Military operations on the battlefield today mainly use artillery systems of caliber 152 155 mm, 203 mm and 240 mm. If a larger caliber is needed, only rocket artillery will meet the requirements. Some say that this kind of war is primitive, but it is the most effective.
*Photographed in 2019, it shows an 1880 mortar gun in front of the Royal Palace of Monaco with a shell in its chamber. Heavy artillery in World War I:
However, during the First World War, the warring sides had a wide variety of artillery, varying in caliber and type. For example, today's mortars can only be seen in museums or in crowded places as an element of the cityscape. However, during the war years, they were very common. Today we are going to talk about mortars, especially the ones of the First World War in France.
Charles Massimilian LagondebangoArtillery:
After the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), the artillery of Charles Maximilien, Valérand Ragon de Bange began to dominate the artillery of the French Army. In addition to designing field guns of various calibers, Lagondebangor also designed two heavy howitzers (in fact, mortars) of 220 mm and 270 mm calibers.
1880 siege mortar:
The first type of artillery was the 1880-style siege mortar (officially known as Mortier de 220 mm de Siege Modele 1880). It was designed by Lagon-debangor at the end of the 1870s and entered service in 1880. At the time, it was the heaviest artillery shell designed by Lagondebangor. It was designed to attack permanent fortifications made of brick (typical of forts in the third quarter of the 19th century) and was able to penetrate 1 meter thick brick vault and 1 meter thick layer of earth.
220 mm siege mortar The Type 1880 220-mm howitzer was originally mounted on an improvised metal platform, but in 1891 a gun carriage with a hydraulic brake was modified and installed, similar in structure to the Type 270 howitzer.
During the First World War, the transportation of howitzers became easier due to the gun mount design that allowed heavy truck towing.
The Mortier de 220 howitzer has proven its reliability and durability in real combat. By the end of the war, the 220-mm howitzer had fired more than 7000 shells without any malfunctions or barrel damage. In total, about 330 such howitzers were produced.
The 220-mm mortar, produced in 1881, like many large siege howitzers of the time, required the construction of a wooden platform to deploy the howitzer. This usually takes about 5 hours before the howitzer can be put in place.
The process of loading this howitzer is more complicated. The barrel needs to be adjusted to a near-horizontal position in order to load the shell into the chamber, and then the barrel needs to be adjusted to the firing position again, that is to say it needs to be re-aimed - this is the case after each shot.
The propellant (up to 17 rounds) was packed in a pouch. The bolt was of the piston type with the famous Lagondebangor gas closer.
The howitzer is usually operated by 8 people and has a rate of fire of 3 rounds every 1 minute.
Frame design and transportation scheme
The transport of the MLE 1880 was carried out by a convoy of 10 horses, which meant that it was a complete convoy. However, installation in this position is not time-consuming, it only takes 25 minutes, but only if the wooden platform is ready.
Initially, 220-mm mortars were used on open batteries, which were placed on batteries without any top protection, or separately on open batteries. However, with the development of artillery, it became clear that mortars of this layout were too vulnerable. In 1906, all 220-mm mortars were dismantled and transferred to infantry artillery.
With Lagonde Bangor locking device In 1914, only 14 such mortars were in service, the rest were in reserve and storage. In the offensive of the German border town of Metz, these ** were used in large quantities. Like the later MLE 1891 mortar, the MLE 1880 became useful for trench warfare. Slow reloading speed was not considered a disadvantage, since they fired **100 kg shells at a reasonable distance. In August 1916, 306 Mle 1880 and MLE 1891 mortars were deployed at the front, reaching the peak of their use. The surviving 220-mm mortars after the war were put into storage, but by 1940 all mortars were scrapped.
220-mm mortars in battle on the Western Front In 1915 the weight of this 220-mm mortar shell ranged from 102 kg (1880) to 98 kg (1909), and in 1915 - 100 kg. The artillery mounted on the position weighed 4080 kg. Vertical aiming angles vary from -5 ° to +60 °. The rate of fire increased significantly, reaching a continuous rate of fire of 2 rounds in 1 minute. It is reported that its rate of fire is 1 round per minute. The time required to deploy Mortier has been increased from 3 hours to 4 hours instead of 5 hours for the MLE 1880. Interestingly, the 1891 model became heavier and the weight had already reached 8500 kg, while the MLE 1880 weighed 4080 kg, although the greater weight probably increased the stability of the mortar and slightly increased the accuracy of fire.
The new gun mount for the 270mm mortar was very different in design from many of the heavy ** of the time, which had to rely on wooden platforms. The Mortier de 270 mm has a support plate that is buried in the ground and aligned by a level. A full-fledged barrel, which is a new era, has two large journals, and the rise of the barrel can be fastened with screws. In contrast to 220-mm mortars, there are ring reinforcements at the front and rear of the barrel and at the end of the barrel.
The same mortar with a crane boom and a pallet of shellsHowever, the new mortar was too heavy to be transported by horse, so it had to be split into four parts for transportation. During the First World War, it was increasingly towed by four-wheel drive trucks. Due to the long time it takes to deploy and move mortars, mortars are often placed in forests, where it is easier to hide from enemy observers. In addition, the relatively small firing range meant that it had to be deployed very close to the front line, increasing the likelihood of being detected and destroyed by counter-battery fire.
The shells, weighing 150 kg, were hoisted onto the loading pallet with a slide and a pallet-type slide, which were fixed to the curved boom on the right side of the gun mount. Charging is **, ignition with friction tube, piston shutter with Deppon heat sealing.
