Russian 12 inch 40 caliber naval gun
Encyclopedia
The 12 inch 40 caliber naval gun was the standard main weapon of the pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy
. Sixty-eight guns of the first production run were built in 1895–1906 by the Obukhov Works
in Saint Petersburg
. They were installed on seventeen battleships starting with Sisoy Veliky and Tri Sviatitelia and ending with the Andrey Pervozvanny class
. A second production run was ordered to Russian and British gunmakers during the World War I
.
gun. The first batch of six German-made guns was installed on Chesma
. Local production of the modified Krupp gun began in 1891. Eleven Obukhov guns were installed on Navarin, Chesma
and Georgy Pobedonosets
. Low firing rate of these guns made them a temporary, intermediate weapon. In the same 1891 the Naval Technical Committee ordered the Obukhov Works to design a new gun with improved range and firing rate, employing smokeless powder
. In May 1892 the Navy issued a firm contract for the guns and turrets of Tri Sviatitelia, followed by Sisoy Veliky and the Petropavlovsk class in May 1893. Obukhov presented the first 12 inch 40 caliber gun for trials in March 1895, thus the new gun was also unofficially called Model 1895.
Development of the 12 inch 40 caliber gun coincided with the beginning of the 1892 Franco-Russian Alliance
. The Russian Navy abandoned German artillery models in favor of Canet
and Schneider et Cie.
designs, but the Krupp legacy persisted in the Navy's largest guns. The 12 inch 40 caliber became the Navy's standard main gun and was employed on all its pre-dreadnought battleships starting with Sisoy Veliky of the Baltic Fleet
and Tri Sviatitelia of the Black Sea Fleet
.
The seventeen battleships employing these guns had turrets of six distinct types. The earliest turrets of Tri Sviatitelia, Sisoy Veliky, Pobeda and Petropavlovsk were powered with hydraulic machinery
and their firing rate was on par with the 12 inch 35 caliber guns mounted in electrified turrets. Retvizan
became the first battleship with 12 inch 40 caliber guns in electrified turrets. Designers of the Borodino class
battleships increased firing rate to 90 seconds from shot to shot. The range of all these guns was limited by their modest verical firing angle of 15°. Potemkin
, designed to fight the Turkish defenses in The Straits
, had firing angle increased to 35° but required four minutes from shot to shot. The two Andrey Pervozvanny class battleships
, built in 1904–1911, were the last ships to receive the 12 inch 40 caliber guns (in 1907 the Navy adopted the long-range 12 inch 52 caliber guns designed for the Gangut class dreadnoughts
). The turrets of Andrey Pervozvanny allowed firing two broadsides per minute and allowed firing angles of up to 35°. The Navy planned to install similar turrets on the obsolete Chesma
but the conversion was canceled.
In the beginning of World War I the Imperial Navy ordered a second production run of the 12 inch 40 caliber model to replace the worn-out guns of the surviving pre-dreadnoughts. By the end of 1916 thirty new guns, produced at Obukhov Works and in England, were stockpiled in Saint Petersburg, Kronstadt
and Sevastopol
. The planned refit of the old battleships was interrupted by the 1917 Revolution. In the 1930s these guns were installed in coastal defence batteries and on TM-2-12 railway gun
platforms serving in the Far East.
Equivalent guns of other countries :
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
. Sixty-eight guns of the first production run were built in 1895–1906 by the Obukhov Works
Obukhov State Plant
Obukhov State Plant is a major Russian metallurgy and heavy machine-building plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was founded in 1863 to produce naval artillery based on German designs by Krupp. It has since been a major producer of artillery and other military equipment. From 1922 to 1992 it...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. They were installed on seventeen battleships starting with Sisoy Veliky and Tri Sviatitelia and ending with the Andrey Pervozvanny class
Andrei Pervozvanny class battleship
The Andrey Pervozvanny class were a pair of predreadnought battleships built in the mid-1900s for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. They were conceived by the Naval Technical Committee in 1903 as an incremental development of the Borodino class battleships with increased displacement...
