Weapons Used During the Revolution

One of the weapons used during the Russian Revolution was the 130mm/55 (5.1). The Model 1913 was the Russian produced version of this weapon. The Mark A and Mark B versions were produced for Russia by the British firm of Vickers. The Mark A was manufactured prior to World War I while the Mark B was manufactured during World War II. This weapon was originally a cartridge gun, but the Russian Navy wanted a cheaper and simpler design, so Obukhov modified the weapon to use bag ammunition with a Welin breech-block. In 1913 the Obukhov factory received an order for 471 of these guns. By 1917, 147 guns had been manufactured with the balance to be delivered in 1917 through 1918. However, due to the Russian Revolution, these remaining weapons were never completed. In addition to the guns built by Obukhov, a further 100 guns were ordered from Vickers in 1913 with most of them being delivered by 1917. The Royal Navy considered this weapon for arming DAMS during World War I, but decided against it as it would have added yet another medium-caliber weapon to the inventory. The Russians used these guns to rearm some of the older protected cruisers, as secondary armament on Imperatrisa Maria class battleships and as main armament for the new Svetlana class light cruisers. By 1917 the Naval Ministry had 117 guns on hand plus some additional guns used for coastal defense under army command. During the Russian Civil War these guns armed many river gunboats and barges. Redesigns during the 1920s and 1930s attempted to increase elevation, but these were not particularly successful and none were adopted for general service use. However, in 1930 two mounts with +40 degree elevation were built for river monitor Udarny. By 1941 there were over a hundred remaining guns in the Soviet Navy. Vickers delivered 55 guns and 55 spare barrels for the Mark B during the latter half of World War II. In addition, the USA supplied shrapnel rounds for these weapons during World War II.