Tourelle de 75 mm R modèle 1905

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tourelle de 75 mm modèle 1905 of the Fort d'Uxegney , at Épinal in the extended position

The Tourelle de 75 mm R modèle 1905 (also: Tourelle pour deux pièces de 75 mm R modèle 1905 - dt .: gun turret for two cannons 75 mm R modèle 1905) was one of the types of gun turrets that were used in the forts of Séré de Rivières applied system of the Barrière de fer were incorporated. There is a retractable and 360 ° rotating tower in a gun fountain of concrete is installed. A steel armor is placed on the edge of the gun well . The gun consists of two 75 mm type R cannons (R stands for “raccourci à tir rapide” and means “shortened - rapid fire”). The Tourelle Galopin de 155 mm R modèle 1907 towers were available for the 155 mm caliber . Some of the towers were also found in the gun bunkers of the Maginot Line .

description

The turret has a maximum diameter of 2.90 meters and a total weight of 135 tons. The sophisticated mechanics of the lifting device made it possible to retract the tower every time after firing. (Without this system, the tower would have had to remain extended for a certain period of time because of the effort involved and in order to be able to maintain the rate of fire .) The complete process, i.e. extending, firing, retracting - took in the best case only 4 to 5 seconds . The manual system was replaced by an electric drive in 1934. The stroke was 1.03 meters.

The armor of the dome consisted of 280 mm on the ceiling and 180 mm of armor steel on the flanks. The gun well is framed by an armored armor .

The system is housed in a concrete shaft and extends over two floors.

  • The manual drive system for rotating the tower is located on the lower floor. Two cranks acting through a gearbox on slewing. Each crank was operated by two men. A complete revolution was possible in 60 seconds. The counterweights and a reserve gun barrel are also located here. From here the ammunition was carried up by an elevator. Up to 3000 grenades could be stored in the associated ammunition magazine.
  • On the middle floor there was the system for the lateral direction with a terrain disc and the device for fine adjustment of the cannons (fine adjustment of the lateral direction). A number of ready-to-use ammunition shells could be stored in wall niches.
Interior view of the tower of Fort d'Uxegney
  • The fire station with the 75 R cannons, the leveling machine and the controls for raising and lowering the tower was on the upper floor.

Armament

The armament consisted of twin guns of the type "Canon de 75 mm modèle 1905", a version of the " Canon de 75 mm modèle 1897 ", but the barrels had been shortened to 1,555 mm for technical reasons. This enabled a maximum range of 6,200 meters to be achieved. The rate of fire was 10 rounds per gun per minute. The elevation range was between 0 ° and 12 ° 45 '. After modernization in 1934, it increased to 30 °. Between the two gun slots was an opening for a target device for direct shot.

  • Remains of the exploded armored dome of Fort Vaux

  • Access to the tower at Fort d'Uxegney

  • View of the floor with the lifting device of the same tower.

  • Schematic representation of the functionality

  • Gun well in the ( Fort du Bois d'Oye near Belfort )

List of towers in the forts Séré de Rivières

Of the 73 towers produced, 57 were built into the respective fortifications, the remaining 16 were to be installed between 1914 and 1915, but then remained in the depots for the next 20 years.

No. 53 was installed in June 1912 for experimental purposes in the fortification of Ochakov in the Crimea .

Fixed place Dunkerque
Vorwerk Tower no.
Petite synthe 33
Fixed place Maubeuge
Cont Tower no.
Hautmont 45
Leveau 58
Les Sarts 46
Fixed place in Verdun
Cont Tower no. Cont Tower no.
Fort de Chana 24 Fort de Landrecourt 7th
Fort de Choisel 19th Fort de Marre 18th
Fort de Douaumont 54 Fort de Moulainville 20th
Fort de Dugny 3 Fort de Regret 21 & 22
Ouvrage de Froideterre 4th Fort de Vacherauville 52
Fort de La Falouse 17th Fort de Vaux 5
Fort de La Laufée 1
Bar of the Meuse Heights ( Verdun - Toul )
Away Tower no.
Fort de Liouville 40
Trouée de Charmes
Away Tower no.
Frouard 44
Fixed place in Toul
Cont Tower no. Cont Tower no.
Fort de Blénod 41 Ouvrage de la Cloche 8th
Ouvrage de Bouvron 55 Fort de Lucey 11 & 12
Fort de Bruley 9 Mordant 35
Chanot 38 Away you Tillot 42 & 43
Fort de Domgermain 34 Fort de Trondes 16
Fort d'Écrouves 39 Fort du Vieux-Canton 36 & 37
Fort de Gondreville 15th Fort de Villey-le-Sec 10 & 13
Fixed place Épinal
Cont Tower no.
Adelphes 25th
Deyvillers 23
Longchamp 26th
Fort d'Uxegney 51
Belfort fixed place
Cont Tower no. Cont Tower no.
Fort de Bessoncourt 31 & 32 Ouvrage du Haut du Bois 27
Fort du Bois d'Oye 28 Fort de Méroux 50
Ouvrage de Chèvremont 48 & 49 Fort de Roppe 30th
Fort de Fougerais 29 Fort de Vézelois 47
Fixed place Brest
Away Tower no.
Saint-Michel ( Ouessant ) 2 & 6
Indochina
Away Tower no.
Cap Saint-Jacques ( Vũng Tau ) 57

During the German attack on Verdun in 1940, the "Ouvrage de Froideterre" (next to Fort de Douaumont) with their gun turrets still offered some resistance. On the flanks of the tower, which was extended today, there are some shell impacts from direct fire - probably from anti-tank guns. The details of this are not known.

The towers in the Maginot Line

When the Maginot Line was expanded in 1934, excess towers or towers that were no longer needed were reused in order to save money and to arm the combat blocks of the "new fronts". Some modifications were made, for example the armor was strengthened and the elevation range of the guns was improved from 12 ° 45 'to 30 °.

A single tower (No. 73) was installed on April 24, 1936 with its original armament in Block 5 of the Ouvrage du Chesnois (Secteur fortifié de Montmédy - Montmédy Defense Section). The other 12 towers (No. 60 to 72) were modified, instead of the two 75 mm cannons, a machine gun and a 25 mm AC anti-tank gun were installed.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Jean-Yves Mary, Alain Hohnadel: Hommes et ouvrages de la ligne Maginot (= L'Encyclopédie de l'Armée française ). Volume 2. Éditions Histoire & Collections, Paris 2001, ISBN 2-908182-97-1 .