340mm/28 Modèle 1881 gun

340mm/28 Modèle 1881
A 340mm/28 Modèle 1881 aboard the Magenta
TypeNaval gun
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1881-1922
Used byFrance
Specifications
Mass52.2 t (51.4 long tons; 57.5 short tons)[1]
Length9.7 m (32 ft) L/28.5 calibres[1]
ShellSeparate loading bagged charges and projectiles
Shell weightAP: 420.0 kg (925.9 lb)
Common: 350.0 kg (771.6 lb)[1]
Calibre340 mm (13 in)
BreechInterrupted screw
Muzzle velocity600 m/s (1,969 ft/s)[1]

The 340mm/28 Modèle 1881 gun was a heavy naval gun of the French Navy.

History

The type was used in single mountings on the ironclads of the Marceau class, and on the Hoche.

Railway guns

Canon de 340 modèle 1881/84 à glissement
TypeRailway gun
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1919-?
Used by France
Production history
DesignerSchneider
Designed1917
ManufacturerSchneider
Produced1918
No. built8
Specifications
Mass187 t (184 long tons; 206 short tons)
Barrel length9.7 m (32 ft) L/28.5 calibres[2]
ShellSeparate loading bagged charges and projectiles
Shell weight430 kg (950 lb)
Caliber340 mm (13 in)
BreechInterrupted screw breech[2]
RecoilCarriage recoil
CarriageTwo six-axle bogies
Elevation+3° to +40°
TraverseNone
Rate of fire1 round every five minutes
Muzzle velocity430 m/s (1,400 ft/s)
Maximum firing range19 km (12 mi)[2]

Eight guns were converted from naval use to railway guns by Schneider and designated Canon de 340 modèle 1881/84 à glissement. The conversions were ordered during 1917 but they weren't delivered until January 1919 after the war had ended. The guns were suspended from two six-axle rail bogies and used carriage recoil known as the glissement system. The guns had no traverse mechanism so aiming was done by drawing the guns across a section of curved track.[3]

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d French gun tables quoted in Brasseys Naval Annual 1901
  2. ^ a b c Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. p. 218. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.
  3. ^ Miller, H. W. (1921). Railway Artillery, vols. I and II. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 193–196.