Canon revolver de 37
The Canon revolver de 37 (37 mm revolver cannon) was a cannon developed by Hotchkiss et Cie in France in 1873 with five barrel rotating on the revolver principle.
technology
As with the Gatling Gun , the five barrels of the 37 mm Hotchkiss cannon rotate around a common central axis. However, the principle of operation is fundamentally different. In the Gatling Gun, the barrel set rotates continuously, each barrel has a slide on its extension that feeds, fires and ejects a cartridge in one rotation of the barrel set through 360 °. The process of feeding cartridges into the barrel assembly of the Hotchkiss cannon can be compared with that of the prototype of the Mauser MG-213 machine gun .
The Hotchkiss cannon has a loading mechanism in the housing behind the barrels that is driven by a hand crank but does not rotate with it. Each time the crank is turned, the barrel set is turned one step further. In the first cycle, a cartridge is inserted into the barrel on the top left by a feeder moving back and forth. In the third stroke, this barrel reaches its lowest position in front of the bolt block with the hole for the firing pin, which is fixed in the housing, and is fired. In the fourth cycle it is turned away from the breech block and the case is pulled out. In the fifth cycle it is brought back into the charging position and charged.
The operating crew consisted of the gun leader, the man at the crank and the loader. The gun leader aimed the gun and was able to control the firing by disengaging the hand crank. It was loaded with an ammunition frame of 10 rounds. The maximum rate of fire of the weapon was 60-80 rounds / min.
Usage history
The five-barrel 37 mm revolver cannon from Hotchkiss et Cie was used in the navies of France, Germany and the Netherlands from the 1880s. It served on ships from cruiser size for torpedo boat defense and as armament for smaller vehicles. After 1893 these guns were replaced in the German Imperial Navy by the 5.0 cm Schnelladekanone L / 40 , from 1906 by the 5.2 cm Schnelladekanone L / 55 from Krupp , which had a greater range and penetration power.
Starting in 1884, the Russian Navy bought 126 units of this model and 24 units of the likewise five-barrel 47 mm revolver cannon. Russia began license production of this weapon in Tula in 1886 . By the end of production in 1896, 290 units had been produced. During the First World War , many of them were used for air defense.
In Russia, a single-pipe version was developed, of which 276 pieces were procured by 1901. It was easier to manufacture than the five-pipe version and became standard equipment in the Russian Navy until 1905. In the Russo-Japanese War , the low firepower was found and it was removed from the larger ships in a short time. During the First World War and the Russian Civil War , it was used to arm river ships. In this role, the last specimens survived until the Second World War on the ships of the Pinsker river flotilla.
literature
- Gun . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 7, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, pp. 215–222.
Web links
Field guns: Canon de 4 1858 | Canon de 5 modèle 1873 | Canon de 7 modèle 1873 | Canon de 75 mm modèle 1912 | Canon de 75 mm modèle 1897 | Canon de 80 1877 | Canon de 90 mm 1877 | Canon Lahitolle de 95 | Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider | Canon de 120 m 1878 | Canon de 138 1873-74 | Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 | Canon 155 mm C 1915 | Canon 155 mm L 1877 | Canon de 194 mm GPF | Canon de 220 L mle 1917 | Canon de 12 modèle 1853
Railway guns : Canon de 320 mm mle 1870/93 | Obusier de 400 mm | Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Mountain guns: Canon de 65 mm de montagne | Canon de 80 de montagne 1877
Fortress guns : Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879 | Canon 12 de culasse | Canon Reffye de 85 mm (Canon de 7) | Canon de 95 SP modèle 1875 | Tourelle de 155 C modèle 1908 | Tourelle Galopin 155 mm 1907 | Tourelle Galopin 155 mm 1890 | Tourelle Galopin 75 mm | Tourelle Mougin | Tourelle de mitrailleuses
Mortar: Mortier de 280 mm 1914 | Mortier de 220 mm 1880 | Mortier de 270 1885 | Mortier lisse
Howitzers: Obusier de 120 M 1890 | Obusier de 400 mm | Obusier de 520 modèle 1916 | Obusier de 155 mm C 1881
Coastal and naval guns: Canon revolver de 37 | Canon de 19 1884 | Canon de 24 C 1876 | Canon de 240 mm 1884 | Mortier de 270 1889