Mortier de 280 modèle 14/16

Mortier de 280 modèle 14/16
Mortier de 280 Schneider with team in a school-like line-up
General Information
Military designation:	Mortier de 280 mm TR Schneider mle 1914
Manufacturer country:	France
Developer / Manufacturer:	Schneider et Cie
Development year:	1914
Start of production:	1914
Number of pieces:	about 100
Model variants:	28 cm mortar 601 (f) 280-мм мортира Шнейдера образца 1914/15 гг
Weapon Category:	Heavy siege mortar
Team:	12
Technical specifications
Pipe length:	3,360 m
Caliber :	279.4 mm
Caliber length :	L 12
Number of trains :	88
Twist :	8.55 °
Cadence :	0.4 rounds / min
Elevation range:	+ 10 ° to +60 degrees
Side straightening area:	9 °
Furnishing
Closure Type :	Cylinder head with interrupted thread
Ammunition supply:	Manually

The Mortier de 280 TR modèle 1914 Schneider (mortar 280 mm model 1914 Schneider - TR stands for tir rapide , i.e. rapid fire) was a siege mortar manufactured by Schneider et Cie . The main user was the French army during the First World War . Approximately 40 guns were sold to Russia (but only 26 were delivered), classified as 11 дм during the Russian Civil War and the Polish-Soviet War . осадная мортира обр. 1912 г. (“Siege mortar 11 inch model 1912”) or better known as 280-мм мортира Шнейдера образца 1914/15 гг. ("280 mm Schneider mortar model 1914 / 15S") were used. A modified version in caliber 240 mm was ordered by the US Army as the M1918 240 mm howitzer , but was only produced after the end of the war.

Contrary to its official name as a mortar, the gun was mostly called a howitzer in the troops , which it owed to its technical equipment with a breech (instead of a muzzle charge) and the barrel length with 12 calibers.

background

Nineteenth-century artillery was mainly divided into two types: conventional "field artillery" accompanied infantry on the battlefield, "siege artillery" was used to fight enemy fortified positions. The latter type was characterized by large calibers, which required increased logistical effort. The effectiveness of the siege artillery was demonstrated during the siege of Port Arthur (May 1904), when the Imperial Japanese Army deployed heavy 28- caliber mortars ( 28 cm L / 10 howitzer ) made by the company against Russian fortifications and warships Armstrong. Of course, this detail of the story did not escape the Russians, who then contacted Schneider et Cie in 1909 to order an 11-inch (279.4 mm) rapid-fire siege howitzer with a range of 6,000 m, which would reinforce the tsar's artillery should.

The Schneider prototype, made in the Creusot factory , was released by the Russian Army in 1912 under the name 11 дм. осадная мортира обр. 1912 г. tested. The effectiveness of this new howitzer had been tested against fortified targets that were specially built for this purpose on the Beresan Island in the mouth of the Dnieper . The tests became known as the "Otschakow experiments". Although the projectiles were unable to penetrate reinforced modern fortifications, the overall performance of the concept was considered satisfactory. Russia therefore ordered 16 copies from Schneider, which in 1915 under the official designation 280-мм мортира Шнейдера образца 1914/15 гг. were delivered.

During this period the French army was also interested in the concept as the old Mortier de 270 modèle were to be replaced in 1885 . The National Assembly hesitated until 1913 before approving an order for 18 pieces, at a time when it was almost certain that there would be war in Europe. Initially, the French guns were supposed to be 280 mm caliber, but were eventually built under the Russian standard 279.4 mm. Although the caliber was identical, the Russian and French howitzers showed differences, especially in the breech block. Due to delays, partly due to the French mobilization of 1914, the first French howitzers were not delivered until late 1915.

function

The Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider was a classic howitzer in the style of its time, which was equipped with a de Bange lock. In order to compensate for the long return of the barrel, a hydropneumatic damping system, as was also found on the other French artillery pieces, was installed. The tube with a length of 12 calibers (L / 12) allowed a muzzle velocity of 418 m / s with a maximum range of 10,950 m. In contrast to other siege weapons of this time, the trunnion was positioned high on the barrel, which is why in the model 280 mm 1914 a recess had to be excavated under the gun position for the barrel return when firing in the upper angle group . A protective shield could also be installed as an option.

Detail drawing of the Mortier Schneider de 280 mm.

