The 120mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892 was a Russian

naval gun Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...

developed in the years before the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

that armed a variety of warships of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...

during the Russo-Japanese War and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Guns salvaged from scrapped ships found a second life on river

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...

of the Soviet Navy during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

and as

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

and

railway artillery A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was estimated that in 1941 there were 35 still in service.

History

In 1891 a Russian naval delegation was shown three guns designed by the French designer Canet. One was a 75/50 gun, one was a 120/45 gun, and the last was a 152/45 gun. All three guns used fixed QF ammunition which produced a rate of fire of 15 rpm for the 75/50 gun, 12 rpm for the 120/45 gun and 10 rpm for the 152/45 gun. The Russians were impressed and in 1892 they negotiated a production license for all three guns.

Construction

There were two main series of the 120/45 guns produced. The first series of 76 guns were built between 1897-1905 at the Obhukov factory. During the Russo-Japanese war a number of barrels of the 152/45 guns burst in action and a strengthened series of 152/45 and 120/45 guns were ordered. 34 of the second series of strengthened guns were built between 1905-1915 at the Obhukov factory. Between 1914-1916 production switched to the

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

factory and a further 18 strengthened guns were produced there.

Naval use

120/45 guns armed a variety of ships such as

armored cruisers The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

auxiliary cruisers An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

, coastal defense ships,

destroyers In navy, naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a Naval fleet, fleet, convoy or Carrier battle group, battle group and defend them against powerful short range attack ...

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

pre-dreadnought Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prote ...

battleships A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

protected cruisers Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

s and

unprotected cruisers An unprotected cruiser was a type of naval warship in use during the early 1870s Victorian or pre-dreadnought era (about 1880 to 1905). The name was meant to distinguish these ships from “protected cruisers”, which had become accepted in ...

of the Imperial Russian Navy built between 1890-1916.

Armored cruisers

* Dmitriy Donskoi-class - The secondary armament of Dmitrii Donskoi consisted of ten, 120/45 guns, in single mounts after an 1895 refit. The secondary armament of

Vladimir Monomakh Vladimir II Monomakh (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Мономахъ, ''Volodiměrŭ Monomakhŭ''; uk, Володимир Мономах, translit=Volodymyr Monomakh; russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name: ''Vasiliy'' ...

consisted of six, 120/45 guns, in single mounts after an 1897 refit. *

Rurik Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgoro ...

- The tertiary armament of this ship consisted of six, 120/45 guns, in single mounts.

Auxiliary cruisers

* Angara - The primary armament of this ship consisted of six, shielded, 120/45 guns. * Dnepr - The primary armament of this ship consisted of seven, shielded, 120/45 guns. * Don - The primary armament of this ship consisted of two, shielded, 120/45 guns. * Lena - The primary armament of this ship consisted of six, shielded, 120/45 guns. * Kuban - The primary armament of this ship consisted of two, shielded, 120/45 guns. * Oryol - The primary armament of this ship consisted of two, shielded, 120/45 guns. * Rion - The primary armament of this ship consisted of eight, shielded, 120/45 guns. * Terek - The primary armament of this ship consisted of two, shielded, 120/45 guns. * Ural - The primary armament of this ship consisted of two, shielded, 120/45 guns.

Coastal defense ships

* Admiral Ushakov-class - The secondary armament of this class of three ships consisted of four, 120/45 guns, in

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...

Destroyers

* Lieutenant Shestakov-class - The primary armament of this class of four ships consisted of one, forward, shielded, 120/45 gun.

Gunboats

* Gilyak - The primary armament of this ship consisted of one, forward, shielded, 120/45 gun. * Gilyak-class - The primary armament of this class of four ships consisted of two, shielded, 120/45 guns, in single mounts, fore and aft. * Korietz-class - Four ships of this class the ''Donets'', ''Kubanets'', ''Terets'' and ''Uralets'' had a tertiary armament of one, 120/45 gun, after 1905-1921 refits. * Vogul-class - The primary armament of this ship consisted of two, shielded, 120/45 guns, in single mounts, fore and aft.

Minesweepers

* Sofiya - This ships primary armament consisted of one, 120/45 gun, in a forward single mount. * Amur-class - This class of two ships primary armament consisted of five 120/45 guns, in single mounts.

Pre-dreadnought battleships

* Andrei Pervozvanny-class - This class of two ships tertiary armament consisted of twelve, casemated, 120/45 guns, in single mounts. Four guns were in the bow, four in the stern and four amidships. * Sissoi Veliky - This ships tertiary armament consisted of four, 120/45 guns, in single mounts after a 1904 refit. * Tri Sviatitelia - This ships tertiary armament consisted of four, 120/45 guns, in single mounts. * Navarin - This ships tertiary armament consisted of four, 120/45 guns, in single mounts after a 1904 refit.

Protected cruisers

* Boyarin - The primary armament of this ship consisted of six, shielded, 120/45 guns, in single mounts. One each at the bow and stern and four in

sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spon ...

s amidships. * Izumrud-class - This class of two ships primary armament consisted of six, 120/45 guns, in single mounts. * Novik - The primary armament of this ship consisted of six, 120/45 guns, in single mounts.

Seaplane tenders

* Imperator Aleksandr I - The primary armament of this ship consisted of six, 120/45 guns, in single mounts. * Imperator Nikolay I - The primary armament of this ship consisted of six, 120/45 guns, in single mounts.

Unprotected cruisers

Almaz The Almaz (russian: Алмаз, lit=Diamond) program was a highly secret Soviet military space station program, begun in the early 1960s. Three crewed military reconnaissance stations were launched between 1973 and 1976: Salyut 2, Salyut 3 an ...

- The primary armament of this ship consisted of seven, 120/45 guns, in single mounts after a 1915 refit.

Ammunition

Ammunition was of fixed QF type. A complete round weighed . The gun was able to fire: *

Armor Piercing Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate either body armour or vehicle armour. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armour carried on many warsh ...

Chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

High Explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

* Illumination * Incendiary *

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

Shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

Photo gallery

File:AndreiPervozvannyy1915-1916guns.jpg, Casemated 120mm guns aboard the battleship Andrei Pervozvanny, August 1914. File:120 45 Canet Kuivasaari front.JPG, 120mm 45 caliber Canet coastal gun on

Kuivasaari Kuivasaari (''Torra Mjölö'' in Swedish) is a Finnish island in the Gulf of Finland, near Helsinki. Kuivasaari is located some out into the Gulf of Finland, due south of Helsinki city centre, and was for many years the outermost inhabited i ...

Island. This gun was in Finnish coastal artillery school until 1993. File:120 45 Canet Kuivasaari.JPG, This gun has been modified from the original 1892 model, including rotating the gun 180 degrees so that the recoil system is on top of the barrel to increase elevation.

References

Notes

External links

* http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNRussian_47-45_m1892.php * http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/210339x54503/8330/a0.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:120mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892 Naval guns of Russia Russo-Japanese war weapons of Russia Artillery of the Soviet Union Coastal artillery Railway guns 120 mm artillery Obukhov State Plant products