Unicorn: Shuvalov's cannon in Russian artillery

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

The use of throwing machines to hit the enemy at a distance has been practiced since ancient times. A significant breakthrough in the improvement of artillery weapons occurred after the advent of gunpowder. Throwing machines are a thing of the past, their place was taken by various models of guns, howitzers and mortars. The changing tactics of battle led to the improvement of artillery weapons. One of the most perfect examples of the 18th century is Shuvalov's unicorn cannon.

Smoothbore artillery reform

In the period from the 18th to the 19th centuries, the material part was reformed in the army armament of tsarist Russia: it was simplified and unified. The changes were reflected in the length of the artillery pieces and the thickness of their walls. Significantly reduced the number of calibers and friezes - decorations on the trunks. As a result of unification, it became possible to use the same parts for different guns. Under commandFeldzeugmeister General (Chief of Artillery) Count Pyotr Ivanovich Shuvalov, a new weapon was approved - a unicorn (cannon). The howitzer from that moment was removed from service with the tsarist army. The reforms carried out determined the face of Russian artillery in the war of 1812.

Design work

It took a team of design officers led by Count Shuvalov several years to work on the creation of a new improved gun, until they got a model that satisfied them - a new gun - Shuvalov's unicorn. "Do it yourself" - specialized sites are offered to modern craftsmen, providing for this all the necessary drawings and developments. Creating a gun according to the already existing ready-made drawings is a much simpler task than the one that the authors of the gun had to solve. Since science at that time was far from theoretical calculations, work on a new gun model was carried out through trial and error.

As a result of numerous experiments, in addition to unicorns, various other models of guns appeared, most of which were rejected. One of these samples, not accepted by the Russian army for service, are twin-barreled guns. This artillery piece consisted of two barrels mounted on one carriage.

Shooting from this weapon was carried out with buckshot, which consisted of chopped iron rods. It was assumed that the effect of firing such a projectile would be huge. Aftertesting it turned out that in terms of its effectiveness, a double gun is no better than a conventional single-barrel gun.

What is a unicorn (cannon)?

Since 1757, Russian artillery has been equipped with a new gun developed by officers M. V. Danilov and M. G. Martynov. The weapon was created to replace long-barreled guns and howitzers. The cannon got its name - a unicorn - from a mythical animal, which was depicted on the coat of arms of Count P. I. Shuvalov.

This weapon, specific to Russian artillery, combined the properties of cannons and howitzers designed for laying and mounted fire. Unicorns are short guns. The Shuvalov product has an oval barrel channel, in which the horizontal diameter is several times larger than the vertical one. In this it differs from classical artillery pieces. The trunk of a unicorn has the shape of an oval cone. When firing from it, a horizontal trajectory of the buckshot movement is provided. In predecessor cannons, most of the charge went down into the ground, or flew over the heads of the enemy.

The result of the reform of the tsarist artillery

After the modernization of the materiel, a unicorn appeared in service with the Russian army. The gun, the photo of which is located below, was a modernized artillery piece, which combined the best properties of previous firing devices.

The product of Martynov and Danilov at that time was considered the most perfect, as it is profitablediffered from similar models in its lightness and maneuverability. For about a hundred years, the unicorn cannon was used by the tsarist army, the drawings of which were requested from Russia by its Austrian allies in 1760.

How did the new model differ from classic artillery pieces?

To improve the accuracy of pointing weapons at the target, the designers developed a simple diopter, which was equipped with a unicorn. The gun was equipped with a sight, which is a slot with a front sight. The firing range of the Shuvalov product was three times greater than that of other artillery pieces. Unicorns had less weight than conventional guns, but a higher rate of fire and charge power. They differed in firing. The ability to fire over the heads of soldiers along a hinged trajectory is a characteristic feature of such a weapon as a unicorn. The gun, the forerunner of the new weapon, was capable of exclusively flat shooting.

What rounds did the upgraded model fire?

Shuvalov's artillery gun could fire bombs, which were hollow spherical projectiles filled with black powder and equipped with wooden fuse tubes. In this way, unicorns are similar to short-barreled howitzers. They differed in charging speed and range. Unicorns had twice the performance of howitzers.

In addition, the unicorn was distinguished by the wide use of cannonballs and buckshot. The cannon (classic) was designed only for flat shooting. Forin order to fire at the enemy, the old guns had to advance ahead of the infantry: their elevation angle did not exceed 15 degrees, while the trunk of the Shuvalov unicorn was raised 45 degrees for firing.

Charging chamber device

Before the unicorns, the Russian and European armies used 18-25 caliber guns and 6-8 caliber howitzers. The caliber was determined by the ratio of the length of the gun and the diameter of its barrel. The classic gun at that time was not equipped with a charging chamber, so it was also called chamberless. The barrel channel in this gun passed into the bottom, which had a flat shape or was in the form of a hemisphere. Howitzers had cylindrical charging chambers.

