The 102 mm 60 caliber Pattern 1911 was a Russian naval gun developed in the years before

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 ...

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 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 shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...

and

armored train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facilit ...

s 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 ...

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 ...

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

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

, 30 in the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

, 30 in the Pacific Fleet, 18 in the Northern Fleet, 9 in the

Caspian Flotilla Kaspiyskaya flotiliya , image = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla , dates = No ...

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 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 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° to +20°. Latter mounts were taller and had high angles of elevation between -10° to +30°.

Naval Use

Pattern 1911 guns armed a variety of ships such as

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

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 ...

s, gunboats,

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. Pr ...

, minelayers and torpedo cruisers of the Imperial Russian Navy. After the 1917

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

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 WWI, to be used as auxiliary cruisers, and equipped with 102 mm Obukhov guns. During Bolshevik Revolution most of those ships returned to Romania. In WWII, 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 destroyer The ''Derzky'' or ''Bespokoiny''-class destroyers was a class of destroyers built for the Imperial Russian Navy just before World War I. Nine ships were built for the Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great em ...

s * Fidonisy-class destroyers * Finn-class torpedo cruisers * Gavril-class destroyers * General Kondratenko-class torpedo cruisers *

Golub-class guard ship ''Golub''-class guard ships were originally built as minelayers and netlayers for the Imperial Russian Navy. Two of the ships were captured by the Germans at Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a ...

s * Kars-class gunboats * Kazarskiy-class torpedo cruisers * Izyaslav-class destroyers * Orfey-class destroyers * Shchastlivyi-class destroyers * Ukrayna-class torpedo cruisers *

Uragan-class guard ship The ''Uragan''-class guard ships were built for the Soviet Navy as small patrol and escort ships. Eighteen were built in the 1930s and served during World War II in all four of the Soviet Fleets: Baltic, Black Sea, Northern and Pacific. Four were ...

s * Vsadnik-class torpedo cruisers * 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 * 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

Photo Gallery

File:BAP Almirante Villar 80-G-455956.jpg, BAP Almirante Villar the former Estonian destroyer Vambola. 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