Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau

Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau
Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau
	Two marines on a Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau named Anne at Mont-Notre-Dame in 1917.
Type	Railway gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1916-1945
Used by	France; Nazi Germany
Wars	World War I; World War II
Production history
Designer	Batignolles
Designed	1915
Manufacturer	Batignolles
Produced	1916
No. built	8
Variants	Canon de 320 modèle 1917 à berceau
Specifications
Mass	140 t (140 long tons; 150 short tons)
Barrel length	12.2 m (40 ft) L/40[1]
Shell	Separate loading bagged charges and projectiles
Caliber	305 mm (12 in)
Breech	Welin breech block
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic cradle recoil[1]
Carriage	2 railroad bogies, 4 axles each
Elevation	-6° to +38°
Traverse	10°
Rate of fire	1 round every 6 minutes
Muzzle velocity	795 m/s (2,610 ft/s)
Effective firing range	27 km (17 mi)[1]

The Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau was a French railroad gun that saw action during the First and Second World Wars.

History

Although the majority of combatants had heavy field artillery prior to the outbreak of the First World War, none had adequate numbers of heavy guns in service, nor had they foreseen the growing importance of heavy artillery once the Western Front stagnated and trench warfare set in. Since aircraft of the period were not yet capable of carrying large diameter bombs the burden of delivering heavy firepower fell on the artillery. Two sources of heavy artillery suitable for conversion to field use were surplus coastal defense guns and naval guns.[1]

However, a paradox faced artillery designers of the time, while large caliber naval guns were common, large caliber land weapons were less common due to their weight, complexity, and lack of mobility. Large caliber field guns often required extensive site preparation because the guns had to be broken down into multiple loads light enough to be towed by a horse team or the few traction engines of the time and then reassembled before use. Building a new gun could address the problem of disassembling, transporting and reassembling a large gun, but it didn't necessarily address how to convert existing heavy weapons to make them more mobile. Rail transport proved to be the most practical solution because the problems of heavy weight, lack of mobility and reduced setup time were addressed.[1]

Design

The Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau started life as eight Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1893/96 naval guns salvaged from two pre-dreadnought battleships the Iéna and Liberté that sank after suffering internal explosions while in port. The guns were typical built-up guns of the period which consisted of a rifled liner reinforced by layers of hoops. The guns used a Welin interrupted screw breech and fired separate loading bagged charges and projectiles. To load the gun the barrel was lowered to -6° and there was a collapsible shell handling trolley at the rear.[2]

Each gun sat on a rectangular steel base which was suspended from two railroad bogies with four axles each. The number of axles was determined by the weight limit for European railways of 17 tonnes per axle.[1] The howitzers had a hydro-pneumatic cradle recoil system with two recoil cylinders below the barrel and one recuperator on top. When the gun fired the cradle recoiled up a slightly inclined rear deck which helped return the howitzer to battery after firing.[2]

The guns were mounted on Berceau style rail mounts produced by Batignolles which consisted of five steel cross ties with integral spades which were driven between the railroad ties. On top of these steel ties, two heavy girders were laid parallel to the tracks which bolted to the ties. The girders were equipped with 12 sets of flanges that matched the same number on the carriage. When the carriage was over the flanges the carriage was fastened to the girders and the ties. Once the platform was ready, the piece could be anchored in minutes and ready to fire. The ties and girders supported the weight of the carriage and absorbed the gun's recoil, the track did not have to be reinforced. A pit was also dug under the gun's breech and lined with a steel box to allow the gun to recoil at high angles of elevation, which took about 3 hours.[1] The Batignolles mounts also employed car-traverse which allowed for limited traverse by shifting the carriage on its bogies. When the United States entered the First World War a license to produce Berceau style rail mounts was negotiated with Batignolles and the carriage used by the 12-inch M1895 railway gun was similar.[2]

World War I

After the barrels became worn out they were bored out to fire 320 mm (13 in) ammunition during 1918–1919 and were designated Canon de 320 modèle 1917 à berceau. These were placed in reserve between the wars.[3]

World War II

Eight Canon de 320 modèle 1917 à berceau were mobilized by the French Army during the Second World War.[4] The Germans gave them the designation 32 cm Kanone (Eisenbahn) 652 (f).[5]

Ammunition

APC (Armor Piercing Capped) - 340 kg (750 lb)
CI (Common Incendiary) - 292 kg (644 lb)
SAPC (Semi-Armor Piercing Capped) - 340 kg (750 lb)

Gallery

A diagram showing the anchoring system of the Batignolles railway mount.
Details of the anchoring for the Batignolles mount.
The breech of a 1893/96 gun.
A gun being moved into position during the Battle of the Somme.
A US Army 12-inch M1895 railway gun which used a similar Batignolles style rail chassis.

References

Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied Artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. pp. 129–134. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.
Miller, H. W., LTC, USA (1921). Railway Artillery, vols. I and II. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 80–83.
"REGARDER SANS TOUCHER". thebebert1er.free.fr. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
Zaloga, Steve (2016). Railway Guns of World War II. Dennis, Peter. Oxford: Osprey. p. 5. ISBN 978-1472810687. OCLC 907965829.
Gander, Terry (1978). Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of all Small Arms, Artillery, and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces, 1939-1945. Chamberlain, Peter. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. p. 245. ISBN 0385150903. OCLC 5071295.

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[:0-1] Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied Artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. pp. 129–134. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.

[:3-2] Miller, H. W., LTC, USA (1921). Railway Artillery, vols. I and II. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 80–83.

[3] "REGARDER SANS TOUCHER". thebebert1er.free.fr. Retrieved 2019-04-19.

[4] Zaloga, Steve (2016). Railway Guns of World War II. Dennis, Peter. Oxford: Osprey. p. 5. ISBN 978-1472810687. OCLC 907965829.

[5] Gander, Terry (1978). Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of all Small Arms, Artillery, and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces, 1939-1945. Chamberlain, Peter. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. p. 245. ISBN 0385150903. OCLC 5071295.

French artillery of World War I
Anti-aircraft guns	Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 155 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider Canon de 75 modèle 1914 Schneider De Bange 90 mm cannon Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and heavy artillery	Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 court modèle 1904 Rimailho Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	Mortier de 58 mm type 2 Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry Mortier de 240 mm Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 Canon de 76 M modele 1909 Schneider Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau Canon de 274 modèle 87/93 Glissement Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/81 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 TR Mle 1903 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Self propelled artillery	Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220mm L Mle1917 Schneider (FAHM) Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond
Armoured vehicle guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 Canon de 75 modèle 1897