Some time ago we talked about the glorious history of the Soviet Sevastopol 305mm coastal artillery during World War II, and this article will talk about its unit, the Soviet coastal artillery and the development of its large-caliber coastal artillery. The coastal artillery of the Soviet Union was born out of the coastal artillery of the Tsarist period. To this day, there are still some coastal artillery and its coastal artillery in the Russian army. Let us get to the point!
In Sevastopol in the 18th century, you can see densely packed turrets and turrets
glorious coastal artillery
Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union, and now the Russian coastal artillery can roughly be planned into the "big box" of Russian coastal artillery, and This "big box" has a glorious history of centuries. In the late 14th century, Russia began to build various coastal artillery forts at some ports and estuaries. It is used to block the ships trying to attack and prevent the enemy from landing.
At that time, the propaganda poster of Tsarist Russia on the coastal artillery
After the 17th century, Russia has already achieved certain results in the construction of coastal artillery fort and coastal fortifications. In the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Baltic Sea and many other important sea areas, there are coastal artillery turrets in operation, with a total of 17 coastal artillery turrets. During this period, there were already garrisons specializing in the management of these coastal artillery turrets, and these full-time garrisons could be regarded as the ancestors of the coastal artillery arm. In the 19th century, with the birth of smokeless gunpowder and the development of barrel technology, modern naval guns were born! Naturally, a large-caliber, long-range coastal artillery was born. After the power and range of the coastal artillery are further improved, almost all important sea areas in Russia have coastal artillery. These coastal artillery were used in the Crimean War and the Russo-Japanese War. Since then, Russia has increasingly believed in the role of coastal artillery.
is currently the 305mm coastal artillery in Finland. The best choice for the construction of
coastal defense during the Tsarist period is the coastal artillery
. Similar to the previously mentioned, Sevastopol’s coastal artillery born out of battleships, Russia also Built in other areas. In Finland, there is also a coastal gun turret built by Russia in 1907, which is also a 305mm twin battleship turret. After the October Revolution, the Soviet Union was formally established. In its army building, the Soviet Union still attached importance to the construction of coastal artillery units and the construction of coastal artillery turrets. Because at that time, when missiles did not appear, coastal artillery was still the best weapon against naval warships and anti-landing. In history, most of the warships that attempted to shoot at the coastal artillery were sunk directly. There is also a saying in the navy: "The worst captain also knows that warships cannot shoot at coastal artillery!"
Soviet coastal artillery
During the Soviet period, most of the coastal artillery in its territory were old products from the Tsarist period. The battleship technology is already in its final sprint, with a longer range and thicker armor than these old coastal guns. In order to improve its coastal defense capabilities, the Soviet Union has tested the large-caliber coastal artillery that will be discussed next, and even 500 mm coastal artillery.
Soviet coastal artillery
prepared for
In the 1820s, the Soviet Union made statistics on the coastal artillery it received, and they were divided into three categories. The first category is artillery that can still be used and reach modernization. The main ones are as follows: the 305mm coastal artillery with 52 diameters in 1910, the 203mm coastal artillery with 50 and 45 diameters, and numerous 152 and 120mm coastal artillery. The high level requires these coastal artillery to be modernized and upgraded as much as possible, or modified to enhance their strength. In terms of military strength, this type of coastal artillery is basically full and on standby.
The 254 mm artillery
captured by the Germans during World War I is the second type of artillery with aging and obsolete artillery technology. There is no point in upgrading and enhancing it. This type of artillery mainly includes the 254 mm coastal artillery with 45 times the diameter in 1898 and 1904, as well as other 120, 102, 76, 75, and 57 mm coastal artillery. In the plan, the Soviet Union intends to seal these artillery or temporarily preserve the organization. The third category is the old artillery that should be sent to the museum to continue the "battle", such as the 330mm coastal artillery in 1866.
