120mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892

120mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892
120mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892 gun on Kuivasaari Island.
Type	Naval gun Coastal artillery Railway artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1897-1945
Used by	Russian Empire Soviet Union Finland Japan
Wars	Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War World War I Russian Civil War Winter War World War II
Production history
Designer	Canet
Designed	1891
Manufacturer	Obukhov Perm
Produced	1897
Specifications
Weight	2.95 t (3.25 short tons)
Length	5.4 m (17 ft 9 in)
Barrel length	4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
Shell	Fixed QF ammunition
Shell weight	20.4 kg (45 lb)
Caliber	120 mm (4.7 in) 45 caliber
Elevation	-7° to +20°
Rate of fire	12-15 rpm
Muzzle velocity	823 m/s (2,700 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	11.8 km (7.3 mi) at +20°

The 120mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892 was a Russian naval gun developed in the years before the Russo-Japanese War that armed a variety of warships of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. Guns salvaged from scrapped ships found a second life on river gunboats of the Soviet Navy during the Russian Civil War and as coastal artillery and railway artillery during World War II. It was estimated that in 1941 there were 35 still in service.

In 1891 a Russian naval delegation was shown three guns designed by the French designer Canet. One was a 75/50 gun, one was a 120/45 gun, and the last was a 152/45 gun. All three guns used fixed QF ammunition which produced a rate of fire of 15 rpm for the 75/50 gun, 12 rpm for the 122/45 gun and 10 rpm for the 152/45 gun. The Russians were impressed and in 1892 they negotiated a production license for all three guns.

There were two main series of the 120/45 guns produced. The first series of 76 guns were built between 1897-1905 at the Obhukov factory. During the Russo-Japanese war a number of barrels of the 152/45 guns burst in action and a strengthened series of 152/45 and 120/45 guns were ordered. 34 of the second series of strengthened guns were built between 1905-1915 at the Obhukov factory. Between 1914-1916 production switched to the Perm factory and a further 18 strengthened guns were produced there.

120/45 guns armed a variety of ships such as armored cruisers, auxiliary cruisers, coastal defense ships, destroyers, gunboats, minesweepers, pre-dreadnought battleships, protected cruisers, seaplane tenders and unprotected cruisers of the Imperial Russian Navy built between 1890-1916.