydraulic brakes that connected the mount to the platform. Despite these limitations, this model was considered successful.

Canon 240 mm mle 1884 sur affût à tracteur Saint-Chamont modèle 1916

(240 mm cannon model 1884 on a gun carriage model 1916 with a Saint-Chamont tractor)

• Manufacturer: Arsenal de Toulon
• Year of construction: 1916–1917
• Total weight: 31,000 kg
• Pipe length: 6.24 m
• Weight of the grenade: 161 kg
• Caliber: 240 mm
• Elevation range: - 5 ° to + 38 °
• Side straightening range: 360 °
• Cadence: 1 shot in 3 minutes
• Muzzle velocity: 575 m / s
• Range: 16.6 km

After the "Canon 240 mm mle 1884 sur affût à échantigolles" turned out to be useful despite its primitive design, the factory in Saint-Chamond was commissioned to develop a more modern and mobile mount for the 240 mm tube as a successor model. In 1916 the company presented the finished gun, 60 of which were built between October 1916 and October 1917.

A Canon 240 mm Mle 1884 sur affût à Tracteur Saint-Chamont Modèle 1916 around 1918 in use with the US Army

The gun consisted of three parts. A rectangular steel frame on which the mount was placed served as the base. The frame was anchored in the ground. The mount could be rotated 10 ° in each direction on the frame. The tube was equipped with two hydraulic brake cylinders, and so the recoil was absorbed. The maximum pipe elevation was 38 °. The rate of fire was one shot in three minutes. It took 24 hours to get the gun ready to fire.

The pipe and the carriage were loaded onto two wagons for the transport. Due to the weight of the wagons (20.5 and 20.4 tons), two tractors per wagon were required for most journeys. The tractors used around four thousand liters of gasoline per 100 km. That is why they were only used near the front, the railroad was used for longer journeys.

These guns were popular and often used because of their combination of long range and heavy shells. In 1939 12 guns were mobilized and later some were captured by the Wehrmacht.

Coastal gun

The carriage rested on a turntable within a concrete parapet and was rotated with a worm gear in the side straightening area. The pipe protruded over the parapet.

Canon de 240 mm de Côte en acier modèle 1884 sur affut G à chassis circulaire modèle 1890

• (Coastal cannon 240 mm made of steel model 1884 on mount G with slewing ring model 1890)
• Weight of the tube: 14,000 kg (22,000 kg with long tube)
• Caliber: 240 mm
• Pipe length: 6.24 m (7.22 m with long pipe)
• Closure: System De Bange

Use as fortress and coastal gun. This gun was a lot more modern than its predecessor. The pipe was already completely made of steel and equipped with a De Bange closure. It was installed in fortresses and for coastal defense, both outdoors and in gun turrets. The carriage was already attached to a turntable here. A further variant was developed in the First World War as the “Canon de 240 long TAZ” (TAZ - tout azimut - that is, rotatable in all directions), a railway gun mounted on various short railway chassis. The tube brake worked on the same principle as on the previous model, the Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 . The upper part of the carriage, which was firmly connected to the tube, rested on the sliding surfaces of the lower part. The hydraulic return brake acted on two hydraulic cylinders that were attached to the lower part of the carriage and slowed the return of the upper part of the carriage.

Carriage with a short barrel	Carriage with a long tube
Weight 28,700 kg	Weight 28,700 kg
Elevation range −5 ° to + 20 °	Elevation range −5 ° to + 20 °
Side straightening range up to 360 °	Side straightening range up to 360 °
Firing range from 9500 to 17,300 m	Firing range 18,500 m
Weight of the grenade 162 kg	Weight of the grenade 162 kg
Muzzle velocity 575 m / s	Muzzle velocity  ?
Total weight 42,700 kg	Total weight 50,700 kg

Canon de 240 modèle 1884 TR de Côte en acier sur affût approprié modèle 1901

• (Steel coastal cannon 240 TR model 1884 on modified mount model 1901)

This gun was only intended for use in the Bizerte fortress area . The return system already had a pipe brake in which the pipe moved itself and was braked by two hydraulic cylinders. The carriage was attached to a turntable.

