Mountain cannon Ord 1864
| Mountain cannon Ord 1864 | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | Mountain cannon Ord 1864 |
| Manufacturer country: | Switzerland |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Colonel Müller, Aarau, Rüetschi Foundry, Aarau (Switzerland) |
| Development year: | from 1860 |
| Start of production: | 1864 |
| Weapon Category: | Mountain gun |
| Technical specifications | |
| Overall length: | 1.95 m |
| Caliber : |
84.4 mm |
| Furnishing | |
| Ammunition supply: | Muzzle loader |
The Gebirgskanone Ord 1864 (also called the 4-pounder Gebirgskanone Ord 1864 ) replaced the Mountain Howitzer Model 1841 , which was introduced after 1840 ; in contrast to this, its barrel was provided with rifling. It was the last muzzle loader used in the Swiss Army . The weapon was replaced after 1870 by the 7.5 cm mountain cannon Ord 1877 , a breech loader.
The gun
The barrel of the Ord 1864 mountain cannon was attached to the mount of its predecessor, the Model 1841 mountain howitzer. The 4-pounder bronze barrels cast in the foundry Rüetschi (Aarau) (bronze, composition 90.5% copper, 9.5% tin), total tube length 900 mm, caliber 84.4 mm, were drawn (6 trains). The maximum firing range was 1600 m, the operational range 1200 m.
The weapon was used on its wooden wheel mount; this did not allow the lateral direction to be corrected, as the tube with trunnion was placed directly on the mount. It was judged by shifting the tail of the carriage sideways. To adjust the elevation , a screw was attached to the mount that supported the rear end of the barrel. The elevation range was −10 to +25 degrees . In order to reduce the return of the gun, the wheels could be blocked with restraint ropes.
The gun, pulled on its wheel carriage , was transported by a mule , for this purpose a forked drawbar could be attached to the end of the carriage. In difficult terrain, the gun could be dismantled and transported by three pack animals. The individual loads carried by each animal were just over 100 kg.
Ammunition used
The mountain gun Ord 1864 missed grenades with cams to introduce the muzzle-pipe or canister for Nahabwehr.
- Propellant charge Ord 1864, 300 g gun powder No. 5, used separately in a powder bag.
- High explosive grenade Ord 1864, weight 3.92 kg, with time fuse, explosive charge 220 g black powder.
- Explosive grenade Ord 1866, weight 3.92 kg, with impact fuse, explosive charge 220 g black powder.
- Rifle cartridge Ord 1864, 3.82 kg, filled with 41 pewter balls of 64 g, stored in sawdust.
literature
- Guns of the Swiss Mountain Artillery, Bulletin 3/11, page 3
- Les Bouches à Feu de l'Artillerie Suisse, Author: Lt. Col. Jean de Montet, 1980, Edition du Center d'Histoire, Lausanne.
- Artillery I, artillery guns without mechanical barrel return. Author: Walter Betschmann, Stocker-Schmid Verlag, Dietikon-Zürich, ISBN 3-7276-7009-6
- Artillery III, The way to a uniform artillery system, author: Walter Betschmann, 1984, Verlag Stocker-Schmid, Dietikon-Zürich, ISBN 3-7276-7059-2