During World War I, aircraft began to massUse
to face new problems, and develop the railway coastal artillery
. After reasonable planning on the resources at hand, all that remains is to develop a new type of coastal artillery. During the First World War, the use of aviation made people realize the birth of a new method of tactics, and countries gave birth to new bombers and fighters. This means that the fixed fortifications are no longer safe, and they may encounter sudden attacks from airplanes in the air that are unable to resist or are difficult to intercept. In the past, the range of coastal artillery was far longer and more powerful than the enemy artillery that came to blow them up. After the commander's calculation, they can be counterattacked, but the aerial attack is different. At that time, the anti-aircraft weapons were not perfect, and it was sometimes helpless to deal with the sudden attack of fighters in the air.
"Izmail"-class battleship
faced this new problem. In 1927, an engineer proposed his own solution, that is, using the railway coast gun! Although the deployment time is slow, it is mobile and flexible. It can even be loaded when necessary and transported to other places to enhance the shore defense capability of the target area. At the same time, its maneuverability also prevents aircraft from bombing it to a certain extent. The engineer’s name is Dukorsky. Dukorsky's idea was to use the unfinished main guns of the "Izmail" class battleships to modify several railroad coast guns. And why choose an unfinished battleship main gun instead of researching a new, real land-based main gun? The existence of the
TM-1-14 356 mm railway coastal gun
may be due to the difficulties of the Soviet economy at that time. Take the No. 30 and No. 35 turrets of the previous period as examples. Although it was built in the Soviet era, the use of battleship turrets from the Tsarist era is a very good indication. But in general, the proposal of the engineer Dukorsky was very in line with the appetite of the high-level Soviets at the time, and there was no harm in doing so, so just create it boldly.
fixed TM-1-14 coastal artillery
thus gave birth to the TM-1-14 356mm railway coastal artillery, this model has only a few modified ones. Judging from the picture, the required concrete base is prepared at the preset location, and the train is just a fast transportation tool. But it can still be deployed flexibly, because building an open concrete base does not require too much time and effort compared to the large fortifications of Sevastopol. The railway artillery platform is based on two bogies, and the firing range is relatively small. Therefore, the railroad track running along the curve is selected to change the firing range of the artillery. The moving speed of railway trains can reach 45 kilometers per hour. Each artillery is equipped with 50 artillery. In order to protect the naval base, a solid concrete column measuring 16 x 16 x 3 meters was used. With this base, the range of the artillery was improved.
TM-1-14 Coastal Gun
in the state of railway transportation. From the record, the TM-1-14 356mm railroad coast gun should be delivered only a few, with a small amount of equipment and testing. This is the case for the next few models, used to explore the credibility of the railway coast gun.
Between 1933 and 1934, the Soviet Union produced the TM-2-12 305mm railroad coast gun, with a total of six. Then in 38 years, the 305mm battleship main guns of the sunken "Queen Maria" battleship were dismantled, and three TM-3-12 305mm railway coastal guns were produced. The
TM-1-180 type railroad coast gun
pursues large-caliber
. The previous tests showed that the concept of the railroad coast gun is very reasonable and feasible. Even better than the coastal artillery systems of other countries at that time, the Soviet high-level officials decided to no longer manufacture the 305mm and 356mm railroad coastal artillery "not enough powerful". At the same time, the economic situation of the Soviet Union began to improve. So began to develop a 406 mm or even a 500 mm railway coastal gun! The 406 mm railway coast gun
in the test of
In October 1943, the 19th Design Bureau of the Soviet Union used the aborted B37 406 mm main gun on the "Soviet" class battleship to carry out the 406 mm railway coast gun. The results of the development work are fairly optimistic. So the Design Bureau launched the CM36 coastal artillery in 1951.Design work, the caliber is 406 mm. But in the end, the 406mm coastal gun was not put into use, and both projects stopped development work at the end of 1954. The
500mm railway coastal artillery is in production. The real violent aesthetics of
are embodied to the fullest. The real violent aesthetics is the 500mm railway coastal artillery developed by the Soviet Union. In 1937, the Design Bureau carried out a comprehensive plan for the large-caliber railway coastal artillery project, except for the 406 mm railway coastal artillery 406 mm guns mentioned above. Soviet designers can also choose 450, 475, and 500 mm guns. But in the end, a 500mm short-barreled howitzer was chosen that was suitable for ground operations and balanced in all aspects. This type of artillery is called the TG-1 500 mm railway coastal gun. The
TG-1 type cannon used by
has a diameter of about 28 times, and its barrel length is about 14 meters. The entire system has 353 tons. High-explosive bombs and explosive bombs can be used. The explosive bombs have a certain armor-piercing effect. The bomb weighs 2 tons (2000 kg) and the charge is 205 kg. The high explosive bomb weighs 1.5 tons (1500 kg) and has a charge of 276 kg. Can penetrate 4.4 meters of concrete fortifications. Adjusting the charge of propellant can also control the initial velocity of the shell.