. A second production run was ordered to Russian and British gunmakers during the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
History
In 1886 the Imperial Russian Navy adopted the 12 inch 35 caliber KruppKrupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
gun. The first batch of six German-made guns was installed on Chesma
Russian battleship Chesma (1886)
The Chesma was the second ship of the pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1880s. When the ship was completed she proved to be very overweight which meant that much of her waterline armor belt was submerged...
. Local production of the modified Krupp gun began in 1891. Eleven Obukhov guns were installed on Navarin, Chesma
Russian battleship Chesma (1886)
The Chesma was the second ship of the pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1880s. When the ship was completed she proved to be very overweight which meant that much of her waterline armor belt was submerged...
and Georgy Pobedonosets
Russian battleship Georgii Pobedonosets
The Georgii Pobedonosets was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy, the fourth and final ship of the . She was, however, only a half-sister to the others as her armor scheme was different and she was built much later than the earlier ships...
. Low firing rate of these guns made them a temporary, intermediate weapon. In the same 1891 the Naval Technical Committee ordered the Obukhov Works to design a new gun with improved range and firing rate, employing smokeless powder
Smokeless powder
Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of propellants used in firearms and artillery which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older gunpowder which they replaced...
. In May 1892 the Navy issued a firm contract for the guns and turrets of Tri Sviatitelia, followed by Sisoy Veliky and the Petropavlovsk class in May 1893. Obukhov presented the first 12 inch 40 caliber gun for trials in March 1895, thus the new gun was also unofficially called Model 1895.
Development of the 12 inch 40 caliber gun coincided with the beginning of the 1892 Franco-Russian Alliance
Franco-Russian Alliance
The Franco-Russian Alliance was a military alliance between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire that ran from 1892 to 1917. The alliance ended the diplomatic isolation of France and undermined the supremacy of the German Empire in Europe...
. The Russian Navy abandoned German artillery models in favor of Canet
Canet guns
The Canet guns were a series of weapon systems developed by the French engineer Gustave Canet , who was design engineer for Schneider et Cie of Le Creusot.-320 mm naval guns:...
and Schneider et Cie.
Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a French global company. It was founded in 1836 by two brothers, Eugène and Adolphe Schneider.In the first part of the 20th century, Schneider et Cie associated itself with Westinghouse Systems, a major international electrical group at the time. The group began manufacturing...
designs, but the Krupp legacy persisted in the Navy's largest guns. The 12 inch 40 caliber became the Navy's standard main gun and was employed on all its pre-dreadnought battleships starting with Sisoy Veliky of the Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
and Tri Sviatitelia of the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
.
The seventeen battleships employing these guns had turrets of six distinct types. The earliest turrets of Tri Sviatitelia, Sisoy Veliky, Pobeda and Petropavlovsk were powered with hydraulic machinery
Hydraulic machinery
Hydraulic machines are machinery and tools that use liquid fluid power to do simple work. Heavy equipment is a common example.In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is transmitted throughout the machine to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders and which becomes pressurised according to...
and their firing rate was on par with the 12 inch 35 caliber guns mounted in electrified turrets. Retvizan
Russian battleship Retvizan
Retvizan was a Russian pre-dreadnought battleship built before the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 for the Imperial Russian Navy in the United States. She was built by the William Cramp and Sons Ship & Engine Building Company of Philadelphia, although the armament was made at the Obukhov works in...
became the first battleship with 12 inch 40 caliber guns in electrified turrets. Designers of the Borodino class
Borodino class battleship
The five Borodino-class battleships were pre-dreadnoughts built between 1899 and 1905 for the Imperial Russian Navy...
battleships increased firing rate to 90 seconds from shot to shot. The range of all these guns was limited by their modest verical firing angle of 15°. Potemkin
Russian battleship Potemkin
The Potemkin was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet. The ship was made famous by the Battleship Potemkin uprising, a rebellion of the crew against their oppressive officers in June 1905...
