340mm/45 Modèle 1912 gun

340mm/45 Modèle 1912 gun
340mm/45 Modèle 1912 gun
	The main guns of the battleship Provence
Type	Naval gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	France
Wars	First World War; Second World War
Production history
Variants	Model 1912M; Type C
Specifications
Mass	66 t (65 long tons; 73 short tons)
Barrel length	15.4 m (51 ft) L/45[1]
Shell	Separate-loading, bagged charge and projectiles
Shell weight	382–575 kg (842–1,268 lb)[2]
Calibre	340 mm (13.4 in)
Breech	Welin breech block
Elevation	Naval: -5° to +15°; Coastal: 0 to +50°
Traverse	Fore and aft: -150° to +150°; Q turret: +30 to +150 L/R[2]
Rate of fire	2 rpm
Muzzle velocity	800 m/s (2,600 ft/s)[1]
Maximum firing range	Naval: 25–29 km (16–18 mi) at +23°; Coastal: 38.7 km (24 mi) at +45°[2]

The 340mm/45 Modèle 1912 gun (13.4 in) was a heavy naval gun of the French Navy. While the calibres of the naval guns of the French Navy were usually very close to those of their British counterparts,[lower-alpha 1] the calibre of 340 mm is specific to the French Navy.

The built-up gun was designed to be carried by the Normandie and Lyon classes in quadruple gun turrets, but no ship of these types was completed as a battleship. They were carried by the Bretagne-class battleships in twin turrets. Some of these guns were used as railway guns and coastal artillery in World War I, also serving in World War II.

Railway gun

Due to the cancellation or conversion of most of the ships these guns were made for, the relatively large number of spare guns available facilitated their use as railway guns in both World Wars. Two batteries of 340 mm guns, with an authorized strength of one gun per battery, were operated by the 53rd Coast Artillery, U. S. Army, in World War I.[3] As with most French railway guns, after the Fall of France in World War II some of these weapons were used by the German army.

Two different railway guns were produced from these surplus guns:

Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau - Six were converted by the St. Chamond company and saw action during both wars.
Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement - Six were converted by the Schneider company and these came too late for the First World War but participated in the Second World War.

Coast Defense Gun

During Operation Dragoon, the Free French battleship Lorraine was one of the units engaged with 'Big Willie', ex-French turret battery controlling the approaches to Toulon. 'Big Willie' was armed with the guns taken from the French battleship Provence, as a replacement for the original guns, sabotaged by its French crews, making this an unusual instance of both sides of an engagement using the 340mm/45 Modèle 1912 gun.

Gallery

Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau.
Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement.
One of prewar French armoured turrets, equipped with Provence's guns.

Notes

The 380mm is close to the British 15 inch, the 340mm to the 13.5 inch and the 305mm to the 12 inch.

Citations

Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War Onedirectory. S. Yorkshire: Seaforth Pub. ISBN 9781848321007. OCLC 751804655.
DiGiulian, Tony. "France 34 cm/45 (13.4") Model 1912 and Model 1912M - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
53rd Coast Artillery in World War I

Bibliography

Jordan, John (2019). "The 340mm Coast Defence Battery at Cape Cépet". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2019. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 110–117. ISBN 978-1-4728-3595-6.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[Brit_guns-3] The 380mm is close to the British 15 inch, the 340mm to the 13.5 inch and the 305mm to the 12 inch.

[:1-1] Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War Onedirectory. S. Yorkshire: Seaforth Pub. ISBN 9781848321007. OCLC 751804655.

[:0-2] DiGiulian, Tony. "France 34 cm/45 (13.4") Model 1912 and Model 1912M - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2018-09-15.

[4] 53rd Coast Artillery in World War I

French naval weapons of the First World War
Battleship primary armament	274 mm/40 Modèle 1893/1896 305 mm/45 Modèle 1887 305 mm/40 Modèle 1893/96 305 mm/45 Modèle 1906 340mm/28 Modèle 1881 340 mm/42 Modèle 1887 340 mm/45 Modèle 1912
Battleship secondary armament	47 mm/40 Modèle 1885 47 mm/50 Modèle 1902 57 mm/40 Modèle 1885 75 mm/62 Modèle 1908 75 mm/34 Modèle 1915/1916/1917 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910 164 mm/45 Modèle 1887 164 mm/45 Modèle 1893 194 mm/40 Modèle 1893-1896 240mm/50 Modèle 1902 274 mm/45 Modèle 1887/1893
Cruiser primary armament	164 mm/45 Modèle 1887 164 mm/45 Modèle 1893 194 mm/45 Modèle 1887 194 mm/40 Modèle 1893-1896 194 mm/50 Modèle 1902
Cruiser secondary armament	100 mm/45 Modèle 1891 138 mm/45 Modèle 1893 164 mm/45 Modèle 1887 164 mm/45 Modèle 1893
Destroyer and Aviso Primary armament	65 mm/50 Modèle 1891 100 mm/45 Modèle 1891 138 mm/45 Modèle 1893 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910
Anti-aircraft weapons	8 mm/50 Modèle 1914 57 mm/40 Modèle 1902

French naval weapons of the Second World War
Battleship main armament	305 mm/45 Modèle 1906 330 mm/50 Modèle 1931 340 mm/45 Modèle 1912 380 mm/45 Modèle 1935
Cruiser main armament	138 mm/40 Modèle 1923 152 mm/55 Modèle 1930 155 mm/50 Modèle 1920 203 mm/50 Modèle 1924 203 mm/55 Modèle 1931
Destroyer and Aviso main armament	65 mm Modèle 1891 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/45 Modèle 1891 100 mm/45 Modèle 1933 130 mm/40 Modèle 1919 130 mm/40 Modèle 1924 130 mm/45 Modèle 1935 138 mm/45 Modèle 1893 138 mm/40 Modèle 1927 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910 138 mm/50 Modèle 1929
Secondary armament	57 mm/40 Modèle 1885 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/45 Modèle 1930 100 mm/55 Modèle 1945 130 mm/45 Modèle 1932 138 mm/55 Modèle 1910 152 mm/55 Modèle 1930
Submarine guns	75 mm/35 Modèle 1924 75 mm/35 Modèle 1927 100 mm/45 Modèle 1917 100 mm/45 Modèle 1925 100 mm/34 Modèle 1936 203 mm/50 Modèle 1924
Anti-aircraft weapons	7.5 mm/80 Modèle 1931 8 mm/50 Modèle 1914 13.2 mm/76 Modèle 1929 25 mm/60 Modèle 1938 25 mm/60 Modèle 1940 37 mm/50 Modèle 1925 37 mm/70 Modèle 1935 57 mm/40 Modèle 1902 75 mm/35 Modèle 1924 75 mm/35 Modèle 1927 90 mm/50 Modèle 1926 100 mm/34 Modèle 1933
Torpedoes	400 mm Modèle 1926V 550 mm Modèle 1919D 550 mm Modèle 1923DT 550 mm Modèle 1924M 550 mm Modèle 1924V

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 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 155 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond 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 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 155mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	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 Canon de 76 M modele 1909 Schneider Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 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