TM-1-180 railway artillery 180mm

In the Soviet Union, the first projects of large-caliber artillery rail installations appeared in the late 1920s - early 1930s. In 1931, a group of specialists from the Artillery section of the Scientific and Technical Complex UVMS began work on the creation of a 180-mm railway artillery installation capable of conducting circular fire from any point of the railway track. These installations were intended for use in the coastal defense system and for solving a wide range of tasks in the interests of the ground forces.

In 1932, the ANIMI Institute developed a technical project for the design of an artillery rail installation, which received the designation “TM-1-180” (marine transporter, type 1, caliber 180 mm). The development of the technical design of the railway installation was carried out by experts from the Leningrad Metal Works (LMZ) KB. At the same time, the other Leningrad plant "Bolshevik" developed a 180-mm gun B-1-P with a length of 57 calibers with a piston gate. The first samples of the gun had a fastened barrel, consisting of several tubes and a casing with a screwed breech. But already in 1933, after the Italian firm Ansaldo mounted an autofocusing installation at the Bolshevik plant, it was possible to master the production of a more advanced B-1-P tool with a lined barrel, consisting of a pipe with a freely inserted liner,

The gun had a push-pull piston valve of the Vickers type with the shutter frame opening upwards. It was under this gun that the LMZ designed the coastal one-gun turret MO-1-180 and the three-gun turret MK-3-180 for the famous cruiser Kirov. In 1932, the Metal Plant developed a new throwing type rammer, which was adopted for the MK-3-180, MB-2-180 turret installations, and was also used in new conveyors. The design itself of the 180-mm rail installation was fundamentally different from the previously developed installations of a larger caliber - 305-mm and 356-mm.

The rotating part in which the B-1-P gun was installed was taken with minor changes from the coastal installation MO-1-180. In TM-1-180, the designers defended the rotating part of the artillery system with armor cover, the transverse contour of which almost corresponded to the special railway gauge of the rolling stock. The front part of the cover had a thickness of 39 mm, the rest (including the roof) - 20 mm.

For the convenience of accommodating crew when loading, the slug platform was installed on the main beam with a small eccentricity relative to the axis of rotation of the system. Therefore, during horizontal guidance, the platform changed its position relative to the roller tables, and it was necessary to continuously move the roller table, tracking the movement of the platform. This was a serious shortcoming of the ammunition supply system, but with proper training, there were no failures and delays in the shooting. In order for the shell platform not to go beyond the railway gauge in width, it was divided into two parts. During the transition from the combat position to the traveling one, they turned 180° on vertical axes and were located directly under the gun, which in the traveling position was directed towards the end of the train.

The conveyor design allowed circular firing from any point of the railway without preliminary engineering equipment of the firing position. A temporary position for him could be equipped at any point on the way. To do this, the main beam descended on special bars, which were installed on railway sleepers. Bars were collected from oak boards and tied with bolts and brackets. The conveyor had eight supporting legs, which were located in a combat position in such a way that the shooting could be carried out at any angle of horizontal guidance. The main beam was lowered using two screw mechanisms located at the ends of the conveyor. Each of them was activated by two calculation numbers.

The transfer time from traveling to combat took 60 minutes. The transporter had its own engine to move short distances: 3-4 minutes after the cease-fire, it had to leave its position in order not to fall under enemy fire. The transporter was provided with sophisticated fire control devices from closed firing positions.

Shooting from the B-1-P cannon of the TM-1-180 installation was carried out mainly by armor-piercing and high-explosive fragmentation shells of the 1928 model. Charging - caps. The mass of the projectile was 97.5 kg. The powder charge provided the projectile with an initial velocity of 920 m / s, and the firing range at an elevation angle of 49 ° was 37,129 m. There were also several types of semi-projectile projectiles, a high-explosive and concrete-piercing projectiles, as well as a distance grenade, designed for firing at air targets. To ensure the secrecy of firing of railway artillery installations, the staff of the Leningrad Marine Research Artillery Test-ground developed flameless charges that were prepared on the basis of conventional flame pyroxylin powders by introducing special additives, so the shot did not give a bright flash.