280-mm Schneider mortar. The shells were placed on a special transport vehicle, and at the beginning of the First World War, 32 Mortier Type 270s were deployed at the front. From November 1915 to April 1916, about 24 mortars were transferred to motorized units, driven by trucks, as a mobile reserve of heavy artillery consisting of three guns. In the end, the idea did not work out. These ** were widely used in the Battle of Verdun. Later it was decided that the 270-mm mortar would be replaced by a Schneider 280-mm howitzer. But the deployment of the last troops was slow. In the end, 14 Mortier 270 guns survived to the armistice in Campigne. There were more than 3000 shells per barrel. After the fall of France in 1940, the Germans found 24 cannons in warehouses. However, they never used them and were most likely sent to be melted.
The shells of the Mortier de 270 were heavier than those of the 220. The 1899 high-explosive shell weighed 2329 kg with a charge of 66 kg. However, the range of such missiles is small. A total of 4300 meters. However, the 152-kilogram light artillery shell has already flown 8000 meters. Vertical aiming angles: from +0 ° to +70 °. Horizontal: 30°. Operation: 8 people. Rate of fire: 1 shot in 2 minutes.
As with 155-mm guns, private ** companies in France produced mainly for foreigners, and not for their own army, practically ignoring the experience of such significant events as the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. In addition, Japan used licensed Krupp howitzers in Port Arthur. Of course, this lesson also prompted the Russian military to pay attention to heavy artillery. In 1909, they asked Schneider to develop a new 11-inch (279. ) for the Russian army4 mm) siege howitzer with a firing range of 6000 meters as part of the modernization of its artillery.
Schneider handed over the prototype to the Russian army for testing in 1912. The new howitzer tested fortifications built specifically for this purpose, and although it was found that its shells could not penetrate modern reinforced concrete fortifications, its basic performance was generally satisfactory. In 1915, 16 howitzers were ordered. The French ** team also expressed interest in this howitzer and decided to replace their 1885 280-mm Durbani howitzer with a new 270-mm howitzer. However, it was not until 1913 that the French ** team ordered 18 howitzers, apparently noticing that the situation in Europe was deteriorating day by day and that war was likely to occur.
Initially, the French cannon had a caliber of 280 mm, but after careful consideration, it was decided to abandon this short-sighted "diversity", so all howitzers produced were Russian caliber 2794 mm. The barrel length of the new gun is l 12, the muzzle velocity is 418 meters and the firing range is 10950 meters. This gun had a hydropneumatic recoil extinguishing system, similar to many other French guns. However, under the shield where she was, it was necessary to dig a hole and push the cannon there. It is divided into four types: barrels, rollback brakes and rollers in assembly, gun carriages and support plates. The shells were transported by trolley from the warehouse to the rear of the howitzer, where they were loaded onto the loading cart by crane. It is noteworthy that the French army engineers learned to lay rails 60 cm wide very quickly.
The 280-mm mortar is loaded and aimed at the target, and in ideal conditions, the howitzer can be assembled in 6-8 hours, although in hard-to-reach places this can take up to 18 hours. In April 1916, the new howitzer made its debut at Verdun, where it was used for counter-battery fire and attacks on German-controlled fortifications. The counterattack on Fort Dumont in May 1916 showed that 280-mm shells could not penetrate the arches of modern fortifications, although in fairness, even German 42-centimeter-thick Bertha shells could not penetrate the arches of Fort Dumont. Vertical aiming angles: from +10 ° to +65 °. The horizontal-19 ° howitzer could fire 3 different types of shells: 1914 model 205 kg (636 kg of explosives); In 1915 it was 275 kg (51.).5 kg), and in 1915 it was 205 kg (36.).3 kg). Initial velocities vary from 178 m/s to 418 m/s.
By the end of the war, the French had delivered 126 howitzers, and before the 1917 revolution, 26 were shipped to Russia. In addition, 25 were installed on the chassis of the St. Chamont tank and converted into 280 tr Schneider self-propelled guns on the St. Chamont track. The Red Army captured and used howitzers of the old Russian order, 25 in June 1941. Data from the German Federal Archives indicate that even in 1944 they were used on the Eastern Front.
Note: "mortar" is derived from the Dutch word "mortier", which in turn is derived from Latin.
Germany
In 1940, the German team captured about 72 280-mm Schneider M1914 howitzers and named them 28-cm Morser 601 (F).
The Germans used these howitzers in World War II, including on the Eastern Front.
Information from the German Federal Archives indicates that these howitzers were used until 1944.
USSR
The Red Army captured and used part of the 280-mm Schneider M1914 howitzers ordered by the old Russians.
In June 1941, the Red Army had 25 howitzers of this type.
In June 1944, the Red Army captured the German 28-cm Morser 601 (f) howitzer in Belarus.
The development of a 270-mm howitzer, although a similar 220-mm howitzer was adopted by the French ** team in 1880. Although the French army was already armed with 220 mm howitzers in 1880, the development of 270 mm guns continued.
About the difference between the two types of mortars
Compared with the M1885 mortar, the main differences between the M1889 mortar gun and the M1885 mortar gun are:
Longer range: The M1889 mortar has a maximum range of 11,000 meters, while the M1885 has a maximum range of 8,700 meters.
More powerful: the M1889 mortar gun fired shells weighed 290 kg, while the M1885 mortar guns fired shells weighed 220 kg.
Longer barrel: The barrel length of the M1889 mortar is 54 meters, while the barrel length of the M1885 mortar gun was 43 meters.
Due to the fact that this design allowed the use of more powerful ammunition than the Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885, the firing range of the "sea" mortar was 8000 meters greater than that of 10400 meters (3000 meters). However, the weight of the 1889 model increased by 10 tons (almost tripled), so it could only be transported by rail, requiring a long period of fire preparation.
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