, designed to fight the Turkish defenses in The Straits
Turkish Straits
The term Turkish Straits refers to the two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, that connect the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea on one side and the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea on the other. They are conventionally considered the boundary between the...
, had firing angle increased to 35° but required four minutes from shot to shot. The two Andrey Pervozvanny class battleships
Andrei Pervozvanny class battleship
The Andrey Pervozvanny class were a pair of predreadnought battleships built in the mid-1900s for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. They were conceived by the Naval Technical Committee in 1903 as an incremental development of the Borodino class battleships with increased displacement...
, built in 1904–1911, were the last ships to receive the 12 inch 40 caliber guns (in 1907 the Navy adopted the long-range 12 inch 52 caliber guns designed for the Gangut class dreadnoughts
Gangut class battleship
The Gangut-class battleships were the first dreadnoughts begun for the Imperial Russian Navy before World War I. They had a convoluted design history involving several British companies, evolving requirements, an international design competition, and foreign protests...
). The turrets of Andrey Pervozvanny allowed firing two broadsides per minute and allowed firing angles of up to 35°. The Navy planned to install similar turrets on the obsolete Chesma
Russian battleship Chesma (1886)
The Chesma was the second ship of the pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1880s. When the ship was completed she proved to be very overweight which meant that much of her waterline armor belt was submerged...
but the conversion was canceled.
In the beginning of World War I the Imperial Navy ordered a second production run of the 12 inch 40 caliber model to replace the worn-out guns of the surviving pre-dreadnoughts. By the end of 1916 thirty new guns, produced at Obukhov Works and in England, were stockpiled in Saint Petersburg, Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
and Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
. The planned refit of the old battleships was interrupted by the 1917 Revolution. In the 1930s these guns were installed in coastal defence batteries and on TM-2-12 railway gun
Railway gun
A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval ordnance, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best known are the large Krupp-built pieces used by Germany in World...
platforms serving in the Far East.
See also
Ships armed with the 12 inch 40 caliber guns:- Tri Sviatitelia
- Sisoy Veliky
- Three Petropavlovsk class battleship
- Tsesarevich
- RetvizanRussian battleship RetvizanRetvizan was a Russian pre-dreadnought battleship built before the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 for the Imperial Russian Navy in the United States. She was built by the William Cramp and Sons Ship & Engine Building Company of Philadelphia, although the armament was made at the Obukhov works in...
- Five Borodino classBorodino class battleshipThe five Borodino-class battleships were pre-dreadnoughts built between 1899 and 1905 for the Imperial Russian Navy...
battleships - PotemkinRussian battleship PotemkinThe Potemkin was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet. The ship was made famous by the Battleship Potemkin uprising, a rebellion of the crew against their oppressive officers in June 1905...
- Two Evstafi classEvstafi class battleshipThe Evstafi-class were a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy built before World War I for the Black Sea Fleet. They were slightly enlarged versions of the , with increased armour and more guns...
battleships - Two Andrei Pervozvanny classAndrei Pervozvanny class battleshipThe Andrey Pervozvanny class were a pair of predreadnought battleships built in the mid-1900s for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. They were conceived by the Naval Technical Committee in 1903 as an incremental development of the Borodino class battleships with increased displacement...
battleships
Equivalent guns of other countries :
- Armstrong Whitworth 12 inch /40 naval gunArmstrong Whitworth 12 inch /40 naval gunThe Armstrong Whitworth 12 inch naval gun of 40 calibres length was designed by, and manufactured mainly by, Armstrong's ordnance branch, Elswick Ordnance Company. It was intended for the Royal Navy’s Royal Sovereign class battleships, but budgetary constraints delayed their introduction. The...
British and Japanese equivalent - 305 mm/40 Modèle 1893/1896305mm/40 Modèle 1893 gunThe Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1893/96 was a heavy naval gun used as the main armament of a number of French pre-dreadnoughts during World War I. It equipped the Charlemagne, République and Liberté class battleships as well as the unique battleships Iéna and Suffren.-Description:The 12-inch/40 calibre...
French equivalent