Subsequently, the manufacture of railway artillery installations TM-1-180 was transferred to the Nikolaev State Plant them. Marty number 198 (Nikolaev). In 1934 - 1935, the first four installations TM-1-180 were manufactured. The production of 180-mm guns for them was mastered by the Barricades factory (Stalingrad). In December 1934, one of the installations was tested at the Marine Research Artillery Range. In January-March 1935, the remaining three 180-mm units were also transferred there. Tests were successful, which allowed in 1936 to form the first battery, armed with them.

For the supply of ammunition to the gun, the conveyor was equipped with a projectile platform, on the perimeter of which they rode 4 shell carts with trays for ammunition. Shooting platform rotated with the tool. At the same time, the magazine ["cellar"] cars were located in front and behind the conveyor, and the ammunition was supplied from any of them. Roller tables with wooden rollers were located between the cars and the equipment platform. According to him, the shells from the cars were fed manually to the platform. For semi-charges, an inclined chute was installed near the roller conveyor. Charging was carried out at an angle of vertical guidance +10°, the same angle was attached to the trays.

In previous conveyors, the supply of ammunition from the magazine car directly to the conveyor was carried out when shooting out of the way, that is, with the conveyor position unchanged relative to the magazine carriage. When firing from the concrete base of an electric vehicle, it approached from the side where the breech of the gun was currently located. This ensured the supply of ammunition at any angle of horizontal guidance. In the TM-1-180 transporter, this was required to get when out of the way.

In the second half of the 19th century, with the introduction of barbette and turret installations on warships, there were two basic principles for the supply of ammunition. The first case (lateral charging), the installation after the shot returned to its original position (on the bow or stern), in the second (central charging) the feed was made on the angle at which the shooting was carried out. In English installations the first principle was observed. The British believed that in the presence of powerful hydraulic mechanisms, this does not reduce the rate of fire, since it allows one to significantly simplify the supply of ammunition to the turret section. There was a grain of truth in this, because when feeding at any angle of horizontal guidance, additional mechanisms and rail tracks had to be introduced, and this markedly complicated and slowed down the flow.

Russian gunners rightly believed that side loading is a dead-end path. They were of the opinion that "it is better to bring a projectile to a cannon than a cannon to a projectile." As a result of a long search in 1906 for turret installations of battleships of the type "Andrew after all, when feeding at any angle of horizontal guidance, it was necessary to introduce additional mechanisms and rail tracks, and this markedly complicated and slowed down the delivery. Russian gunners rightly believed that side loading is a dead-end path. They were of the opinion that "it is better to bring a projectile to a cannon than a cannon to a projectile." As a result of a long search in 1906 for turret installations of battleships of the type "Andrew after all, when feeding at any angle of horizontal guidance, it was necessary to introduce additional mechanisms and rail tracks, and this markedly complicated and slowed down the delivery. Russian gunners rightly believed that side loading is a dead-end path. They were of the opinion that "it is better to bring a projectile to a cannon than a cannon to a projectile." As a result of a long search in 1906 for turret installations of battleships of the type "Andrew Pervozvanny" was developed by the system of supplying ammunition using a rotating projectile platform.

The rate of 305-mm turret installations at the same time was 1.2 shots per minute and for the first time was not constrained by the supply of ammunition. It is on this principle that the supply of ammunition with the aid of a projectile platform was applied in the TM-1-180 transporter. As in the turrets of "Andrew the First-Called", shells rolled along with trays for ammunition. True, this time their number increased to four. The platform rotated with the gun, and the magazine cars were located on both sides, and the feed was made from any of them. Roller tables with wooden rollers were located between the cars and the equipment platform. According to him, the shells from the cars were fed manually to the platform. For semi-charges, an inclined chute was installed near the roller conveyor. The loading was made on the angle of vertical guidance + 10°, the same angle was attached to the trays.

Therefore, during horizontal guidance, the platform changed its position relative to the roller tables, and it was necessary to continuously move the roller table, tracking the movement of the platform. This was a serious shortcoming of the ammunition supply system, but with proper training, there were no failures and delays in the shooting.

In order for the shell platform not to go beyond the railway gauge in width, it was divided into two parts. During the transition from the combat position to the traveling one, they turned 180° on vertical axes and were located directly under the gun, which in the traveling position was directed towards the end of the train.

In previous transporters, crew and mechanisms did not have any protection against enemy fire. In TM-1-180, the designers defended the rotating part of the artillery system with armor cover, the transverse contour of which almost corresponded to the special railway gauge of the rolling stock. The front part of the cover had a thickness of 39 mm, the rest (including the roof) - 20 mm.

