Canon de 155 mm Modèle 1920 | |
---|---|
Type | Naval gun |
Place of origin | France |
Service history | |
In service | 1920—1966 |
Used by | France |
Wars | World War II |
Production history | |
Designed | 1920 |
Specifications | |
Weight | 8.87 metric tons |
Barrel length | 8.87 meters (29.1 ft) 50 caliber |
Shell | separate-loading, bagged charge |
Shell weight | 56.5 kilograms (125 lb) [1] |
Caliber | 155 millimeters (6.1 in) [2] |
Breech | Welin interrupted-screw breech |
Elevation | -5° to +40° |
Traverse | Model 1921: -140° to +140° [3] |
Rate of fire | 3-5 rpm [4] |
Muzzle velocity | 850 meters per second (2,800 ft/s) [5] |
Maximum firing range | 26,100 meters (28,500 yd) at 40° [6] |
The Canon de 155 mm Modèle 1920 was a medium-caliber naval gun used as the primary armament on a number of French Cruisers during World War II.
The French Navy, informally "La Royale", is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces. Dating back to 1624, the French Navy is one of the world's oldest naval forces. It has participated in conflicts around the globe and played a key part in establishing the French colonial empire.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
The Canon de 155 mm Modèle 1920 was built with a liner, autofretted A tube, two part jacket and breech ring. There was a short collar at the breech end of the liner which screwed into the A tube and a Welin breech block which opened upwards. Useful life expectancy was 700 effective full charges (EFC) per barrel. These guns were carried both in twin turrets aboard cruisers and in single casemates aboard aircraft carriers. The twin turrets were slightly unusual in that each gun had its own cradle and they could be elevated or depressed independently. [7]
Autofrettage is a metal fabrication technique in which a pressure vessel is subjected to enormous pressure, causing internal portions of the part to yield plastically, resulting in internal compressive residual stresses once the pressure is released. The goal of autofrettage is to increase the durability of the final product. Inducing residual compressive stresses into materials can also increase their resistance to stress corrosion cracking; that is, non-mechanically-assisted cracking that occurs when a material is placed in a corrosive environment in the presence of tensile stress. The technique is commonly used in manufacture of high-pressure pump cylinders, warship and tank gun barrels, and fuel injection systems for diesel engines. While autofrettage will induce some work hardening, that is not the primary mechanism of strengthening.
The Welin breech block was a revolutionary stepped, interrupted thread design for locking artillery breeches, invented by Axel Welin in 1889 or 1890. Shortly after, Vickers acquired the British patents. Welin breech blocks provide obturation for artillery pieces which use separate loading bagged charges and projectiles. In this system the projectile is loaded first and then followed by cloth bags of propellant.
A gun turret is a location from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility, and some cone of fire. A modern gun turret is generally a weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in some degree of azimuth and elevation.
Ammunition was of separate loading type with two powder charges and a projectile.
The gun was able to fire:
Ship classes that carried the Canon de 155 mm Modèle 1920 include:
Béarn was a French aircraft carrier. It served with the Marine nationale in World War II and later. Béarn was commissioned in 1927, and was the only aircraft carrier France produced until after World War II, and the only ship of its class built. She was to be an experimental ship, and was slated for replacement in the 1930s by two new ships of the Joffre class.
Jeanne d'Arc was a school cruiser of the French Navy. She was built in Saint-Nazaire in only two years, on plans by engineer Antoine. She was designed both as a school ship and a fully capable warship. She saw service through the Second World War, escaping to Halifax after the fall of France and eventually joining the Free French forces before the end of the war. Post war, the cruiser resumed her duties as a training ship, being retired in 1964.
The three Duguay-Trouin-class light cruisers were the first major French warships built after World War I. They were excellent steamers and proved successful and seaworthy over a quarter century of service. All three achieved 33 knots on trials and could easily maintain 30 knots in service. Twenty-year-old Duguay-Trouin could still maintain 27.7 knots at her post-war displacement of 10,900 tons. They were fast and economical, although with a limited range. The fate of these three ships after the French surrender illustrates the dichotomy within the French armed forces at the time: one ship was interned, then joined the Free French, another twice resisted Allied bombardment and was destroyed, and the third was disarmed at a French colonial port and subsequently sunk.
The Type 10 or 12 cm/45 10th Year Type naval gun was a Japanese 120 mm calibre dual purpose anti-aircraft and coastal defense gun used during the Second World War. It was derived from the 12 cm/45 3rd Year Type naval gun. The Type 10 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted,the 10th year of Emperor Taishō's reign, 1927 in the Gregorian calendar. It served as the secondary armament on a number of Japanese aircraft carriers and cruisers and as the primary armament on smaller ships.
The QF 4 inch Mk XVI gun was the standard British Commonwealth naval anti-aircraft and dual-purpose gun of World War II.
The 15 cm SK L/45 was a German naval gun used in World War I and World War II.
The 45 mm anti-aircraft gun (21-K) was a Soviet design adapted from the 45 mm anti-tank gun M1932 (19-K). This was a copy of a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) German weapon designed by Rheinmetall that was sold to the Soviets before Hitler came to power in 1933 that had been enlarged to 45 mm (1.8 in) to reuse a large stock of old 47mm ammunition. It was used by the Soviet Navy to equip almost all of their ships from 1934 as its primary light anti-aircraft gun until replaced by the fully automatic 37 mm 70-K gun from 1942 to 1943. It was used in World War II and during the Cold War as the Soviets exported their World War II-era ships to their friends and allies. However it was not very effective as its slow rate of fire and lack of a time fuze required a direct hit to damage targets.
The 50 calibre BL 8 inch gun Mark VIII was the main battery gun used on the Royal Navy's County-class heavy cruisers, in compliance with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. This treaty allowed ships of not more than 10,000 tons standard displacement and with guns no larger than 8 inches (203 mm) to be excluded from total tonnage limitations on a nation's capital ships. The 10,000 ton limit was a major factor in design decisions such as turrets and gun mountings. A similar gun formed the main battery of Spanish Canarias-class cruisers. In 1930, the Royal Navy adopted the BL 6 inch Mk XXIII naval gun as the standard cruiser main battery in preference to this 8-inch gun.
Third year type 20 cm/50 caliber guns formed the main battery of Japan's World War II heavy cruisers. These guns were also mounted on two early aircraft carriers. The typical installation was ten 20 cm/50 guns; although Tone-class cruisers carried eight while Furutaka and Aoba-class cruisers carried six. After modernization, Akagi carried only six.
The 20.3 cm SK C/34 was the main battery gun used on the German Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers.
The 203 mm/53 Ansaldo was the main battery gun of Italy's most modern Washington Naval Treaty heavy cruisers. This treaty allowed ships of not more than 10,000 tons standard displacement, and with guns no larger than 8 inches (203 mm), to be excluded from total tonnage limitations on a nation's capital ships.
The 8.8 cm SK C/30 was a German naval gun that was used in World War II. The SK C/30 guns were intended for smaller warships such as submarine chasers and corvettes.
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The Canon de 130 mm Modèle 1924 was a medium-caliber naval gun used as the primary armament on a number of French destroyers during World War II.
The Canon de 130 mm Modèle 1919 was a medium-caliber naval guns used as the primary armament on a number of French Destroyers during World War II.
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