is a 500mm railway coastal gun
under construction. It has 16 carriages, 3 carriages are mainly responsible for the artillery, and 3 carriages provide power supply. At the same time, the artillery shells are also stored on the train. Each carriage stores 24 shells. A total of 6 carriages are responsible for transporting the shells. The remaining section is the headquarters, the other section is equipped with a generator to provide electricity, and the rest is a spare compartment. The spare carriage is mainly equipped with rails and installation equipment, if the railway is destroyed in the course of travel. Soldiers with the vehicle can use the spare track to spread dozens of meters. However, in the end, only a few semi-finished products were completed for the TG-1 railway coastal artillery. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, all manufacturing work was stopped.
The abandoned 406 mm railroad coast gun
has changed with times, the end of war, the arrival of the era of peace, and the emergence of missiles and nuclear weapons. Even the railway coastal artillery will be attacked in a timely and precise manner and will not be spared. Therefore, after the war, the Soviet Union only retained some precious coastal artillery turrets, and some 180mm railway coastal artillery that could be used in the organization, while other large-caliber railway coastal artillery was gradually decommissioned. The
self-propelled artillery turned into a coastal artillery
A222 self-propelled coastal artillery
, but the Soviet Union did not abandon the development of coastal artillery, and some coastal artillery was still being produced in the 1950s. At the same time, the Soviet Union also developed a self-propelled coastal gun, the A222 "Coast", a self-propelled coastal gun. It was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and a total of 36 such self-propelled coastal guns were produced. It is currently owned by the Russian Coast Artillery and is in active service. The caliber of the
A222 self-propelled coastal artillery
A222 is 130 mm and 50 times the diameter. The maximum range can reach 20 kilometers, the bullet weighs 33.4 kg, and the internal charge is 3.6 kg. With an automatic loading machine, the rate of fire can reach 10-15 rounds per minute. There is not much requirement for the type of ammunition. For the guided guided missile destroyers built by various countries after World War II, the use of high-explosive ammunition is sufficient, and the A222 also has its own anti-ship armor-piercing ammunition. However, the A222 coastal artillery should be difficult to attack the guided missile destroyer. But it can still attack targets such as landing ships, landing craft, and enemy ground forces that have landed. This artillery can be regarded as a self-propelled artillery, but it is equipped with an artillery modified from the AK130 single-barreled naval gun. The operation of boarding a naval gun may have never been done before. The shore defense system of the
A222 130mm self-propelled coastal artillery
A222 coastal artillery is not alone. Generally, each A222 is equipped with a BR136 combat support vehicle and a MAZ-543M wheeled truck to form a coastal artillery team. The entire coastal defense system will also be equipped with some anti-ship missile vehicles.Take on the task of shore defense. The A222 type coastal artillery mainly used the data provided by the BR136 combat support vehicle for firing and calibration. Radar, photoelectric surveillance and command system, ballistic calculator and other components are all on this combat support vehicle. If the vehicle is lost, the A222 coastal artillery can only fire through the calculation of its own battery or optical sight. At the same time, you can also use the helicopters that fight together to carry out the calibration mission.
is better with anti-ship missiles! The
A222 type coastal artillery may be the last coastal artillery in the world. With the birth of the modern naval warfare system, the missiles of various countries have become more and more accurate and have a longer range. Even if the electromagnetic gun technology is really developed, fixed turrets will not escape bad luck in the first wave of strikes. Therefore, the coastal artillery is destined to withdraw from the equipment sequence, and their final battlefield can only be a museum. Will the centuries-long glorious history of Russian coastal artillery end here? We can only look at the development of future weapon technology.
