The state of Russian coastal artillery at the beginning of the 20th century, as in all subsequent years, was kept in a state of strict secrecy. In particular, this factor was due to the fact that these guns were originally supposed to be invisible. Both the monarchist and Soviet coastal artillery were located in special zones that ordinary people simply did not have access to. At that time, huge battleships and cruisers were brought to the fore, which immediately attracted attention with their size, but in terms of longitude of service they could not compete with coastal batteries. This article will describe the history of Russian coastal artillery in the 20th century, its condition and the most famous models used.
Historical background
Coast artillery guns in Russia began to be used quite early, but their real history begins only in 1891. It was then that new models of batteries with long barrels, which are the most modern model, entered production. With their effectiveness, they completely replaced the old guns, and therefore began to have a predominant role inas coastal systems.
The history of coastal artillery is inextricably linked with the history of the Russian fleet, however, its organization and activities were quite distant from it. They were subordinated exclusively to the Main Artillery Directorate, which undoubtedly had a number of both positive and negative sides. The first exception to this rule was made only in 1912, when Peter the Great's fortress protecting the Gulf of Finland was transferred under the authority of the Naval Department.
USSR coastal artillery
After the October Revolution and the coming to power of the Soviets, all coastal batteries were transferred under the direct command of the Red Army, and only in 1925 they came under the authority of the head of the Naval Forces. However, such development took place in a relatively short period of time - all work in this area, by order of the head of the country Nikita Khrushchev, on the installation of Russian coastal artillery was stopped in 1957. After that, the gradual dismantling of the systems began, in rare cases they were simply mothballed. Even photos of coastal artillery of those years, as well as numerous documentation on this issue, were simply destroyed or lost.
This system began a new round of its development only in 1989, when coastal troops were assigned to the Navy. At the moment, all coastal artillery is under the control of this department.
Used tools
In its heydaythe coastal defense system boasted numerous, highly effective guns of varying power. Below we will talk about the most famous and widely used coastal artillery guns, which have gained popularity not only in Russia, but also in other countries of the world.
Kane Guns
A real sensation after their appearance in 1891 was made by the guns of the Kane system. They marked the beginning of a new era, capturing not only coastal artillery, but also naval ones. During the period of their dominance, they were widely furnished with various cruisers, such as the Varyag, Potemkin and even the Aurora. This gun was the first example of a 6 gun with a long barrel, fast action and cartridge charge, which not only allowed it to be quickly reloaded, but also dramatically increased the accuracy and armor penetration of the gun.
This gun was invented in France, but the Russian delegation did not order weapons from another country, but only acquired a sample of the drawings. Soon their production began. In total, by decree of Emperor Nicholas II, 1 cannon 6 "/50 was created, but it did not show sufficient efficiency, so it was ordered to return to the 6" / 45 system, as indicated in the drawings.
In total, such a tool consisted of 3 parts: a clutch, a casing and a barrel. It fired shells larger than a meter in size and weighing 43 kg. The gun was widely used until the end of the 40s of the 20th century.
Modernization No. 194
In 1926 Artillerymanagement ordered the modernization of Kane's guns. Their main requirement was a sharp increase in the elevation angle - it was additionally required to increase it by another 60 degrees. This would help the coastal artillery to learn anti-aircraft fire, but they could not do it.
However, instead of this, LMZ presented a prototype gun No. 194. Surprisingly, during the tests, despite the fact that neither the accuracy nor the rate of fire of the gun was found out, it was nevertheless accepted for production. For a few more years, they continued to modernize it, since Kane's guns were noticeably outdated. As experience has shown, their renewal was impossible in practice, so it was urgently required to create a fundamentally new coastal artillery according to new canons. In total, 281 different models were created using the Kane cannon, none of which could fully satisfy the desires of the military.
Coastal guns 10" in 45 klb
In addition to the Kane guns, in the 90s of the 19th century, coastal guns of 254 mm, that is, 10 /45, were adopted. They were intended exclusively for protecting the coast. In particular, this is due to 2 factors: the fear of the artillery committee of any innovations and the acceptance of such guns in the fleet. At that time, in the Russian fleet, unlike the Western one, they preferred to use physical force to aim guns and supply ammunition, rather than electric drives.
