Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93

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PlaceoforiginFrance
Inservice1893-1945
Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93
Canon de 19 sur affut de cote.
TypeCoastal artillery
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1893-1945
Used by France
 Nazi Germany
 Italy
WarsWorld War I
World War II
Production history
VariantsRailway gun
Specifications
MassComplete: 26 t (26 long tons; 29 short tons)
Carriage: 16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons)
Barrel: 10 t (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons)
Barrel length5.8 m (19 ft) L/30

ShellSeparate-loading, bagged charge and projectiles
Shell weight85 kg (187 lb)
Caliber194 mm (7.6 in)
Breechde Bange
RecoilHydro-gravity
CarriageCenter pivot
Elevation-6° to +30°
Traverse360°
Rate of fire1 round every two minutes
Muzzle velocity640 m/s (2,100 ft/s)
Maximum firing range18.3 km (11.4 mi)

The Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 was a French coastal defense gun designed and built before World War I that also saw action during World War II. A number of guns were also converted to railway guns during World War I in order to meet the need for heavy artillery and these were also used in World War II.

The Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 were typical built-up guns of the period with mixed construction consisting of a rifled steel liner and several layers of iron reinforcing hoops. In French service guns of mixed steel/iron construction were designated in centimeters while all steel guns were designated in millimeters. However, reference materials don't always distinguish the difference in construction and use either unit of measurement. The guns used a de Bange breech and fired separate loading bagged charges and projectiles.[1]

The mle 1870/93 was mounted on a mle 1886 center pivot mount with a rectangular steel firing platform which sat on top of a large diameter geared steel ring set into a concrete slab behind a parapet with the barrel of the gun overhanging the parapet at the front and an overhanging loading platform to the rear. The mounts allowed high angles of elevation +30° with 360° of traverse. The mount was traversed by a worm gear which attached to the base.[2]

The recoil system for the mle 1870/93 consisted of a U-shaped gun cradle which held the trunnioned barrel and a slightly inclined firing platform with a hydro-gravity recoil system. When the gun fired the hydraulic buffer slowed the recoil of the cradle which slid up a set of inclined rails on the firing platform and then returned to position by the combined action of the buffers and gravity.[2]

Railway guns

References

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