Historic context :

The '6 inches 120 puds Model 1877 light siege gun' (120 puds being the barrel weight, 1 pud = 16.34 kg) was the lightened version of the 6 inches 190 pounds Model 1877 heavy siege gun. Just as this latter, this weapon was extracted from the fortresses to equip the Russian army in 1914.

As the 190 puds gun, this gun had to be set up on a heavy wooden platform and its recoil was only controlled by means of wooden wedges placed under its wheels.

The considerable weight loss of the barrel was realized by reducing the thickness of the inner tube as well as the jackets of this jacketted weapon, while keeping its length approximately equivalent. This allowed to use a lighter carriage as well, the total weight of the gun loosing not far from 25%. But this was obtained at the cost of a diminution of the ballistic performances, since the maximum range was decreasing from 7800 m down to 7100 m.

Technical data :

• Complete description : 6 inches 120 puds light siege gun M 1877
• Design year : 1877
• Calibre : 152.40 mm (6 in)
• Weight in firing position : 3425 kg + plateform (1640 or 3470 kg)
• Weight for transportation :
• Tube length in calibres : 21.30
• Grooves : 0 unknown
• Projectile weight : 34 et 35 kg
• Initial speed : 430 and 425 m/s
• Fire rate :
• Range : 7100 m
• Elevation range : -18 to +39 degrees
• Direction range : none