Unfortunately, in practice, such guns showed that their installation was noticeably late for at least a decade. At that time, Western battleships were becoming noticeably more massive, as were the guns used on them. Similartechnical illiteracy of the senior military personnel and led to subsequent defeats.
However, even in the very structure of the cannon, the generals were let down by conservatism. They set out to create a fundamentally new cannon and gun carriage, sharply different from the naval ones. In the end, a system with a rolling machine was created, which is structurally outdated even more. All this led to the fact that work on them was suspended, but, surprisingly, a few years later it was resumed again. Thus, coastal artillery began to use guns that had numerous shortcomings. The main range of them was installed in Port Arthur. Similar guns, followed by a series of upgrades, were used until 1941.
Coastal guns 120/50 mm
It was the loss in the Russo-Japanese War that showed the need to update the existing coastal artillery, which led to the emergence of new 120/50 mm guns. This whole war led to the enrichment of a group of swindlers associated with the Grand Dukes of the Romanovs. One of them was Basil Zakharov. It was he who sold more than 20 120/50 mm Vickers guns. They were not used during the war, and simply could not be. Gradually, after a series of transportations, they settled in Kronstadt. Initially, they began to be put on ships, like the newly built Rurik, so their production began. It is not clear why, but the military department also placed a large order for coastal artillery. These guns had excellent ballistics, but their caliber was too small to inflicta significant blow to cruisers or battleships. However, due to their low weight in coastal defense and ground forces, they gained notable popularity during the First World War.
Gun 6"/52
This gun was originally built as an improved version of the Canet guns with better ballistics and increased rate of fire. They began to produce them only in 1912 in order to be able to fire different shells - high-explosive, armor-piercing and even shrapnel. At the perfect stage of their design, they could effectively withstand battleships during the Second World War, but their production, despite the fact that the prototype proved to be the most ideal coastal installation in the whole world, could not be completed. Their production was discontinued in 1917, after which the issue of finishing was never returned. Thus, due to mismanagement, one of the best coastal guns was lost.
Single-gun open installations
In addition to cannons, open mounts were also used as coastal artillery. Of these, the 12 /52 installation was the most popular. The gun carriage design was in many ways similar to the ship machines installed on the Sevastopol battleship. In their finished form, after delivery, they could well be called ersatz installations for wartime. Perhaps that is why they used even during World War II. The most famous battery - Mirus - showed its combat effectiveness until the very end of the war,after which she was given to the British.
Three-gun turrets
By 1954, three-gun installations appeared in the coastal artillery. Their design began as early as 1932, after which many upgrades were undertaken to create an efficient system. However, they were able to bring it to mind only after a gun-guided radar station called "Zalp-B" appeared. This made it possible to significantly improve accuracy, as well as significantly expand the capabilities of the entire installation. Ultimately, they were handed over to Ukraine in 1996, since they had largely lost their constructive novelty and could not bring a good result.
Ultra-long-range guns
Back in 1918, experienced artillery specialists tried to create an ultra-long-range firing system. However, during the formation of the Soviet Union, it was not possible to create fundamentally new systems, so their task was to make special shells. For the first time, a significant result was shown only in 1924, when a charge weighing a centner was built, which could fly at a speed of 1250 m / s. However, he had one strong drawback - a large dispersion. After that, it was constantly modified in order to remove the existing shortcomings, but until the war it was not possible to achieve a result. After that, the development was forgotten for a short period and resumed only in 1945. A breakthrough was made by captured German designers, who created the easiest and cheapest installation option. Even at the moment, most created in that perioddrawings on this subject are classified.
In addition to the above guns and installations, a large number of models were used in coastal artillery, some with success, but many quite unsuccessfully. At the current stage of development, the coast guard system continues to evolve, as it is one of the most important agendas in the Navy.
