Canon de 274 modèle 1893/1896

Canon de 274 modèle 1893/1896
Canon de 274 modèle 1893/1896
	A photo showing the stern turret on the French battleship Henri IV.
Type	Naval gun; Coastal artillery; Railway artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1894-?
Used by	France
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designed	1893
Produced	1894
Specifications
Mass	35 t (34 long tons; 39 short tons)
Barrel length	11.5 m (37 ft 9 in) L/40
Shell	Separate loading bagged charge and projectile
Shell weight	216–255 kg (476–562 lb)
Caliber	274 mm (10.8 in)
Breech	Interrupted screw
Elevation	-10° to +25°
Traverse	-150° to +150°
Rate of fire	3 rpm
Muzzle velocity	865–915 m/s (2,840–3,000 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	23–29.5 km (14.3–18.3 mi) at +25°

The Canon de 274 modèle 1893/1896 were a family of French naval guns developed in the years before World War I that armed a variety of warships of the French Navy. Guns salvaged from scrapped ships found a second life as coastal artillery and railway artillery during World War I.

Design

The mle 1893/1896 guns were typical built-up guns of the period with several layers of steel reinforcing hoops. The guns used an interrupted screw breech and fired separate loading bagged charges and projectiles. They were shorter and lighter than the preceding Canon de 274 modèle 1887/1893 and despite being shorter they used a larger propellant charge which gave them higher muzzle velocity and range than their predecessors.

Naval Use

Mle 1893/1896 guns armed coastal defense ships, ironclads and pre-dreadnoughts of the French Navy built or refit between 1887-1905.^[1]

Coastal defense ships

Terrible Class - Three ships of this class the Caïman, Indomptable, and Requin received two single mount mle 1893/1896 guns during refits in 1901.

Ironclads

Redoutable - This ship received three mle 1893/1896 guns in single mounts after an 1894 refit.

Pre-dreadnoughts

Henri IV - The primary armament of this ship consisted of two mle 1893/1896 guns in single turrets fore and aft of the ship's superstructure.

Railway guns

During World War I four guns were removed from Caïman and Indomptable and converted by Schneider to railway guns. These were designated Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau and they were widely used. When their barrels were worn they were bored out to 285–288 mm (11.2–11.3 in) and given new ammunition.^[3]

Ammunition

Ammunition was of separate loading type with a bagged charge and projectile. The charge weighed 85 kg (187 lb).

The guns were able to fire:

Armor Piercing Capped - 255 kg (562 lb)
Common Incendiary - 216 kg (476 lb)
Semi-Armor Piercing Capped - 255 kg (562 lb)^[1]

Bibliography

Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Friedman, Norman (2011-01-01). Naval weapons of World War One. Seaforth. ISBN 9781848321007. OCLC 786178793.
^ DiGiulian, Tony. "274 mm/40 (10.8") Model 1893/1895 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
^ Romanych, Mark (2017-08-24). Railway Guns of World War I. Heuer, Greg, Noon, Steve. London. pp. 5–15. ISBN 9781472816412. OCLC 999616340.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNFR_10-40_m1893.php

[:0-1] Friedman, Norman (2011-01-01). Naval weapons of World War One. Seaforth. ISBN 9781848321007. OCLC 786178793.

[2] DiGiulian, Tony. "274 mm/40 (10.8") Model 1893/1895 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2018-09-05.

[:2-3] Romanych, Mark (2017-08-24). Railway Guns of World War I. Heuer, Greg, Noon, Steve. London. pp. 5–15. ISBN 9781472816412. OCLC 999616340.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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v t e French naval weapons of the First World War
Battleship primary armament	274 mm/40 Modèle 1893/1896 305 mm/45 Modèle 1887 305 mm/40 Modèle 1893/96 305 mm/45 Modèle 1906 340mm/28 Modèle 1881 340 mm/42 Modèle 1887 340 mm/45 Modèle 1912
Battleship secondary armament	47 mm/40 Modèle 1885 47 mm/50 Modèle 1902 57 mm/40 Modèle 1885 75 mm/62 Modèle 1908 75 mm/34 Modèle 1915/1916/1917 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910 164 mm/45 Modèle 1887 164 mm/45 Modèle 1893 194 mm/40 Modèle 1893–1896 240mm/50 Modèle 1902 274 mm/45 Modèle 1887/1893
Cruiser primary armament	164 mm/45 Modèle 1887 164 mm/45 Modèle 1893 194 mm/45 Modèle 1887 194 mm/40 Modèle 1893–1896 194 mm/50 Modèle 1902
Cruiser secondary armament	100 mm/45 Modèle 1891 138 mm/45 Modèle 1893 164 mm/45 Modèle 1887 164 mm/45 Modèle 1893
Destroyer and Aviso Primary armament	65 mm/50 Modèle 1891 100 mm/45 Modèle 1891 138 mm/45 Modèle 1893 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910
Anti-aircraft weapons	8 mm/50 Modèle 1914 57 mm/40 Modèle 1902