The 203 mm 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 more specialized roles in surface warfare such as naval gunfire support (NGFS) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) engagements. T ...

developed in the years before the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

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 the

and

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 ...

. 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 ...

History

Russian/Soviet

The 203 mm 45 caliber was designed in 1892 and soon went into production. The initial order was for twenty guns and by May 1901 thirteen had been completed. Production was restarted in 1915 to replace worn out guns and nine more were delivered. A follow-up order for seventeen to be completed in 1917-18 was placed, but not completed due to the

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 ...

of 1917. In addition to the guns used aboard ships eight were installed in two coastal artillery batteries of four guns each on the islands of Nargen and Mäkiluoto. It is believed none were in service 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 ...

Finland

Source:

Naval use

The 203 mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892 guns armed

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 pre-dreadnought battles ...

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

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 built or refit between 1892 and 1916.

Armored cruisers

* Bayan-class - This class of four ships primary armament consisted of two 203 mm 45 caliber guns, in single

turrets Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * ...

fore and aft. * Rurik-class - The primary armament of

Gromoboi Several ships of the Imperial Russian Navy have been named ''Gromoboi'' (, meaning thunderer) * – a 3,200-ton screw frigate built by Ulricaborgs skeppsvarf, Helsinki. 53 guns, 400 horsepower steam engine, length 63 meters. * – a 12,455-to ...

consisted of four 203 mm 45 caliber guns, in single mounts. Two were in

casemates 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" mea ...

fore and two casemates aft for Gromoboi. The primary armament of

Rossia ''Rossia'' is a genus of 10 species of benthic bobtail squid in the family Sepioidae found in all oceans. They live at depths greater than 50 m (164 ft) and can grow up to 9 cm (3.5 in.) in mantle length. This genus was first d ...

consisted of four 203 mm 45 caliber guns, in single mounts. Two were in

fore and two were on

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

s aft for Rossia.

Gunboats

* Khrabryy - The primary armament of this ship consisted of two, shielded, single mount, 203 mm 45 caliber guns, in forward sponsons.

Pre-dreadnought battleships

* Imperator Aleksandr II - This ships secondary armament consisted of five, 203 mm 45 caliber guns, in single mounts, after a 1904 refit.

Ammunition

Ammunition was of separate loading type with a bagged charge and projectile. The charge weighed . 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 Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge 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 ...

- *

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 shell, Shrapnel -

Photo gallery

File:Gromoboy1897-1922back.jpg, Imperial Russian armoured cruiser Gromoboi. File:Rossiya1895-1922d.jpg, Imperial Russian cruiser Rossiya. File:Bayan1911-1918.jpg, Crew of armored cruiser Bayan.

References

Notes

External links

203 mm/45 (8") Pattern 1892 NavWeapons

{{DEFAULTSORT:203 mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892 Artillery of the Russian Empire Russo-Japanese war weapons of Russia Artillery of the Soviet Union Coastal artillery 203 mm artillery Obukhov State Plant products