These guns were designed by Vickers as heavy secondaries for Russian ships and were manufactured at Vickers and at OSZ. The original order was fulfilled by 1911, but in 1914 more guns were ordered and 19 additional guns were delivered by 1917.
These weapons were widely used in ship and coastal defense mountings during World War I. During the Russian Civil war they were also installed on river barges and railroad mountings. In 1920s, as the ships that carried them were decommissioned, the guns were then re-used in coastal defense positions. Coastal defense artillery units used both single open mounts and twin turreted mounts. By 1941 there were 36 coastal defense guns and two railroad mountings remaining.
In the 1930s more than 10 guns were relined down to 18 cm (7.1") and used in the coastal defense mountings MO-8-180. One additional gun was relined down to 19 cm (7.5").
| Designation | 8"/50 (20.3 cm) Pattern 1905 203 mm/50 (8") Pattern 1905 |
|---|---|
| Ship Class Used On | Rurik (II), Andrey Pervozvanny class, Evstafii class, Sinop, Petr Veliky |
| Date Of Design | 1905 |
| Date In Service | 1905 |
| Gun Weight | 14.2 tons (14.397 mt) |
| Gun Length oa | 400 in (10.160 m) |
| Bore Length | 392 in (9.959 m) |
| Rifling Length | 321.5 in (8.167 m) |
| Grooves | 48 |
| Lands | N/A |
| Twist | N/A |
| Chamber Volume | 4,139 in3 (67.8 dm3) |
| Rate Of Fire | Turret mounts: 3 rounds per minute Open and casemate mounts: 4 rounds per minute |
| Type | Bag |
|---|---|
| Projectile Types and Weights | HE mod 1907: 246.3 lbs. (112.2 kg) HE/Semi: AP mod 1913 - 306.9 lbs. (139.2 kg) HE/Semi: AP mod 1915 - 246.3 lbs. (112.2 kg) Shrapnel: 257.5 lbs. (116.8 kg) |
| Bursting Charge | HE mod 1907: 31 lbs. (14.1 kg) HE/Semi: AP mod 1913 - 33.7 lbs. (15 kg) HE/Semi: AP mod 1915 - 17.4 lbs. (7.9 kg) Shrapnel: 2.6 lbs. (1.2 kg) |
| Projectile Length | HE mod 1907: 31.1 in (79.1 cm) HE/Semi: AP mod 1913 - 38 in (96.5 cm) HE/Semi: AP mod 1915 - 31 in (78.76 cm) Shrapnel: 30.8 in (78.28 cm) |
| Propellant Charge | HE mod 1907: 86 lbs. (39 kg) HE/Semi: AP mod 1913 - 88 lbs. (40 kg) HE/Semi: AP mod 1915 - 86 lbs. (39 kg) Shrapnel: 81.6 lbs. (37 kg) |
| Muzzle Velocity | HE mod 1907: 2,647 fps (807.7 m/s) HE/Semi: AP mod 1913 - 2,598 fps (792.5 m/s) HE/Semi: AP mod 1915 - 2,647 fps (807.7 m/s) Shrapnel: 2,448 fps (746.8 m/s) |
| Working Pressure | N/A |
| Approximate Barrel Life | N/A |
| Ammunition stowage per gun | Forward turrets: 219 rounds per turret Aft turrets: 195 rounds per turret Others: N/A |
| Shell | Elevation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 degrees | 19.5 degrees | 32 degrees | 40.5 degrees | 41 degrees | |
| 246.3 lbs. (112.2 kg) HE mod 1907 | 14,000 yards (12,800 m) | 15,800 yards (14,450 m) | 18,810 yards (17,200 m) | 19,600 yards (17,920 m) | - |
| 246.3 lbs. (112.2 kg) HE/Semi - AP mod 1915 | - | 18,400 yards (16,830 m) | 22,010 yards (20,130 m) | - | 23,000 yards (21,030 m) |
| 306.9 lbs. (139.2 kg) HE/Semi - AP mod 1913 | 17,200 yards (15,730 m) | 20,000 yards (18,290 m) | 22,615 yards (20,680 m) | - | 27,000 yards (24,690 m) |
Data from the 1947 firing tables.
| Designation | Twin Turret Mounts: Rurik (II), Andrey Pervozvanny class Single Casemate Mounts: Andrey Pervozvanny class, Evstafii class Open Deck Mounts: Sinop and Petr Veliky |
|---|---|
| Weight | 39 tons (40 mt) for open and casemate mounts |
| Elevation | Turret mounts: -5 / +25 Casemate mounts: -5 / +20 Open mounts: -5 / +30 |
| Rate of Elevation | Turret mounts: 3 degrees per second Open and casemate mounts: 1.5 degrees per second |
| Train | N/A |
| Rate of Train | Turret mounts: 3 degrees per second Open and casemate mounts: 2 degrees per second |
| Gun Recoil | 22 in (56 cm) for open and casemate mounts |
| Loading Angle | -5 / +5 degrees for turret mounts |
Data from:
- "Morskaya Artilleriya Rossiyskogo Flota 1867-1922" (Naval Artillery of the Russian Fleet 1867-1922) and "Entsiklopedia Otechestvennoi Artillerii" (Encyclopedia of Fatherland [Russian] Artillery) both by A.V. Shirokorad
Special help from Vladimir Yakubov
- 21 May 2006
- Benchmark
- 11 August 2012
- Updated to latest template
- 16 January 2014
- Added photograph of Rurik