• pipe
• Weight: 14,000 kg
• Length: 6.24 m
• Closure: Système Dormancier et Dalzon

Mount

• Weight: 18,000 kg
• Elevation range: −7 ° to + 20 °
• Side straightening range: up to 360 °
• Firing range: 13,500 to 17,300 m
• Weight of the grenade: 162 kg
• Muzzle velocity: 575 m / s
• Total weight: 32,000 kg

Canon de 240 TR mle 1884/03

This gun was designed so that it could achieve a higher rate of fire with a smaller crew. The tube was in a specially developed carriage for this purpose.

• Description: Canon de 240 TR de Côte en acier
• Model: 240 TR mle 1884/03
• pipe

Weight: 14,000 kg

Length: 6.24 m

Closure: Système Canet crank lock

• Carriage "modéle 1901"

Weight: 17,600 kg

Elevation range: −7 ° to + 20 °

Side straightening range: 120 °

Firing range: 17,300 m

Weight of the grenade: 157-162 kg

Muzzle velocity: 575 m / s

Total weight: 31,600 kg

Railway guns

Canon de 240 L Mle 1884

Drawing of a "Canon de 240 L mle 1884" on a turntable.

• In 1915, the "Aciéries et forges de la Marine" factory in Saint-Chamond received the order to build an improved chassis for the "Canon mle 1884"; the design for this was accepted in 1916. The new weapon was called "Canon de 240 mm Mle 1884 sur tracteur Saint-Chamont" or "Canon de 240 mm L modèle 1884". The Saint-Chamond factory produced sixty cannons between October 1916 and October 1917. The "mle 1884" had to be split into two parts for transport. As with the auxiliary carriage, tractors and trains were used for transport. The guns could be assembled on site in around 24 hours using cranes and pulleys . The new bedding used the same slewing ring as the coastal carriage, whereby a height adjustment range of −10 ° to + 38 ° was possible. Cannons that were still operational after the war were called "Canon de Mle 84/17" and were used again during World War II. In 1939 twelve cannons were mobilized, which were captured by the Wehrmacht after the fall of France and used as cannon 556 (f) for coastal defense in the Atlantic Wall .

railroad

In addition to the field and coastal guns, the "mle 1884" was also converted into a railway gun:

Drawing of a Canon de 240 mm mle 1884 on a "Circonstance Schneider" carriage.

• The first of these conversions was called "Canon de 240 mm mle 1884 sur de circonstance Schneider". The carriage was attached to a 5-axle railway chassis built by Schneider-Creusot. There was no way to go sideways, the chassis had to be maneuvered with the weapon in a curved firing curve . The barrel return system was the same as that of the coastal gun. The undercarriage had four supports on each side that were connected to the rails to absorb the recoil and anchor the carriage in place. At the front of the car there was a mechanism with a crank and a chain gear that acted on the first axle of the car and with which the gun could be moved in the firing curve.

Drawing of a "Canon de 240 mm mle 1884" on a carriage with 360 ° side straightening range (affût-Trucs TAZ)

• Another version of the "Canon mle 1884" was implemented in 1914 with the assembly of the earlier "Canon de 240 mm G mle 1870–1887" on a railroad car; it was named "Canon de 24 cm modèle 1870–1887" and "modèle 1870– 1893 de Batignolles ”. This was one of the first railroad carriages built by Batignolles with a 360 ° directional range. The weapon rested on two three-axle bogies. Before firing, 4 steel supports were anchored on the rail and 4 side arms folded out next to the rail to ensure stability in the all-round fire area. A loading area at the rear of the shooting range could hold five shots and the charges, increasing the rate of fire to four shots in five minutes. The conversion was successful, but the "mle 1870–1887" was a very old weapon and due to its mixed construction, each metal had different thermal properties that accelerated tube wear. Therefore, at the beginning of 1917 it was decided to put the "mle 1884" on the Batignolles chassis, which led to the "Canon de 240 mm mle 1884 sur affût-trucs TAZ". The combination was successful and was considered one of the best pieces of French railroad artillery because it was a powerful and precise weapon. Remaining guns were still used in World War II. The cannons captured by the Germans were given the designation 24 cm K (E) 557 (f) and were used as coastal artillery in the Atlantic Wall.
• The last version of the "mle 1884" began at the end of 1917, using the same railway chassis as for the Canon "240 mm mle 1884 sur affut de circonstance" from Schneider. The weapon that was originally mounted on the wagon was the "canon de 240 mm G mle 1876", whereby only the shot tubes of the "mle 1876" were replaced by those of the "mle 1884". The details are largely identical to those of the previous renovation and were called "Canon 240 mm mle 1884 sur affût de fortune mle 1917". It is not certain whether the 38 conversions that were carried out were still used during the First World War. During the Second World War eight to 17 cannons were mobilized and five captured by the Germans, who gave them the designation 24 cm cannon (railway) 557 (f). Three of them were used by the Germans and two were given to the Italians after the fall of France. After the Italian surrender, the two guns returned to Italy were returned to the service of the Wehrmacht.

