Franco-Russian Alliance
Development of the 12-inch 40-caliber gun coincided with the beginning of the 1892 Franco-Russian Alliance. The Russian Navy abandoned German artillery models in favor of Canet and Schneider et Cie. designs, but the Krupp legacy persisted in the Navy's largest guns. The 12-inch 40-caliber became the Navy's standard main gun and was employed on all its pre-dreadnought battleships starting with "Sissoi Veliky" of the Baltic Fleet and "Tri Sviatitelia" of the Black Sea Fleet.