Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ

Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ
Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ
	A 305 mm modèle 1893-1896 TAZ, on a St Chamond railway mounting.
Type	Railway gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1916–1918
Used by	France
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	St Chamond
Manufacturer	St Chamond
Produced	1915
No. built	8
Specifications
Mass	175 t (172 long tons; 193 short tons)
Barrel length	12.2 m (40 ft) L/40
Shell	Separate loading bagged charges and projectiles
Shell weight	350 kg (770 lb)
Caliber	305 mm (12 in)
Breech	Welin interrupted-screw breech
Carriage	Two six-axle rail bogies
Elevation	? to +40°
Traverse	10° L/R
Rate of fire	1 round every four minutes
Muzzle velocity	795 m/s (2,610 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	27.5 km (17 mi)

The Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ was a French Railway gun used by the French Army during World War I.

History

Although the majority of combatants had heavy field artillery prior to the outbreak of the First World War, none had adequate numbers of heavy guns in service, nor had they foreseen the growing importance of heavy artillery once the Western Front stagnated and trench warfare set in. Since aircraft of the period were not yet capable of carrying large diameter bombs the burden of delivering heavy firepower fell on the artillery. Two sources of heavy artillery suitable for conversion to field use were surplus coastal defense guns and naval guns.^[1]

However, a paradox faced artillery designers of the time; while large caliber naval guns were common, large caliber land weapons were not due to their weight, complexity, and lack of mobility. Large caliber field guns often required extensive site preparation because the guns had to be broken down into multiple loads light enough to be towed by a horse team or the few traction engines of the time and then reassembled before use. Building a new gun could address the problem of disassembling, transporting and reassembling a large gun, but it did not necessarily address how to convert existing heavy weapons to make them more mobile. Rail transport proved to be the most practical solution because the problems of heavy weight, lack of mobility and reduced setup time were addressed.^[1]

Design

The Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ started life as eight surplus Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1893/96 naval guns which armed pre-dreadnought battleships of the Charlemagne, République, and Liberté-class. The guns were typical built-up guns of the period which consisted of a rifled liner reinforced by layers of hoops. The guns used a Welin interrupted screw breech and fired separate loading bagged charges and projectiles. The guns sat on a top carriage traversing mount which sat on a large diameter geared steel ring. A rectangular steel firing platform sat on top of the platform with the barrel of the gun overhanging the platform at the front with an overhanging loading platform for the gunners to the rear. The firing platform was then traversed by a worm gear which attached to the base. To load the gun the barrel was lowered and there was an elevated shell handling trolley at the rear.^[2]

The carriages consisted of rectangular steel bases, which were suspended on two railroad bogies. Each bogie had six axles.^[3] The number of axles was determined by the weight limit for European railways of 17 tonnes (19 short tons) per axle.^[1] Since the barrels were naval guns that were not intended for use at high angles of elevation the trunnions were relocated relatively far forward and the guns were nose heavy.^[3] The carriage used ground platform anchoring and site preparation included laying wooden beams parallel to the tracks then splicing in a section of rail bed reinforced with wooden beams under the center which the carriage was lowered onto.^[2] Outriggers and ground anchors were also used to stabilize the gun once in firing position as well as screw jacks. Although the mount was capable of 360° of traverse it was often limited to 10° left/right of the centerline because of problems with balance and recoil.^[3] Another issue for the mount was that although the gun could be elevated up to +40° it was limited to +20° of elevation when the gun was fired parallel to the tracks due to recoil. For these reasons, the weapon was not considered a success.^[2] The carriages were originally deployed in 1916 but it was too much gun for too little carriage so the 305 mm (12 in) barrels were later replaced with 240 mm (9.4 in) barrels by St Chamond and the Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ entered service in 1918.^[3]

Ammunition

APC (Armor Piercing Capped) - 340 kg (750 lb)
CI (Common Incendiary) - 292 kg (644 lb)
SAPC (Semi-Armor Piercing Capped) - 340 kg (750 lb)

Photo Gallery

A diagram of the site preparation needed for the Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ.
Canadian Army officers inspecting a Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ in 1917.
The breech of a gun.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. pp. 129–134 & 218. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.
^ ^a ^b ^c Miller, H. W., LTC, USA (1921). Railway Artillery, vols. I and II. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 80–83.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Romanych, Mark; Heuer, Greg; Noon, Steve (2017). Railway Guns of World War I. New Vanguard. Oxford; London: Osprey Publishing. pp. 23–25. ISBN 978-1-4728-16412. OCLC 999616340.

[:1-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. pp. 129–134 & 218. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.

[:3-2] Miller, H. W., LTC, USA (1921). Railway Artillery, vols. I and II. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 80–83.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[:2-3] Romanych, Mark; Heuer, Greg; Noon, Steve (2017). Railway Guns of World War I. New Vanguard. Oxford; London: Osprey Publishing. pp. 23–25. ISBN 978-1-4728-16412. OCLC 999616340.

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v t e French artillery of World War I
Anti-aircraft guns	Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider Canon de 75 modèle 1914 Schneider De Bange 90 mm cannon Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and heavy artillery	Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 court modèle 1904 Rimailho Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155 mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	Cellerier Mortar Mortier de 58 T N°1 Mortier de 58 T N°1 bis Mortier de 58 mm type 2 Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry Mortier de 240 mm Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 120 L mle 1878 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 Obusier de 155 C mle 1881 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Materiel de 155 sur affut-truc Schneider Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau Canon de 274 modèle 87/93 Glissement Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/81 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 TR Mle 1903 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Self propelled artillery	Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220mm L Mle1917 Schneider (FAHM) Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond
Armoured vehicle guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 Canon de 75 modèle 1897