The 203 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1905 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 by

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 ...

for export 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 ...

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

, railway artillery and aboard

river monitor River monitors are military craft designed to patrol rivers. They are normally the largest of all riverine warships in river flotillas, and mount the heaviest weapons. The name originated from the US Navy's , which made her first appearance in ...

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 ...

. By 1941 it was estimated there were 36 coastal defense guns and two railroad mounts remaining. During the 1930s a number were relined down to and re-designated the 180mm Pattern 1931-1933. These guns were used aboard

Kirov-class cruiser The ''Kirov''-class (Project 26) cruisers were a class of six cruisers built in the late 1930s for the Soviet Navy. After the first two ships, armor protection was increased and subsequent ships are sometimes called the ''Maxim Gorky'' class. T ...

s or as coastal artillery and railway artillery.

History

The Pattern 1905 began life as a Vickers design for export customers called the Mk B and Mk C. These guns did not serve aboard ships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

because they had standardized on guns. The Pattern 1905 was also produced under license at the

Obukhov State Plant Obukhov State Plant (also known Obukhovski Plant, ) is a major Russian metallurgy and heavy machine-building Factory, plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. Predecessors In 1854, the mining engineer P.M. Obukhov invented a new procedure to make ...

in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Construction

The Pattern 1905 was similar in construction to the Vickers 50 caliber guns produced by Vickers for the Imperial Russian Navy. The Pattern 1905 was a

built-up gun A built-up gun is artillery with a specially reinforced barrel. An inner tube of metal stretches within its elastic limit under the pressure of confined powder gases to transmit stress (mechanics), stress to outer cylinders that are under tension. ...

which consisted of an A tube, two layers of reinforcing tubes and a

Welin breech block 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 Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 ...

. The initial order for eight Vickers Mk B guns served aboard the Russian cruiser Rurik in four twin turrets. Later another thirty-four Mk C guns were ordered from Vickers in 1914. A further nineteen were produced by Obhukov in 1914 to replace worn barrels with only minor differences between the series.

Naval use

The 203mm 50 caliber Pattern 1905 guns armed armored cruisers,

s and

pre-dreadnought Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built from the mid- to late- 1880s to the early 1900s. Their designs were conceived before the appearance of in 1906 and their classification as "pre-dreadnought" is retrospectively appl ...

battleships A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

of the Imperial Russian Navy and

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

built or refit between 1905-1930.

Pre-dreadnought battleships

* Andrei Pervozvanny-class battleship - The two ships of this class had a secondary armament that consisted of fourteen Pattern 1905 guns. Eight were mounted in four twin-

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...

s at the corners of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

, while six were mounted in

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s in the superstructure. * Evstafi-class battleship - The two ships of this class had a secondary armament that consisted of four Pattern 1905 guns mounted in the corners of the superstructure in casemates. *

Russian ironclad Petr Veliky '' Petr Velikiy'' ( – Peter the Great) was an ironclad turret ship built for the Imperial Russian Navy during the 1870s. Her engines and boilers were defective, but were not replaced until 1881. The ship made a cruise to the Mediterranean af ...

- This gunnery training ship had a primary armament of four Pattern 1905 guns in open mounts after a 1907 refit. *

Russian battleship Sinop Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

- This gunnery training ship had a primary armament of four Pattern 1905 guns in turrets after a 1910 refit.

Armored cruisers

Russian cruiser Rossia ''Rossia'' () was an armored cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy built in the 1890s. She was designed as a long-range commerce raiding, commerce raider and served as such during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. She was based in Vladivostok w ...

- This ship had a primary armament of six Pattern 1905 guns after a 1915 refit. * Russian cruiser Rurik - This ship had a secondary armament of eight Pattern 1905 guns in twin turrets at the corners of the superstructure.

Coastal use

Ammunition

Pattern 1905 ammunition consisted of two separate loading bagged charges and a projectile. The projectiles weighed between and the two charges weighed a combined . The gun was able to fire: *

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 ...

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in the 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 s ...

* Shrapnel

Photo Gallery

File:Ryurik1912back.jpg, A stern view of the Russian Cruiser Rurik. A twin Pattern 1905 turret can be seen to the right. File:Sinop1916.jpg, The Russian battleship Sinop with four turret mounted Pattern 1905 guns amidships after a 1910 refit. File:AndreiPervozvannyy1912-1914gun.jpg, A stern view of the twin Pattern 1905 turrets aboard the Russian battleship Andrei Pervozvannyy.

References

* *

Notes

External links

203 mm / 8" naval gun model 1905 on NavWeapons.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:203 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1905 Artillery of the Russian Empire Artillery of the Soviet Union Coastal artillery Railway guns 203 mm artillery Obukhov State Plant products