Captive guns in the Wehrmacht and their German names

Type of use	French name	German name
Coastal artillery	Canon de 240 modèle 1884
Field artillery	Canon de 240 long tracté modèle 1884 on affût Saint-Chamond	24 cm cannon 556 (f)
Field artillery	Canon de 240 long tracté modèle 1884/17 on affût Saint-Chamond	24 cm cannon 556/1 (f)
Railway guns	Canon de 240 long TAZ modèle 1884 on affût Batignolles	24 cm gun (railroad) 557 (f)
Railway guns	Canon de 240 long TAZ modèle 1884/17 sur affût Batignolles	24 cm cannon (railroad) 557/1 (f)
Railway guns	Canon de 240 long modèle 1884 on affût-truck Schneider

After the end of the war with France in 1940, 31 field artillery pieces and 18 railway guns were left. Most were built into the Atlantic Wall by the Wehrmacht .

Footnotes

1. ↑ type designation
2. ↑ affût à échantigolles stands for "experimental or auxiliary carriage"
3. ↑ TR stands for "tir rapide" - rapid fire
4. ↑ breech
5. ↑ affut-trucs stands for railway carriage and TAZ for "tout azimut" - so it can be rotated all around
6. ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/907965829%7C Steve Zaloga & Peter Dennis "Railway guns of World War II", Osprey 2016 ISBN 1-4728-1068-6 Oxford pp. 5 to 8
7. ↑ 240 mm cannon, long barrel, model 1884 on a Saint-Chamond mount
8. ↑ 240 mm cannon, long barrel, model 1884/17 on a Saint-Chamond mount
9. ↑ 240 mm cannon, rotatable through 360 °, long barrel, model 1884 on Batignolles mount
10. ↑ "TAZ" stands for tous azimut - rotatable all around
11. ↑ 240 mm cannon, 360 ° rotatable, long barrel, model 1884/17 on Batignolles mount
12. ↑ 240 mm cannon, long barrel, model 1884 on a Schneider crawler chassis

literature

• S. Ferrard, "Les Matériels de l'armée de terre Française 1940", Volume 2, pp. 83-85, pp. 124-125.
• G. François, "Les canons de la Victoire". Volume 2, Artillerie Lourde à Grande Puissance, pp. 15/20/30/32
• G. François, "Les canons de la Victoire". Volume 3, l'Artillerie de côte et l'artillerie de tranchée, p. 22
• G. François, “Histoire de l'artillerie lourde sur voie ferrée française de 1886 à 1918”, p. 31
• F. Kosar “The Heavy Guns of the World”, pp. 102-103.
• F. Kosar “The Railroad Guns of the World”, p. 86.
• Mark Romanych "Railway Guns of World War I." Heuer, Greg, Noon, Steve London pp. 5-15. ISBN 978-1-4728-1641-2 . OCLC 999616340.
• Ian Hogg & John Batchelor "Rail gun" Scribner New York 1973. p. 14. ISBN 0-684-13342-3 . OCLC 760898.

Web links

• Canon de 240 G modèle 1876 on fortiffsere

Commons : Canon de 240 L Mle 1884  - Collection of images, videos and audio files