The first four TM-1-180 transporters were manufactured by Metal Plant in 1934-1935. Another 12 transporters left the NGZ gate (the last four before the war itself). These conveyors were somewhat different from those of the Metal Works. Even during the manufacture of the first TM-1-180 series, one of the leading developers of LMZ Petrikevich made some changes to the initial project, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire by 25% and simplify the shooting control.

In August 1935, K.E. arrived at the position of transporters in Lebyazhye. Voroshilov. After inspecting the TM-1-180 conveyors, he drew the attention of the command staff to the absence of auxiliary mechanisms to facilitate and accelerate the installation of the supporting legs, as well as the absence of an electric drive for lowering and raising the main beam. Voroshilov ordered urgently develop the necessary, in his opinion, mechanisms. This work was entrusted to the Kirov Plant, but its leadership, understanding its inexpediency, in every possible way delayed the execution of the order. And if the Kirov Plant agreed to take on the design of these units, then they flatly refused to make them, citing the excessive workload of the workshops. It came to LMKaganovich, Deputy People's Commissar of Heavy Industry. On October 2, he sent an order to the Director of the Kirov Plant to immediately begin to develop and manufacture the required mechanisms, and by November 1 to transfer the drawings to the NGD. However, this work was never completed. The use of these mechanisms would only complicate the management of the conveyor, increasing its weight, and would not give the expected effect when moving from a traveling to a combat position and back. The experience of using transporters TM-1-180 during World War II confirmed this.

And one more node was not developed, although the top leadership of the Red Army insisted on it. In the technical specifications for the design of the TM-1-180 conveyor there was an item about the development of a mechanism for a quick transition from the size of the railway bed adopted in the USSR to the European dimension.

So, in 1941, the USSR was armed with 20 transporters with circular shelling from any point on the road TM-1-180. They successfully passed all the tests, but the most important were still ahead. The 180-mm four-gun battery moved in two echelons, each of which had two transporters with ammunition magazines, wagons for personnel and material and technical equipment. Traction - locomotive. Basically, railway batteries were built to fight the enemy’s fleet. For example, three 356-mm, three 305-mm and eight 180-mm railway guns, together with stationary coastal batteries of 152-305 mm caliber, blocked the entrance to the Gulf of Finland with fire. But with the beginning of the war, it turned out that the German command had not even planned the participation of large surface ships against the USSR. Therefore, the Soviet nuclear batteries had practically no naval targets. For the first time, TM-1-180 transporters were brought in to destroy enemy fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. The 180-mm railway artillery mounts TM-1-180 took an active part in the years of the Great Patriotic War.

Thus, during the war years, three batteries of 180-mm TM-1-180 units operated on the Leningrad Front: 12th, 18th and 19th. The 16th battery departed to the Black Sea at the very beginning of the war, and the 17th was blocked on the Hanko peninsula, and when the garrison was evacuated, its transporters had to be put out of action.

The 19th TM-1-180 batteries, together with the 11th TM-1-14 battery, were consolidated into the 1st Separate Artillery Division. This division and six battalions of railway artillery mounts of a caliber of 100-152 mm, in turn, made up the 101st naval railway artillery brigade - the most powerful artillery unit of the Leningrad Front. The brigade performed the tasks of the counter-battery struggle with the German artillery, fire support of the Soviet troops, provision of sea communications Leningrad-Kronstadt.

In 1943, artillery brigade units participated in breaking the blockade of Leningrad. On January 22, 1944, the brigade was transformed into the 1st Guards Naval Artillery Brigade for showing the heroism of the personnel. During the battles of Krasnoe Selo near Leningrad during the January offensive of 1944, she was given the honorary title Krasnoselskaya, and on March 22 of the same year the brigade was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Subsequently, the team took an active part in the defeat of the German troops on the Karelian Isthmus - the Vyborg operation, as well as in Prussia. In April 1945, she successfully acted near Konigsberg and in the defeat of the German troops on the Zemlandsky peninsula.

In the postwar years, the TM-1-180 unit remained in service with the Soviet army for a long time, and then were put on conservation. So, on January 1, 1984, there were 13 of them in the Navy. Of these, there were eight TM-1-180s on the Black Sea Fleet, two TM-3-12s and three TM-1-180s at the Leningrad Naval Base.