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  Transport of the pipe cradle

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  Transport of the lower mount

ammunition

The 280 mm mortar used three different types of ammunition:

ammunition	description	total weight	Explosive charge	Muzzle velocity	Detonator
Grenade type AT modèle 1914	High-explosive steel grenade with a delay fuse	205 kg	63.6 kg	418 m / s	Detonator 40 mm Mle 1895
Grenade type FA modèle 1915	Cast iron explosive grenade with delay detonator	205 kg	36.3 kg	418 m / s	Detonator 40 mm Mle 1895
Grenade type AC modèle 1915	HE grenade with bottom fuse	275 kg	51.5 kg	315 m / s	Bottom fuse Mle 1915 with delay (0.25 / 0.35 and 0.50 sec.) Or without delay

Combat missions

First World War

At the start of the war, the guns were set in two and then three in a battery.

A French 280mm mortar fire on February 23, 1918 German positions at ( Aspach (Haut-Rhin) )

The mortar was first used in the Battle of Verdun in April 1916 . German entrenchments and artillery positions were fired at. In the course of the French attack on Fort Douaumont in May 1916, it became apparent that his 280 mm shells were not able to penetrate modern fortifications, as was proven in 1912.

At the end of the war a total of 126 mortars had been delivered to the French army and 26 to the Russian army. (After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution , no more deliveries were made.) 25 units were mounted on a caterpillar chassis from the Saint-Chamond company and, under the name "Saint-Chamond mortier de 280 sur chenilles", were part of the beginning of motorized artillery. This type of artillery was valuable during trench warfare, but lost much of its effectiveness when the war of movement started again at the end of 1918.

Gun turrets of Fort Chaberton

History of the "Saint-Chamond mortier de 280 sur chenilles"

Originally they wanted to use the unsuccessful chassis of the St. Chamond tank . However, the knowledge about the technical inadequacy of the vehicle forced a completely new design. In 1918 the first mortars appeared at the front. Mission reports, however, are extremely sparse. Some vehicles were also equipped with a 194 mm cannon. After the German invasion of France in 1940, some vehicles were captured and used on the Eastern Front until 1943.

The mortar consisted of two relatively lightly armored vehicles. It was powered by electric motors in the gun carrier, which in turn obtained their power from an armored generator car. The driver of the gun car steered both vehicles, these were connected by a cable. The gun was centered.

Second World War

In France

At the beginning of the Battle of France in 1940 , the mortar was an integral part of the French artillery force. The guns were assigned to the 166 ^e régiment d'artillerie de position (fortress artillery regiment in the Maginot Line). During the mobilization they were handed over with 32 guns to the 171 ^e and 172 ^e régiment d'artillerie lourde à grande puissance (regiments of heavy artillery of great effect).

The mortar in use by the German Wehrmacht in the east in January 1944.

The mortars were used successfully during the fighting against the Italian fort on Mont Chaberton . In 1940 , one of the main concerns of the French high command was the capture of the fort, located 3130 m above Briançon . Fort Chaberton was built from 1891. It comprised a barracks measuring 13 × 18 m and eight brick artillery towers. Each tower was equipped with a 149 mm cannon (Cannone da 149/35 A). The French built an armored observation tower and two field observation posts to monitor Fort Chaberton. Four field positions for the 280 mm mortar were then built outside the field of vision of the Italians, two on the Poët Moran and two on the Ayrette. They were under the command of Lieutenant Miguet. On the afternoon of June 21, 1940, the four mortars opened fire on the Italian fort. The first shot was too short, but the second destroyed the cable car to Chaberton and everyone else reached their destination. The Italians tried to fire back, but the turrets were quickly damaged and soon incapacitated.

In the East

In June 1941, the Red Army still had the 26 mortars delivered. The 72 French guns that had been captured by the Germans were used as "28 cm mortars 601 (f)" on the Russian front and here especially during the siege of Leningrad .

Remaining pieces

There are only two known examples of the mortar left.

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  Russian model in the Muzeum Wojska Polskiego in Warsaw.

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  Inscriptions on the pipe.

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  Manufacturer's badge with production number

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  Saint-Chamond mortier de 280 mm sur chenilles , exhibited in the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden.

literature

• "Applications de l'industrie" La leçon d'une Guerre (essai d'histoire) Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Menu École Supérieure de la Guerre Paris October 1928 - December 1931 [1]
• Les Cahiers des troupes de montagne "Les" 149 "du Chaberton" Editeur Serge Pivot Décembre 2003 [2]
• Règlement de manœuvre et de transport du mortier 280 "Renseignements généraux - mise en batterie et hors batterie" Ministère de la Guerre Éditeur Ministère de la Guerre 23 juillet [3]
• Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945 . 2nd Edition. Special edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .

Web links

Commons : 28 cm mortar mle 1914  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

References and comments

1. ↑ the ordered number of 40 was not reached