History

The Mortier de 220 mm L mle 1880 was one of a series of heavy artillery pieces designed by Colonel Charles Ragon de Bange. On 11 May 1874 three de Bange heavy cannons (120 mm,

155 mm 155 mm (6.1 in) is a common, NATO-standard, artillery caliber. It is defined in AOP-29 part 1 with reference to STANAG 4425. It is commonly used in field guns, howitzers, and gun-howitzers. Land warfare The caliber originated in France after ...

, 240 mm) and two mortars (220 mm, 270 mm) were ordered by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. The mle 1880 was advanced for its time due to being built completely of steel instead of a steel liner and

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

reinforcing

hoops Hoop or Hoops may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * Hoops (TV series), ''Hoops'' (TV series), an American animated series Music * Hoops (band), an American indie pop band * Hoops (album), ''Hoops'' (album), a 2015 albu ...

of the previous ''Canon de 240 mm C mle 1870''-87. 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 Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

stagnated and

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...

set in. Fortresses, armories, coastal fortifications, and museums were scoured for heavy artillery and sent to the front. Suitable field and rail carriages were built for these guns in an effort to give their forces the heavy field artillery needed to overcome trenches and hardened concrete fortifications.

Variants

mle 1880

The mle 1880 was a

breech loaded A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

mortar with a de Bange obturator and used separate loading bagged charges and projectiles. The mle 1880 was originally built without a recoil mechanism and in order to traverse the carriage needed to be levered into position before and after each shot. For transport, the mle 1880 could be broken down for transport into two wagon loads (barrel and carriage) for towing by two horse teams. The mortars could also be transferred to narrow gauge rail wagons for the final leg to their firing positions. These narrow gauge tracks were also used to re-position the mortars and bring up their ammunition and supplies. Site preparation included creating a firing platform made of wooden beams on soft ground. At the outbreak of the First World War, it is estimated there were 300 mle 1880s available.

mle 1880/91

A modification program in 1891 gave the mle 1880 a carriage with a

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...

recoil mechanism and limited traverse. The new carriage was similar to the one used on the Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885. The 130 mortars modified were designated as the mle 1880/1891 and consisted of a U shaped gun cradle which held the

trunnion A trunnion (from Old French "''trognon''", trunk) is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting or pivoting point. First associated with cannons, they are an important military development. Alternatively, a trunnion is a shaft that positions a ...

ed barrel and a slightly inclined firing platform with hydraulic buffers. When the gun fired the hydro-buffer slowed the recoil of the cradle which slid up a set of inclined rails on the firing platform and then returned to position by the combined action of the buffers and gravity. For transport, it could be broken down into three loads for towing by horse teams or by artillery tractor. Site preparation consisted of creating a firing platform from wooden beams. However, a downside to the carriage modernization was the combined weight had doubled, which made transport and setup more difficult.

mle 1880 A.C.S.

The Mortier de 220 mm L modèle 1880 was a French

heavy mortar A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a ...

employed as

siege artillery Siege artillery (also siege guns or siege cannons) are heavy guns designed to bombard fortifications, cities, and other fixed targets. They are distinct from field artillery and are a class of siege weapon capable of firing heavy cannonballs or ...

during the

First world war 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 ...

. In an effort to improve the mobility of the mle 1880, 100 mortars were given six-wheeled carriages called ''Affût de Circonstance Schneider''. The carriages were built from steel with a two-wheeled axle at the front and a four-wheeled axle at the rear. The bed of the ACS formed the base of the mortar and it had the same recoil system as the earlier mle 1880/91. Once in position, the wheels could be retracted and the mortar sat on its base. The advantage of this system was its mobility and reduced setup time. The downside was excessive weight, it could only be towed by artillery tractors and it was unsuitable for use on soft ground. The ''220 mle 1880 A.C.S.'' entered in service in June 1917 with the ''artillerie lourde à tracteurs'' (motorized heavy artillery). By August 1918, all of them had been replaced by 220 mm TR mle 1915/1916. The remaining mortars were used by the ''artillerie à pied'' (foot artillery) until November 1918.

Weapons of comparable performance and era

* Mortaio da 210/8 D.S. - A comparable Italian mortar. * 21 cm Mörser 10 - A comparable German mortar.

Photo gallery

File:220mmMortarBatteriedeSaint-CyrYvelines.jpg, A mle 1880 with non-recoil carriage. File:PostcardMortierde220OnWagon.jpg, A mle 1880 broken down for transport. File:French220mmTrenchMortar1915.jpg, A mle 1880 in action at the Argonnes in 1915. File:Neufchelles. Mortier de 220 - Fonds Berthelé - 49Fi1220.jpg, A mle 1880/91 with recoil carriage. File:Usine du Creusot. Mortier de 220 mm A.C.S. sur affût de circonstance Schneider. En batterie (cropped).jpg, alt=, Usine du Creusot. Mortier de 220 mm A.C.S. sur affût de circonstance Schneider. En batterie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortier de 240 mm modèle 1880 Artillery of France World War I artillery of France World War I guns Siege artillery