Škoda 19 cm vz. 1904

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Škoda 19 cm vz. 1904
TypeNaval gun
Coastal artillery
Place of originAustria-Hungary
Service history
In service1904–1945
Used byAustria-Hungary
Italy
WarsWorld War I
World War II
Production history
DesignerŠkoda
Designed1904
ManufacturerŠkoda
Produced1905
No. built~29
Specifications
Mass12,700 kg (28,000 lb)
Length8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Barrel length7.4 m (24 ft 3 in) L/42
ShellSeparate loading cased charge and projectile
Shell weight97 kg (214 lb)
Caliber19 cm (7.5 in) 42 caliber
Elevation-5 ° to +15°
Traverse300°[1]
Rate of fire4 rpm
Muzzle velocity800 m/s (2,600 ft/s)[2]
Maximum firing range20 km (12 mi) at +13°

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]

Construction[]

The 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[]

The 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[]

Ammunition 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[]

Photos of the Tripoli battery from the Italian State Archive.

Notes[]

  1. ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "19 cm/42 (7.48") Skoda – NavWeaps". navweaps.com.
  2. ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Austria-Hungary 19 cm/42 (7.48") Skoda – NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "190 mm Italian coastal gun in WW II • Axis History Forum". Axis History Forum. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  5. ^ "Batterie Costiere in Italia. Volume Di Carlo Alfredo Clerici". Scribd. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  6. ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Austria-Hungary 19 cm/42 (7.48") Skoda – NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2017-03-02.

References[]

  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
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