Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881

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Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881


Howitzer on siege / fortress carriage M 1881 in position

General Information
Military designation: Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881
Manufacturer country: France
Start of production: 1880/1881
Model variants: 2
Technical specifications
Pipe length: 2.4 m
Caliber :

155 mm

Number of trains : 48
Twist : 7 ° counterclockwise
Furnishing
Ammunition supply: manually

The so-called Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 was a howitzer developed by Colonel Charles Ragon de Bange and used by the French Army during the First World War .

history

On May 11, 1874, three types of long barrel cannons of the System de Bange ( Canon de 120 mm L modèle 1878 , Canon de 155 mm L modèle 1877 , Canon de 240 mm modèle 1884 ) and two mortars ( Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 and Mortier de 270 modèle 1885 ) commissioned by the French army. The "155C mle 1881" was already a modern gun for its time, as it was made entirely of steel instead of cast iron like the previous model "Canon de 240 mm mle 1870-87".

Conception

In contrast to the "Canon de 155 mm L modèle 1877", the "155C mle 1881" was designed as a howitzer with the specification of a shorter firing range due to a larger barrel elevation.

The mount for the "155C mle 1881" howitzer was shaped like a gooseneck, the barrel was made of steel and fitted with a lock from the de Bange system. The first guns were not yet equipped with a hydraulic barrel return, which is why they had to be set up again after each shot, which had a negative effect on the cadence . For transport, the carriage and pipe were hooked into a two-wheeled axle and the whole thing was connected to a limber . The setting up took 2½ hours of work.

First World War

Although the majority of the warring countries had heavy artillery at their disposal, no one had considered at that time what role it would play after the stabilization of the Franco-German front. The land and coastal fortifications as well as the arsenals delivered their heavy artillery to the front after a short time. Field gun mounts or railway mounts were built for this purpose, to make the heavy artillery so mobile that it could be used where it was necessary to overcome trenches and concrete fortifications.

At the beginning of the First World War, about 237 of the "155C mle 1881" were available. They were classified as siege and fortress guns and assigned to the foot artillery regiments of the fortresses. Nevertheless, they were often used in field positions. Despite their short range, they were known for their accuracy and were therefore often used for indirect shots.

variants

  • Porté - An unknown number of the "155C mle 1881" howitzer was mounted on the back of trucks to create mobile artillery. The pipes pointed forward and protruded over the roof of the cab.
  • Tourelle de 155 C type de Montluçon - used in the armored turrets of this type in the fortifications of Lucey.
  • Affût-truck Peigné, Canet mle 1897 - developed by Lieutenant-Colonel Peigné and the engineer Gustave Canet at the beginning of the 20th century. The cannons were mounted on field railway wagons of the ring railway of the fixed places Verdun , Toul , Épinal and Belfort . The mount was equipped with a central pivot , which gave the gun a high elevation and a lateral directional range of 360 °. At the same time, a hydraulic return brake was installed. This type of mount enabled a quick relocation of the firepower and an effective way of supplying ammunition.
  • Canon obusier de 155 mm mle 1881/12 Filloux - With a modernization program in 1912, the tube was placed on a mount with a hydropneumatic tube return brake. However, this limited the elevation range to only 24 °. This mount was based on a design by Colonel Louis Filloux. When firing, the barrel mounted on a slide was moved diagonally upwards on rails by the recoil and was intercepted by the hydropneumatic brake. Gravity then slid it back into its original position. This technique increased cadence by reducing the time it took to assemble the gun.
  • Canon de 155 mm C mle 1890 Baquet - The barrel was placed on a field gun carriage, thereby improving mobility and making it much easier to pull horses. The carriage consisted of two parts, the tubular cradle and an underframe that was attached to the wheel axle and had a floor support between the wheels. A hydraulic return brake was also available here. Due to the design, the leveling range was limited. In the firing position, the ground support was used to give the gun a better position. The same system was used in the mortar Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 . However, the hydropneumatic system was not effective enough to absorb the recoil sufficiently, and the gun remained unstable. In August 1914 a total of 134 of these mortars were in use with the heavy field artillery regiments and the foot artillery regiments in the forts of the Système Séré de Rivières .

Further technical data

designation Canon de 155 C de siège sur col affût de siège mle 1881 Canon de 155 C sur plateforme "Baquet"
Model year 1881 1880
Diameter of the trains 157 mm 157 mm
Powder chamber diameter 160 mm 160 mm
Clasp System de Bange System de Bange
Powder chamber length 250 mm 250 mm
Closure length 237 mm 237 mm
Lock weight 68 kg 68 kg
Weight of the carriage in transport position with wheels 1460 kg
Weight of the carriage in transport position without wheels 1165 kg
Total weight in transport position with wheels 2490 kg
Weight in transport position without wheels 2155 kg
Weight platform without wheels 1985 kg
Total weight in firing position with wheels 3315 kg
overall length 5.13 m
Reverse brake without hydraulic
Elevation range + 60 ° to −17 ° + 65 ° to −5 °
Side straightening area 56 ° 16 °
cadence 1 shot every 2 minutes 1.5 rounds per minute
Maximum firing range 6800 m 6300 m
Price for the tube with cap 7300 gold francs 7300 gold francs

ammunition

The "155C mle 1881" howitzer used separate charges. The propellant charge consisted of powder sachets with a content of 2.8 to 6 kg.

designation Projectile weight
propellant charge 		Explosive charge Remarks
High explosive grenade (Obus ordinaires) 40 kg
1.4–2.1 kg
black powder or melinite
Extended grenade M 1890 (Obus allongés mle 1890) 43 kg
10.3 kg melinite
Grenade 4½ caliber (Obus de 4½ calibres) 43.7 kg
12 kg
Grenade with bottom detonator (Obus de rupture) ? ?
Shrapnel (Obus à balles) 40.59 kg 450 g 270 lead balls each weighing 26.1 g
Grenade brush (Obus à mitraille) 40.5 kg 550 g 416 lead balls weighing 25 g each
Rifle case (boîtes à mitraille) 39.6 kg 429 lead balls weighing 65 g each
Incendiary grenades (Projectiles incendiaires) ? 800 g melinite 30 fire agent containers

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Canon versus cuirasse, le vainqueur est ... In: Fortification et Mémoire. December 20, 2012
  2. ^ Ian V. Hogg: Allied artillery of World War One. Crowood, Ramsbury 2004, ISBN 1-86126-712-6 , pp. 129-134, OCLC 56655115
  3. ↑ L'obusier de 155 court modèle 1881 de Bange et l'obusier de 155 modèle 1890 court Baquet. In: Fortiff'Séré
  4. ↑ motorized
  5. ↑ Canon de 155 court Bange mle 1881 (en version portée Filloux mle 1912). In: Base documentaire Artillery (Bas'Art)
  6. ↑ La tourelle Montluçon de 155C. In: Fortiff'Séré
  7. ↑ railway carriage system Peigné / Canet M 1897
  8. ↑ Les affûts-trucs Peigné Canet modèle 1897 sur la voie de 60. In: Fortiff'Séré
  9. ↑ Le réseau militaire de voie de 60. In: Fortiff'Séré
  10. ↑ Howitzer on mount type Filloux
  11. ↑ Howitzer on mount type Baquet
  12. ↑ 155 mm siege cannon Kurz on siege mount M 1881
  13. ↑ 155 mm cannon on the "Baquet" platform