Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880

Mortier de 220 mm L modèle 1880
Mortier de 220 mm L modèle 1880
	A mle 1880 being traversed.
Type	Heavy mortar; Siege artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1880-1918
Used by	France
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Charles Ragon de Bange
Designed	1880
Produced	1880
No. built	mle 1880: 330; mle 1880/91: 130; mle 1880 ACS: 100
Variants	mle 1880/91; mle 1880 ACS
Specifications
Mass	mle 1880: 4.24 t (4 long tons); mle 1880/91: 8.5 t (8 long tons); mle 1880 ACS: 12 t (12 long tons)
Barrel length	1.98 m (6.5 ft) L/9
Shell	Separate loading bagged charges and projectiles
Shell weight	98–118 kg (216–260 lb)
Caliber	240 mm (9.4 in)
Breech	de Bange
Recoil	mle 1880: None; mle 1880/1891: Hydro-gravity; mle 1880 ACS: Hydro-gravity
Carriage	mle 1880: Fixed; mle 1880/91: Fixed; mle 1880 ACS: 6-wheeled
Elevation	-5° to +60°
Traverse	mle 1880: Manual; mle 1880/1891: 42°; mle 1880 ACS: 42°
Rate of fire	1 shot every three minutes
Muzzle velocity	300 m/s (980 ft/s)
Effective firing range	7 km (4 mi)

The Mortier de 220 mm L modèle 1880 was a French heavy mortar employed as siege artillery during the First world war.

History

The Mortier de 220 mm L mle 1880 was one of a series of heavy artillery pieces designed by Colonel Charles Ragon de Bange. On 11 May 1874 three de Bange heavy cannons (120 mm, 155 mm, 240 mm) and two mortars (220 mm, 270 mm) were ordered by the French Army. The mle 1880 was advanced for its time due to being built completely of steel instead of a steel liner and cast iron reinforcing hoops of the previous Canon de 240 mm C mle 1870-87.

Although the majority of combatants had heavy field artillery prior to the outbreak of the First World War, none had adequate numbers of heavy guns in service, nor had they foreseen the growing importance of heavy artillery once the Western Front stagnated and trench warfare set in. Fortresses, armories, coastal fortifications, and museums were scoured for heavy artillery and sent to the front. Suitable field and rail carriages were built for these guns in an effort to give their forces the heavy field artillery needed to overcome trenches and hardened concrete fortifications.^[1]

Variants

mle 1880

The mle 1880 was a breech loaded mortar with a de Bange obturator and used separate loading bagged charges and projectiles. The mle 1880 was originally built without a recoil mechanism and in order to traverse the carriage needed to be levered into position before and after each shot. For transport, the mle 1880 could be broken down for transport into two wagon loads (barrel and carriage) for towing by two horse teams.^[2] The mortars could also be transferred to 60 cm (24 in) narrow gauge rail wagons for the final leg to their firing positions. These narrow gauge tracks were also used to re-position the mortars and bring up their ammunition and supplies.^[3] Site preparation included creating a firing platform made of wooden beams on soft ground. At the outbreak of the First World War, it is estimated there were 300 mle 1880s available.^[2]

mle 1880/91

A modification program in 1891 gave the mle 1880 a carriage with a hydraulic recoil mechanism and limited traverse. The new carriage was similar to the one used on the Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885. The 130 mortars modified were designated as the mle 1880/1891 and consisted of a U shaped gun cradle which held the trunnioned barrel and a slightly inclined firing platform with hydraulic buffers. When the gun fired the hydro-buffer slowed the recoil of the cradle which slid up a set of inclined rails on the firing platform and then returned to position by the combined action of the buffers and gravity.^[2] For transport, it could be broken down into three loads for towing by horse teams or by artillery tractor. Site preparation consisted of creating a firing platform from wooden beams. However, a downside to the carriage modernization was the combined weight had doubled, which made transport and setup more difficult.^[2]

mle 1880 A.C.S.

In an effort to improve the mobility of the mle 1880, 100 mortars were given six-wheeled carriages called Affût de Circonstance Schneider. The carriages were built from steel with a two-wheeled axle at the front and a four-wheeled axle at the rear.[1] The bed of the ACS formed the base of the mortar and it had the same recoil system as the earlier mle 1880/91.^[4] Once in position, the wheels could be retracted and the mortar sat on its base.[2] The advantage of this system was its mobility and reduced setup time. The downside was excessive weight, it could only be towed by artillery tractors and it was unsuitable for use on soft ground.^[4]

Weapons of comparable performance and era

Mortaio da 210/8 D.S. - A comparable Italian mortar.
21 cm Mörser 10 - A comparable German mortar.

Photo gallery

A mle 1880 with non-recoil carriage.
A mle 1880 broken down for transport.
A mle 1880 in action at the Argonnes in 1915.
A mle 1880/91 with recoil carriage.

References

^ Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. pp. 129–134. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mortier de 220 mle 1880 De Bange - WO1Wiki". www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-06-25.
^ "La voie de 60 système Pechot-Decauville - FortiffSéré". www.fortiffsere.fr. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
^ ^a ^b "L'artillerie est-elle plus forte que la muraille ? (partie 1/3)Fortification et Mémoire". fortificationetmemoire.fr (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-25.

[:3-1] Hogg, Ian (2004). Allied artillery of World War One. Ramsbury: Crowood. pp. 129–134. ISBN 1861267126. OCLC 56655115.

[:0-2] "Mortier de 220 mle 1880 De Bange - WO1Wiki". www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-06-25.

[3] "La voie de 60 système Pechot-Decauville - FortiffSéré". www.fortiffsere.fr. Retrieved 2018-06-24.

[:1-4] "L'artillerie est-elle plus forte que la muraille ? (partie 1/3)Fortification et Mémoire". fortificationetmemoire.fr (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-25.

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v t e French artillery of World War I
Anti-aircraft guns	Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider Canon de 75 modèle 1914 Schneider De Bange 90 mm cannon Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and heavy artillery	Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 court modèle 1904 Rimailho Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155 mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	Cellerier Mortar Mortier de 58 T N°1 Mortier de 58 T N°1 bis Mortier de 58 mm type 2 Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry Mortier de 240 mm Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 120 L mle 1878 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 Obusier de 155 C mle 1881 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Materiel de 155 sur affut-truc Schneider Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau Canon de 274 modèle 87/93 Glissement Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/81 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 TR Mle 1903 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Self propelled artillery	Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220mm L Mle1917 Schneider (FAHM) Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond
Armoured vehicle guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 Canon de 75 modèle 1897