The 102 mm 60 caliber Pattern 1911 was a Russian

naval gun Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for more specialized roles in surface warfare such as naval gunfire support (NGFS) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) engagements. T ...

developed in the years before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

during World War I. Pattern 1911 guns 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 bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

and

armored train An armoured train (Commonwealth English) or armored train (American English) is a railway train protected with vehicle armour, heavy metal plating and which often includes railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns, and autocannons. So ...

s during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1941 it was estimated that 146 guns were in service. Of these, 49 were in the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

, 30 in the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

, 30 in the Pacific Fleet, 18 in the

Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...

, 9 in the

Caspian Flotilla The Caspian Flotilla () is the flotilla of the Russian Navy in the Caspian Sea. Established in November 1722 by the order of Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Caspian Flotilla is the oldest flotilla in the Russian ...

and 6 in the Pinsk Flotilla.

History

The requirement to re-equip destroyers of the Imperial Russian fleet with guns larger than the current 75 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892 was raised by the chief of the Baltic Fleet Mine Division, Nikolai Ottowitsch von Essen, in January 1907. The design for the new gun was completed with technical assistance from the British

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

company at the Obukhov State plant in 1908 and testing was completed in August 1909.

Construction

Pattern 1911 guns were produced at the Obukhov state plant and 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 administr ...

artillery factory between 1911 and 1921. In 1911 an order for 505 guns was placed of which 225 were delivered by January 1, 1917. Another 200 were expected to be produced during 1917 and 83 in 1918. In 1921 an order for 85 guns was placed at the Perm factory, but this was reduced to 48 guns. The Pattern 1911 was constructed of an A tube, reinforced by three hoops which were put on while hot and screwed onto the breech. The Pattern 1911 had a high rate of fire 12-15 rpm (10 rpm practical) due to the use of

Fixed QF Fixed may refer to: * ''Fixed'' (EP), EP by Nine Inch Nails * ''Fixed'' (film), an upcoming animated film directed by Genndy Tartakovsky * Fixed (typeface), a collection of monospace bitmap fonts that is distributed with the X Window System * Fi ...

ammunition and a semi-automatic, horizontal wedge breech mechanism. After ejecting each empty case the gun re-cocked itself and kept breech open for the next round. It also had the usual combination of hydraulic buffer and spring recuperator. The original naval mounts were short and had low angles of elevation between -6° and +20°. Latter mounts were taller and had high angles of elevation between -10° and +30°.

Naval use

Pattern 1911 guns armed a variety of ships such as

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

s and

torpedo cruiser A torpedo cruiser is a type of warship that is armed primarily with torpedoes. The major navies began building torpedo cruisers shortly after the invention of the locomotive Whitehead torpedo in the 1860s. The development of the torpedo gave ri ...

s of the Imperial Russian Navy. After the 1917

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

the successor states of Estonia, Finland, and the Soviet Union all used this gun. Pattern 1911 guns were also used on World War I era destroyers bought by Bulgaria and Peru. Some Romanian cruise ships were lent to Russia in the First World War, to be used as auxiliary cruisers, and equipped with 102 mm Obukhov guns. After the October Revolution most of those ships returned to Romania. In the Second World War, about 3 to 5 guns were used by Romanians as coastal artillery in Sulina & Sf.Gheorghe Black Sea sectors. Ship classes which carried the Pattern 1911: * ''Derzky''-class destroyers * ''Fidonisy''-class destroyers * ''Emir Bukharsky''-class destroyers * ''Gavril''-class destroyers * ''Okhotnik''-class destroyers * ''Golub''-class guard ships * ''Kars''-class gunboats * ''Kazarskiy''-class torpedo cruisers * ''Izyaslav''-class destroyers * ''Orfey''-class destroyers * ''Shchastlivyi''-class destroyers * ''Ukraina''-class destroyers * ''Uragan''-class guard ships * ''Gaidamak''-class destroyers * ''Zhemchug''-class guard ships

Ammunition

Ammunition was 101.6 x 790mm R and of Fixed QF type. A complete round weighed between . The projectiles weighed between . The gun was able to fire: *

Armor Piercing Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate armour protection, most often including naval armour, body armour, and vehicle armour. The first, major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the t ...

* Common shell *

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 * Shrapnel

Gallery

File:BAP Almirante Villar 80-G-455956.jpg, BAP ''Almirante Villar'' the former Estonian destroyer ''Wambola''. File:BAP Almirante Guise 80-G-455952.jpg, BAP ''Almirante Guise'' the former Russian destroyer ''Avtroil''. File:Frunze1925-1941e.jpg, Soviet destroyer ''Frunze''. File:Kalinin1925-1941c.jpg, Soviet destroyer ''Kalinin''. File:Stalin1921-1951d.jpg, Soviet destroyer ''Stalin''. File:Uusimaa_or_Hameenmaa.jpg, Finnish gunboats ''Uusimaa'' or ''Hameenmaa'' File:Uusimaa gun.jpg, A 102mm gun aboard the Finnish gunboat ''Uusimaa''.

References

* *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:102 mm 60 caliber Artillery of the Russian Empire Artillery of the Soviet Union Coastal artillery 100 mm artillery Obukhov State Plant products