Canon de 24 C modèle 1876

Canon de 24 C modèle 1876
Canon de 24 C modèle 1876
	A mle 1876 on a GPC carriage at Gallipoli.
Type	Coastal artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1876-1945
Used by	France
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designed	1876
Produced	1876
Variants	Railway gun; Siege artillery
Specifications
Mass	Complete: 47 t (46 long tons; 52 short tons); Carriage: 30.8 t (30.3 long tons; 34.0 short tons); Barrel: 16.2 t (15.9 long tons; 17.9 short tons)
Barrel length	5.36 m (17.6 ft) L/22.3
Shell	Separate-loading, bagged charge and projectiles
Shell weight	162 kg (357 lb)
Caliber	240 mm (9.4 in)
Breech	de Bange
Recoil	Hydro-gravity
Elevation	-5° to +30°
Traverse	360°
Rate of fire	1 round every two minutes
Muzzle velocity	460 m/s (1,500 ft/s)
Effective firing range	10.5 km (6.5 mi)
Maximum firing range	13.4 km (8.3 mi)

The Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 was a coastal defense gun designed and built before World War I. A number of guns were also converted to railway guns during World War I in order to meet a need for heavy artillery.

Design

The Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 were typical built-up guns of the period with mixed construction consisting of a rifled steel liner and several layers of iron reinforcing hoops. In French service guns of mixed steel/iron construction were designated in centimeters while all steel guns were designated in millimeters. However, reference materials do not always distinguish the difference in construction and use either unit of measurement.^[3] The guns used a de Bange breech and fired separate loading bagged charges 28–88 kg (62–194 lb) and 162 kg (357 lb) projectiles.^[2]

The mle 1876 was mounted on a number of different models of garrison mounts with limited traverse. One exception was the GPC mount (côte sur affût type Guerre à Pivot Central) which was a rectangular steel firing platform which sat on top of a large circular steel track embedded in concrete behind a parapet. A rectangular steel firing platform with four wheels rotated on the track and gave 360° of traverse.^[1]

The recoil system for the mle 1876 consisted of a U-shaped gun cradle which held the trunnioned barrel and a slightly inclined firing platform with a hydro-gravity recoil system. When the gun fired the hydraulic buffers slowed the recoil of the cradle which slid up a set of inclined rails on the firing platform and then returned the gun to position by the combined action of the buffers and gravity.^[1]

Railway guns

In order to address a need for heavy artillery a number of mle 1876 guns were converted to railway guns and given the designation 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916. The conversion entailed removing the gun cradle from its carriage and mounting it on a variety of flatbed rail wagons built from steel I beams and timbers on top of a two, three or four-axle rail bogie. The gun carriage changed from an inclined hydro-gravity system to a horizontal hydro-spring system where the recoil was absorbed by a hydraulic buffer and returned to firing position by springs. At the front of the carriage there was also an attachment for an earth anchor and between the axles there were screw jacks which could be lowered to take weight off the axles and anchor the carriage.^[4] Elevation stayed the same but there was no traverse. The guns either had to be removed from the tracks and put on a wooden firing platform and levered into place or drawn across a section of curved track to aim. Beginning in 1916 twenty-four guns were assigned to French artillery units, thirteen were assigned to French training units and sixteen were assigned to artillery units of the US Army.^[3]

Siege artillery

In addition to its coastal artillery role, an unknown number of guns were used as siege artillery during the First World War.

Photo Gallery

Jamblet battery at Ile d´Aix.
Cannons removed from Fort d'Estrées, Gorée, Senegal.
A mle 1876 captured by Ottoman forces at Gallipoli.
A mle 1876 in service with the American 52nd Coastal Artillery Corps.
A 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916.
A Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 on a mixed-mode carriage.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Canons côtiers de 24 C et 240 G et TR - FortiffSéré". www.fortiffsere.fr. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
^ ^a ^b La Science illustrée: journal illustré (in French). La Science illustrée. 1889.
^ ^a ^b Romanych, Mark (2017-08-24). Railway Guns of World War I. Heuer, Greg, Noon, Steve. London. pp. 5–15. ISBN 9781472816412. OCLC 999616340.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Hogg, Ian (1973). Rail gun. Batchelor, John. New York: Scribner. p. 14. ISBN 0684133423. OCLC 760898.

[:1-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Canons côtiers de 24 C et 240 G et TR - FortiffSéré". www.fortiffsere.fr. Retrieved 2018-09-09.

[:0-2] La Science illustrée: journal illustré (in French). La Science illustrée. 1889.

[:2-3] Romanych, Mark (2017-08-24). Railway Guns of World War I. Heuer, Greg, Noon, Steve. London. pp. 5–15. ISBN 9781472816412. OCLC 999616340.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[4] Hogg, Ian (1973). Rail gun. Batchelor, John. New York: Scribner. p. 14. ISBN 0684133423. OCLC 760898.

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v t e French artillery of World War I
Anti-aircraft guns	Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider Canon de 75 modèle 1914 Schneider De Bange 90 mm cannon Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and heavy artillery	Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 court modèle 1904 Rimailho Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155 mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	Cellerier Mortar Mortier de 58 T N°1 Mortier de 58 T N°1 bis Mortier de 58 mm type 2 Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry Mortier de 240 mm Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 120 L mle 1878 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 Obusier de 155 C mle 1881 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Materiel de 155 sur affut-truc Schneider Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau Canon de 274 modèle 87/93 Glissement Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/81 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 TR Mle 1903 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Self propelled artillery	Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220mm L Mle1917 Schneider (FAHM) Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond
Armoured vehicle guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 Canon de 75 modèle 1897