203 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1905
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. During the 1930s a number were relined down to and re-designated the 180mm Pattern 1931-1933. These guns  were used aboard Kirov-class cruisers or as coastal artillery and railway artillery. History. The Pattern 1905 began life as a Vickers design for export customers called the Mk B and Mk C. These guns did not serve aboard ships of the Royal Navy because they had standardized on guns. The Pattern 1905 was also produced under license at the Obukhov State Plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. Construction. The Pattern 1905 was similar in construction to the Vickers 50 caliber guns produced by Vickers for the Imperial Russian Navy. The Pattern 1905 was a built-up gun which consisted of  an A tube, two layers of reinforcing tubes and a Welin breech block. The initial order for eight Vickers Mk B guns served aboard the Russian cruiser Rurik in four twin turrets. Later another thirty-four Mk C guns were ordered from Vickers in 1914. A further nineteen were produced by Obhukov in 1914 to replace worn barrels with only minor differences between the series. Naval Use. The 203mm 50 caliber Pattern 1905 guns armed armored cruisers, river monitors and pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy and Soviet Navy built or refit between 1905-1930. Pre-dreadnought  battleships: Armored cruisers: Ammunition. Pattern 1905 ammunition consisted of two separate loading bagged charges and a projectile. The projectiles weighed between and the two charges weighed a combined . The gun was able to fire: