The Škoda 19 cm vz. 1904 was a naval gun of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that was used by the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the World War I. The 19 cm vz. 1904 was also used by the Italian Navy and Italian Army as coastal artillery during World War II. The Italians referred to it as the 190/39.[3]
| Škoda 19 cm vz. 1904 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Naval gun Coastal artillery |
| Place of origin | Austria-Hungary |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1904–1945 |
| Used by | Austria-Hungary Italy |
| Wars | World War I World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Škoda |
| Designed | 1904 |
| Manufacturer | Škoda |
| Produced | 1905 |
| No. built | ~29 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 12,700 kg (28,000 lb) |
| Length | 8 m (26 ft 3 in) |
| Barrel length | 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in) L/42 |
| Shell | Separate loading cased charge and projectile |
| Shell weight | 97 kg (214 lb) |
| Caliber | 19 cm (7.5 in) 42 caliber |
| Elevation | -5 ° to +15° |
| Traverse | 300°[1] |
| Rate of fire | 4 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 800 m/s (2,600 ft/s)[2] |
| Maximum firing range | 20 km (12 mi) at +13° |
Construction
editThe Škoda 19 cm vz. 1904 was developed and built by Škoda at the Pilsen works. These guns used Krupp horizontal sliding breech blocks with separate loading metallic cased charges and projectiles. Unlike other large naval guns of the time which used separate loading bagged charges and ammunition, the 19 cm vz. 1904 used separate loading ammunition with charges inside of a brass cartridge case to provide obturation.
History
editThe Škoda 19 cm vz. 1904 was used as secondary armament on the Erzherzog Karl-class battleships and the armored cruiser SMS Sankt Georg. They were mounted on either pedestal mounts in single casemates amidships or in single turrets. After World War I SMS Sankt Georg and SMS Erzherzog Ferdinand Max were assigned to the United Kingdom as war reparations, while SMS Erzherzog Karl and SMS Erzherzog Friedrich were assigned to France. Between 1920 and 1921 these ships except SMS Erzherzog Karl were delivered to Italy for scrapping. The exact number of guns used for coastal defense during World War II is unknown. Coastal batteries are believed to have been located at Šibenik, Pula, Naples and Tripoli.[4][5]
Number of guns salvaged:
- 12 guns each from the two Erzherzog Karl-class battleships
- 5 guns from SMS Sankt Georg
Total = 29 guns
Location and numbers of coastal batteries:
- 2 batteries of 2 guns – Šibenik
- 2 batteries of 2 guns – Pula
- 2 batteries of 2 guns – Naples
- 2 batteries of 4 guns – Tripoli
- 2 guns on pontoon GM269
Total = 20 guns
Ammunition
editAmmunition was of separate loading type with a cartridge case and a bagged charge which weighed 26.3 kg (58 lb).
Ammunition types:
- Armor piercing – Length: 61 cm (2 ft 0 in), Weight: 97 kg (214 lb)
- Common pointed- Length: 66.5 cm (30 in), Weight: 90 kg (200 lb)
- Shrapnel – Length: 53 cm (1 ft 9 in), Weight: 49.2 kg (108 lb)[6]
Photo gallery
editPhotos of the Tripoli battery from the Italian State Archive.
Notes
edit- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "19 cm/42 (7.48") Skoda – NavWeaps". navweaps.com.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Austria-Hungary 19 cm/42 (7.48") Skoda – NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- ^ In Italian nomenclature the first number indicates the caliber expressed in millimeters, the second the length in calibers. This second value is 39 calibers because the Italians calculated the length of the barrel excluding the firing chamber.
- ^ "190 mm Italian coastal gun in WW II • Axis History Forum". Axis History Forum. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- ^ "Batterie Costiere in Italia. Volume Di Carlo Alfredo Clerici". Scribd. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Austria-Hungary 19 cm/42 (7.48") Skoda – NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
References
edit- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.