Canon de 24 C modèle 1876
| Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 | |
|---|---|
 A mle 1876 on a GPC carriage at Gallipoli. | |
| Type | Coastal artillery |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1876-1945 |
| Used by |  France |
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1876 |
| Produced | 1876 |
| Variants | Railway gun Siege artillery |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 16,200 kg |
| Length | 5.365 m (17.60 ft) L/22.4 |
| Shell | Separate-loading, bagged charge and projectiles |
| Shell weight | 162 kg (357 lb) |
| Caliber | 240 mm (9.4 in)[1] |
| Breech | de Bange |
| Recoil | Hydro-gravity |
| Elevation | -5° to +30° |
| Traverse | 360°[1] |
| Rate of fire | 1 round every two minutes |
| Muzzle velocity | 460 m/s (1,500 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 10.5 km (6.5 mi)[2] |
| Maximum firing range | 13.4 km (8.3 mi)[1] |
The Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 was a coastal defense gun designed and built from 1876. A number of guns were also converted to railway guns during World War I in order to meet a need for heavy artillery.
Development
[edit]
The Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 was part of one of several families of built-up guns. These all looked alike and had a barrel of cast iron (fonte). The 24 C modèle 1864-1866 had a barrel reinforced with hoops of puddled steel.[3] The 24 C modèle 1870 added a cast steel (acier fondu) inner tube.[4]
The M 1876 gun was constructed like the 1870 gun. It improved on the M 1870 by using a de Bange breech.[5] The M 1876 was said to be of the 'système de Bange'.[2] This implies that it also used the De Bange obturator.[6]
In French service guns of mixed steel/iron construction were designated in centimeters while all steel guns were designated in millimeters. However, reference materials do not always distinguish the difference in construction and use either unit of measurement.[7]
Characteristics
[edit]The barrel of the 24 C M 1876 was of cast iron reinforced with with hoops of puddled steel. It had an inner tube made of cast steel. The barrel was 5.365 m long and weighed 16,200 kg. The barrel had 60 grooves.[2]
The 24 C M 1876 used separate loading bagged charges. It could fire a 120 kg (260 lb) projectile with a charge of 28 kg (62 lb) of S.P.2 gunpowder. This attained an initial velocity of 400 m/s. At an angle of 30 degrees, the range was 10,500 m. [2]
Carriages
[edit]The mle 1876 was mounted on a number of different models of garrison mounts with limited traverse. The standard carriage was made of cast iron. It had an upper carriage weighing 5,600 kg. This slided on a frame (châssis) weighing 10,500 kg. This made that the gun's trunnion were 2.195 m above ground.[2]
The combination of an upper carriage which held the trunnioned barrel and a slightly inclined frame, served to handle the recoil. When the gun was fired it moved up the frame, but was slowed down by a set of hydrolic brakes. When the motion stopped, the combined action of the buffers and gravity returned the upper carriage to its place.[1]
There was also a GPC mount (côte sur affût type Guerre à Pivot Central) which was a rectangular steel firing platform which sat on top of a large circular steel track embedded in concrete behind a parapet. A rectangular steel firing platform with four wheels rotated on the track and gave 360° of traverse.[1]
Projectiles
[edit]There were three kinds of grenades for the mle 1876. The regular grenade M 1877 had an internal charge of either 6.650 kg of S.P.2 gunpowder or 5.5 kg of ordinary gunpowder. This was ignited by a percussion fuze.[2]
The shrapnel shell had an internal charge of 1.9 kg of gunpowder and 370 balls. It weighed 130 kg.[2]
The armor piercing grenade was a bit shorter than the others. It had an internal charge of about 1 kg of gunpowder, which was ignited by the heat resulting from the shock of the shot making contact with its armored target. This grenade weighed 141 kg.[2]
Railway guns
[edit]In order to address a need for heavy artillery a number of mle 1876 guns were converted to railway guns and given the designation 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916. The conversion entailed removing the gun cradle from its carriage and mounting it on a variety of flatbed rail wagons built from steel I beams and timbers on top of a two, three or four-axle rail bogie. The gun carriage changed from an inclined hydro-gravity system to a horizontal hydro-spring system where the recoil was absorbed by a hydraulic buffer and returned to firing position by springs. At the front of the carriage there was also an attachment for an earth anchor and between the axles there were screw jacks which could be lowered to take weight off the axles and anchor the carriage.[8] Elevation stayed the same but there was no traverse. The guns either had to be removed from the tracks and put on a wooden firing platform and levered into place or drawn across a section of curved track to aim. Beginning in 1916 twenty-four guns were assigned to French artillery units, thirteen were assigned to French training units and sixteen were assigned to artillery units of the US Army.[7]
Siege artillery
[edit]In addition to its coastal artillery role, an unknown number of guns were used as siege artillery during the First World War.
Photo Gallery
[edit]-
Jamblet battery at Ile d´Aix. -
-
A mle 1876 captured by Ottoman forces at Gallipoli. -
A mle 1876 in service with the American 52nd Coastal Artillery Corps. -
A 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916. -
A Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 on a mixed-mode carriage.
.JPG)
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Canons côtiers 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h La Science illustrée 1889, p. 186.
- ^ Delaissey 1890, p. 108.
- ^ Delaissey 1890, p. 154.
- ^ Nicol 1894, p. 129.
- ^ Girardon 1896, p. 86.
- ^ a b Romanych 2017, pp. 5–15.
- ^ Hogg 1973, p. 14.
References
[edit]- "Canons côtiers de 24 C et 240 G et TR - FortiffSéré". www.fortiffsere.fr. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- Delaissey, A. (1890). Cours spécial sur le matériel de côte. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.
- Girardon, E. (1896). Organisation du matériel d'artillerie. Berger-Levrault et Cie, Paris, Nancy.
- Hogg, Ian (1973). Rail gun. Batchelor, John. New York: Scribner. p. 14. ISBN 0684133423. OCLC 760898.
- Nicol, Ernest (1894). Traité d'artillerie à l'usage des officiers de marine. Berger-Levrault et Cie, Paris, Nancy.
- Romanych, Mark (2017-08-24). Railway Guns of World War I. Heuer, Greg, Noon, Steve. London: Osprey. pp. 5–15. ISBN 9781472816412. OCLC 999616340.
- La Science illustrée: journal illustré (in French). La Science illustrée. 1889. p. 185.
