C64 (field gun)
The Krupp C64 (sometimes C/64) steel, breech loaded field gun was one of the main artillery pieces of the Prussians in the 1870–1871 war with France. It was superior to the French counterparts in every way: accuracy, rate of fire, range and reliability of the fuse. The guns were, however, unpopular with artillery specialists of the day as the difficulty in cooling the steel barrel during the casting process could cause flaws which would lead to the barrel shattering when the weapon was fired.
| 4-Pfünder-Feldkanone C/64 8 cm Stahlkanone C/64 | |
|---|---|
A C/64 gun on display at Peleș Castle | |
| Type | Field gun |
| Place of origin | Kingdom of Prussia |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Kingdom of Prussia Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Romania Kingdom of Bulgaria |
| Wars | German-Danish War Austro-Prussian War Franco-Prussian War Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krupp |
| Manufacturer | Krupp |
| Variants | C/64/67 (Prussian) Model 1868, model 1871 (Romanian) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Firing: 650 kg (1,430 lb)–750 kg (1,650 lb) Travel: 1,960 kg (4,320 lb) |
| Barrel length | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Shell | Shell, shrapnel, canister |
| Shell weight | 4.342 kg (9.57 lb) (shell) 4.6 kg (10 lb) (shrapnel) 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) (canister) |
| Caliber | 78.5 mm (3 in) L/25 |
| Breech | Double wedge lock |
| Elevation | -8° to +13° |
| Muzzle velocity | 357 m/s (1,170 ft/s) |
| Maximum firing range | 3.5 km (2.2 mi) |
The obturation, a big problem in earlier Krupp rifled breech loaders, was ensured by Broadwell ring design borrowed from American engineer Lewis Wells Broadwell.
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