Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider

Obusier de 200 "*Pérou*" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider
Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider
	A howitzer with outriggers deployed and its firing platform unfolded.
Type	Railway gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1914–1918
Used by	France
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Schneider
Designed	1914
Produced	1914
No. built	2
Specifications
Mass	38,250 kg (84,330 lb)
Length	12.09 m (39 ft 8 in)
Barrel length	3 m (9 ft 10 in) L/15
Shell	Separate-loading, cased charge and projectiles.
Shell weight	Projectile: 100 kg (220 lb); Charge: 13 kg (29 lb)
Caliber	200 mm (7.9 in)
Breech	Interrupted screw
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic recoil
Carriage	Top carriage traverse on 4-axle carriage
Elevation	-5° to +60°
Traverse	360°
Muzzle velocity	425 m/s (1,395 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	11 km (6.8 mi)

The Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider was a French railway gun built before and served throughout the First World War. It was one of the first French railway guns mounted on a standard gauge rail car during the First World War.^[2]

History

Although the majority of combatants had heavy field artillery prior to the outbreak of the First World War, none had adequate numbers of heavy guns in service, nor had they foreseen the growing importance of heavy artillery once the Western Front stagnated and trench warfare set in. Since aircraft of the period were not yet capable of carrying large diameter bombs the burden of delivering heavy firepower fell on the artillery. Two sources of heavy artillery suitable for conversion to field use were surplus coastal defense guns and naval guns.^[3]

However, a paradox faced artillery designers of the time; while large caliber naval guns were common, large caliber land weapons were not due to their weight, complexity, and lack of mobility. Large caliber field guns often required extensive site preparation because the guns had to be broken down into multiple loads light enough to be towed by a horse team or the few traction engines of the time and then reassembled before use. Building a new gun could address the problem of disassembling, transporting and reassembling a large gun, but it didn't necessarily address how to convert existing heavy weapons to make them more mobile. Rail transport proved to be the most practical solution because the problems of heavy weight, lack of mobility and reduced setup time were addressed.^[3]

Design

The Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider began life as two rail mounted coastal defense howitzers ordered by Peru in 1910 from Schneider that were produced at their Le Havre factory. The two howitzers were seized by the French Army when war broke out. The howitzers were designated as Obusier ("howitzer" in English), sur affût-truck "railway carriage mounted", and TAZ (from Tous Azimuts) "all azimuth" in English.^[2] The barrels were of built-up steel construction consisting of a rifled steel liner and protective outer jacket 15 calibers in length. The barrels were trunnioned at their center and were mounted on high-angle center pivot mounts and provided with gun shields. The howitzers incorporated a U-shaped hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism below the barrel, interrupted screw breech and fired separate-loading, cased charges and projectiles. A disadvantage was that the 200 mm (7.9 in) ammunition was not used by any other French guns.^[1]

The howitzers were mounted on four-axle well base carriages and were top carriage traversing mounts with 360° of traverse. Once on site the carriage's outriggers would be unfolded and jackscrews at the ends of the outriggers lowered to level the carriage and take the weight off the axles while four rail clamps would anchor the carriage in place. A circular gun platform unfolded to give the gun crew a level work surface for loading, traversing and elevating the guns. The elevation system had a combination of a rapid system which lowered the barrel to +5° for reloading while a slow system allowed for small adjustments to vary range. Traverse was by a worm gear at the base of the mount which allowed for fine adjustment.^[1]

In service, the two guns formed a battery and they shared an ammunition wagon and a command wagon which had a telescopic observation post for an artillery spotter. Ammunition was transferred from the ammunition wagon to the howitzers by an elevated trough and the projectiles could be loaded on a cart which ran on a rail inside of the firing platform for loading. This allowed the howitzer to be loaded while facing any direction.^[1]

Deployment

The mobile battery consists of four railroad cars. Two cars have an 8-inch rapid-fire gun, there is an ammunition car that is between the two gun cars, and a telescoping observation car.^[4] The advantages of the Schneider train were that it was less costly than a fixed battery of the same firepower; the train allowed a degree of secrecy since it was not in a fixed location; ease of maintenance since it could be stored in a train shed; there was no need to construct new roads for its use; and any railroad tracks laid for its use can also be used by passenger and freight haulage.^[5] The cars of the train were arranged with the train engine first, followed by the observation car, then the first gun car, the ammunition car, and then the second gun car. The observation car was placed near the engine so that the commanding officer could more easily place the train where required. The ammunition car was placed between the two gun cars to provide the shortest distance to move the artillery shells to each gun.^[5]

World War I

The two guns were assigned to the 51e batterie du 1er Régiment d'Artillerie à Pied or foot artillery regiment in English of the ALVF (Artillerie Lourde sur Voie Ferrée) or rail mounted heavy artillery in English. They first saw action in Belgium during 1914 in the Race to the Sea to protect Belgium's channel ports from a German offensive and served throughout the war.^[2]

Gallery

A diagram of the guns.
Two guns in travel mode.
Both guns have their outriggers and firing platform unfolded and their observation post raised.
The ammunition wagon.
Inside the ammunition wagon.
The command wagon with its observation post extended.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Railway Artillery Guns 1921". eugeneleeslover.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
^ ^a ^b ^c Romanych, Marc (24 August 2017). Railway Guns of World War I. Heuer, Greg and Noon, Steve. London: Osprey. ISBN 9781472816412. OCLC 999616340.
^ ^a ^b Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied Artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. pp. 129–134 & 218. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.
^ "A Fort That Travels on Wheels". Scientific American. December 20, 1913. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
^ ^a ^b Hopkins, Albert A., ed. (1915). The Book of Progress. Vol. II. New York: Cricks Publishing Company. pp. 127–130.

[:2-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Railway Artillery Guns 1921". eugeneleeslover.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.

[:0-2] Romanych, Marc (24 August 2017). Railway Guns of World War I. Heuer, Greg and Noon, Steve. London: Osprey. ISBN 9781472816412. OCLC 999616340.

[:1-3] Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied Artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. pp. 129–134 & 218. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.

[4] "A Fort That Travels on Wheels". Scientific American. December 20, 1913. Retrieved 2011-03-28.

[Progress-5] Hopkins, Albert A., ed. (1915). The Book of Progress. Vol. II. New York: Cricks Publishing Company. pp. 127–130.

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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