203 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1905

Vickers 203 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1905
A Pattern 1905 gun in Suomenlinna fortress, Helsinki. Manufactured by the Obukhov factory in 1909.
Type	Naval gun Coastal artillery Railway artillery
Place of origin	Great Britain
Service history
In service	1905-1970
Used by	Russian Empire Soviet Union
Wars	World War I Russian Civil War Winter War World War II
Production history
Designer	Vickers
Designed	1905
Manufacturer	Obukhov State Plant
Produced	1905
Specifications
Mass	14.4 t (15.9 short tons)
Length	10.16 m (33 ft 4 in) 50 caliber
Barrel length	9.95 m (32 ft 8 in)
Shell	Separate loading bagged charge and projectile
Shell weight	112–139 kg (247–306 lb)
Calibre	203 mm (8.0 in)
Breech	Welin breech block
Elevation	Casemates: -5° to +25° Turrets: -5° to +25° Open mounts: -5° to +30°[1]
Rate of fire	3-4 rpm
Muzzle velocity	792 m/s (2,600 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	15.7 km (9.8 mi) at +25°[2]

The 203 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1905 was a Russian naval gun developed by Vickers for export in the years before World War I that armed a variety of warships of the Imperial Russian Navy. Guns salvaged from scrapped ships found a second life as coastal artillery, railway artillery and aboard river monitors during the Russian Civil War. By 1941 it was estimated there were 36 coastal defense guns and two railroad mounts remaining.^[1] During the 1930s a number were relined down to 180 mm (7.1 in) and re-designated the 180mm Pattern 1931-1933. These guns were used aboard Kirov-class cruisers or as coastal artillery and railway artillery.^[2]