Russia
8"/50 (20.3 cm) Pattern 1905
203 mm/50 (8") Pattern 1905
Updated 21 May 2006
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").
WNRussian_8-50_m1905_Sinop_pic.jpg

8"/50 (20.3 cm) deck gun on Siniop
WNRussian_8-50_m1905_pic.jpg

8"/50 (20.3 cm) Pattern 1905 in coastal defence mounting
This gun was in the #10 battery near Sevastopol in 1942
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Gun Characteristics
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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 3 rounds per minute for turret mounts
4 rounds per minute for open and casemate mounts
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Ammunition
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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
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Range
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Elevation With 246.3 lbs. (112.2 kg) HE mod 1907 shells
Range @ 15 degrees 14,000 yards (12,800 m)
Range @ 19.5 degrees 15,800 yards (14,450 m)
Range @ 32 degrees 18,810 yards (17,200 m)
Range @ 40.5 degrees 19,600 yards (17,920 m)
Elevation With 246.3 lbs. (112.2 kg) HE/Semi - AP mod 1915 shells
Range @ 19.5 degrees 18,400 yards (16,830 m)
Range @ 32 degrees 22,010 yards (20,130 m)
Range @ 41 degrees 23,000 yards (21,030 m)
Elevation With 306.9 lbs. (139.2 kg) HE/Semi - AP mod 1913 shells
Range @ 15 degrees 17,200 yards (15,730 m)
Range @ 19.5 degrees 20,000 yards (18,290 m)
Range @ 32 degrees 22,615 yards (20,680 m)
Range @ 41 degrees 27,000 yards (24,690 m)
Note:  Data from the 1947 firing tables.
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Mount / Turret Data
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Designation Twin Turret Mounts on Rurik (II), Andrey Pervozvanny class
Single Casemate Mounts on Andrey Pervozvanny class, Evstafii class
Open Deck Mounts on Sinop and Petr Veliky
Weight 39 tons (40 mt) for open and casemate mounts
Elevation -5 / +25 for turret mounts
-5 / +20 for casemate mounts
-5 / +30 for open mounts
Rate of Elevation 3 degrees per second for turret mounts
1.5 degrees per second for open and casemate mounts
Train N/A
Rate of Train 3 degrees per second for turret mounts
2 degrees per second for open and casemate mounts
Gun Recoil 22 in (56 cm) for open and casemate mounts
Loading Angle -5 / +5 degrees for turret mounts
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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
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Special help from Vladimir Yakubov
Page History

21 May 2006 - Benchmark
11 August 2012 - Updated to latest template