The Tactical Notebook

Share this post

Rebored Guns of the French Artillery

tacticalnotebook.substack.com

Discover more from The Tactical Notebook

The Tactical Notebook explores the armies that are, the armies that were, and the armies that might have been.
Over 3,000 subscribers
Continue reading
Sign in

Rebored Guns of the French Artillery

The French Army of the First World War

Bruce Ivar Gudmundsson
Jul 16, 2023
7
Share this post

Rebored Guns of the French Artillery

tacticalnotebook.substack.com
1
Share

Welcome to the Tactical Notebook, where you will find more than four hundred tales of armies that are, armies that were, and armies that might have been.

100mm naval cannon on the carriage of a 155mm de Bange gun

Soon after the start of the First World War, the French Navy began a program to convert guns developed for shipboard use into weapons that could be used in the field. Characterized by long barrels and high muzzle velocity, these weapons enjoyed considerable advantages in the realm of range. These same features, however, also resulted in a great deal of barrel wear.

In 1916, the French War Ministry started a program to rebore [réaléser] the worn-out barrels of repurposed naval guns, thereby converting them into pieces of slightly larger caliber. In particular, the program would turn worn-out 100mm guns into fresh 105mm weapons and old 138mm cannon into new 145mm pieces.1

The increase in the bore of the naval guns resulted in a slight loss of muzzle velocity. At the same time, the new weapons enjoyed slight advantages in both range and weight of shell. In the case of the rebored 100mm pieces, moreover, the resulting gun was able to use the same 105mm shells as the 105mm gun adopted by the French Army in 1913.

In the same year, the Saint Chamond company designed, from the ground up, a gun with features that would facilitate the eventual reboring of its barrel. This weapon would live its first life as a 145mm cannon that fired shells identical to those used by converted 138mm naval guns. Once rebored, it would become a 155mm piece that made use of the same ammunition as the other types of 155mm guns then serving with French forces.

Having been designed for shipboard use, the 100mm and 138mm naval pieces lacked on-carriage recoil mechanisms. The barrel of the Saint Chamond piece, however, sat atop a state-of-the-art combination of buffers and recuperators.

Share The Tactical Notebook

Share

Sources:

  • Historique et organisation de l'artillerie : l'artillerie française depuis le 2 août 1914 (Fontainebleu: Imprimerie de l'École militaire de l'artillerie, 1922) pages 101-106 and 134

  • Émile Rimailho Artillerie de Campagne (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1924)

For Further Reading:

Guns and Howitzers (The Rule of Two)

Guns and Howitzers (The Rule of Two)

Bruce I. Gudmundsson
·
December 15, 2022
Read full story
The Quick-Firing Revolution

The Quick-Firing Revolution

Bruce I. Gudmundsson
·
December 10, 2022
Read full story
152 or 155?

152 or 155?

Bruce Ivar Gudmundsson
·
Jan 10
Read full story
The Phantom Batteries of Plan XVII

The Phantom Batteries of Plan XVII

Bruce I. Gudmundsson
·
December 18, 2022
Read full story
1

The French Navy used two models of 138mm gun: the canon de 14 centimetres.(modèle 1891) and the canon de 14 centimetres (modèle 1910). The figures on the chart pertain to the latter model.

7
Share this post

Rebored Guns of the French Artillery

tacticalnotebook.substack.com
1
Share
1 Comment
Share this discussion

Rebored Guns of the French Artillery

tacticalnotebook.substack.com
Tom Watson
Jul 17Liked by Bruce Ivar Gudmundsson

https://tacticalnotebook.substack.com/p/attacks-with-limited-objectives/

In light of this earlier article, the effort spent on reboring old direct-fire pieces must rank alongside the sending of the Prince of Wales and Repulse to Singapore in the annals of strategic decisions so poor they were probably counterproductive on net.

Expand full comment
Reply
Share
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Bruce I. Gudmundsson
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing