Gruson 57mm turret gun M. 1892

Bulgarian designation :57-мм куполно оръдие “Грюзон”German designation :5,7cm fahrbare Panzerlafette (Fahrpanzer)Calibre :57mm L/25.6Weight of the barrel :172 kgWeight of the breech-block :16.5 kgWeight of the armour housing :2378 kgWeight with armour housing :2550 kgWeight in marching order :3600 kgLength of the barrel :1.460 mLength of the bore :1.272 m – 22.3 calibresRiflinglength :986 mm – 17.3 calibrestwist :progressive, 1 in 30 to 1 in 150 calibresBarrel groovesnumber :24depth :0.4 mmwidth :5.62 mmArmourlateral :4 mmtop :40 mmCartridge :weight :685 gshelled :4.030 kg (shell and shrapnel)4.465 kg (case shot)charge :625 g of black powder (shell and shrapnel)400 g of black powder (case shot)Smokeless battering charge :230 g of cubic powder M. 89 (shell and shrapnel)200 g of cubic powder M. 89 (case shot)Shelllength :3.37 calibres (common shell)3.4 calibres (ring shell)weight :2.72 kg – charge : 90 gfuze :percussion : 60 gmax. range :5500 mShrapnelweight :2.72 kg – charge : 30 g88 bullets x 8 gfuze :time and percussion : 285 gmax. range :5500 mCase shotweight :3.8 kg140 bullets x 19 g x 15 mm and x 24 g x 16 mmmax. range :500 mMuzzle velocity :430 m/sAngle of descent :at 100 m – 0° 2’at 500 m – 0° 16’at 1000 m – 1° 19’at 1500 m – 3° 09’at 2000 m – 5° 05’at 2500 m – 7° 08’at 3000 m – 9° 15’at 3500 m – 12° 12’at 4000 m – 16°at 5000 m – 25° 04’at 6000 m – 39° 10’Elevation :+ 10° / - 10°Traverse :360°Track :600 mmTransport :drawn by two horsesRemarks :Quick firing gun in a mobile armour housing of Gruson design (patent n° 367,617). The gun was mounted in an armoured hemisphere sitting on top of a cylindrical housing for two gunners. In German fortress it was used in special concrete trenches with 60cm narrow gauge railway, making possible a quick movement. It could also move along the road on a horsecart. Quick firing gun denotes simply that the gun used a quick breach and ammunition where the shell and the cartridge were one item, speeding up the loading process.May. Nyagul Tzvetkov tested this gun in the factory and in 1892 thirty guns were bought for the forts of Slivinitza, Belogradchik and Vidin. In 1913 four guns were captured by the Serbians near Belogradchik. According with gen. Zhivkovic, general commanding the Belgrade Detachment, in 1915 in the defence of the capital Serbian army used also two “Gruson 57mm guns in steel turrets”. Some other guns were captured by the Armée d’Orient in 1918 and two at present are placed at the entrance of the Athens Military Museum.

More pictures from Sofia and Athens Military Museums