Unicorns were equipped with charging chambers that were conical in shape. The chamber was a rear part with a reduced diameter in an artillery gun and was intended to place capshot charges.

It was a truncated cone in shape, which ended with a spherical bottom with a depth of 2 calibers. Due to this design, when pointing the gun at the target, the ideal centering and ballistics of the projectile were ensured.

The process of loading the conical chambers of the new guns was easier and faster than the cylindrical chambers of howitzers. Due to the successful design, the unicorn had less weight, which had a positive effect on its maneuvering. After 1808, the Shuvalov cannons were replaced by a spherical one with a flat bottom, which has roundings. The depth of the chamber has decreased.

What kind of artillery was usedadvanced cannon?

Copper and cast iron were used to make unicorns. The field artillery was equipped with copper three-pounder guns. Pound cannons made of this material were used by siege artillery. Pound unicorns made of cast iron were intended for the serf.

1757 gun

In terms of its destructive effect, a one-pound unicorn was not inferior to an eighteen-pound cannon. Its weight was 1048 kg. This is 64 pounds less than that of a cannon. Due to this, the Shuvalov gun was characterized by high maneuverability. In terms of its tactical and technical characteristics, the one-pound unicorn was superior to the six-pound cannon, which in 1734 was considered the lightest field artillery gun. Shuvalov's offspring turned out to be ten pounds lighter than a cannon and had a great destructive effect when firing buckshot. The one-pound unicorn surpassed the howitzer, which was identical in weight. The devastating effect of firing fragmentation or high-explosive bombs from an improved cannon at enemy fortifications was twice that of conventional bombs used by a one-pound howitzer.

How was the caliber determined?

Until the 19th century, the caliber was measured not by the diameter of the bore. For this, the estimated weight of the core used by the artillery piece was taken. After testing a three-pound unicorn, whose caliber was 320 mm, it turned out that this gun was too heavy and laborious to load. The design team has stopped working on this artillery model.

For whatdid the Shuvalov guns work?

• Before firing, the unicorn aimed at the target.
• Raising and lowering the breech of the gun was carried out using sighting devices - screws.
• To turn the weapon in a horizontal direction, the designers provided special levers.
• Fixing the gun aimed at the enemy was carried out with wedges.
• The gunpowder was ignited through the wick, which was equipped with the igniter.
• For cannons and unicorns, muzzle loading was provided: cores, bombs and tin cups filled with finely chopped wire (buckshot) were placed into the gun through the barrel. At the same time, in unicorns, a projectile from the top of the muzzle fell into a narrowed cone and, with its weight, tightly sealed the black powder charge already there, which performed a knock-out function.
• During the combustion of gunpowder, a sufficient amount of energy was generated to push the projectile out of the muzzle. After the invention of unicorns, the efficiency of artillery pieces improved significantly. In Shuvalov's products, during the combustion of a powder charge, the energy was completely given to the knocked-out projectile, and was not spent through gaps in the barrel walls, as was the case in conventional guns.
• After each shot, the muzzles of artillery guns were cleaned with banniks - special brushes made from mutton skins.

What is the advantage of a short gun?

• Artillerythe design of the unicorn is smaller than a conventional cannon, but larger than a mortar.
• The product of Count Shuvalov was designed for a distance of up to 3 thousand meters. This distance was considered significant at the time.
• The unicorn's short barrel increased its accuracy. This is explained by the fact that the production of barrels for artillery pieces was not perfect at that time: the presence of microscopic irregularities on the inner surface of the muzzle, capable of changing the given projectile trajectory, was common. The larger the trunk, the greater the likelihood of such irregularities. Reducing the barrel reduced the frequency of deflection and unpredictable rotation of projectiles during firing, and this, in turn, improved the accuracy of hits.
• Reducing the size of the barrel had a positive effect on the speed of loading. Before the advent of unicorns, conventional cannons took at least 15 minutes to fire one shot.
• In the Shuvalov guns, the process of aiming and control was easier. In addition, the short barrel increased the degree of elevation to 45. A conventional gun could not achieve such an indicator.

Shuvalov's unicorn. DIY

Craftsmen who want to create weapon models for their collection with their own hands should know that before you start making a unicorn model, you need to have a sample of the future product before your eyes. The master model is easy to make with paper. In the process of work, it is important to observe a single scale. For this, a toy soldier can be used, with the help of which the future model of an artillery gun will be tied to the conditional dimensions of the human body. If you have a properly made cardboard master model, you can start making a similar one, but already made of wood.

When working with this material, it is recommended to use varnish, which will hold small parts together and prevent their displacement. In order for the tools to have a flat surface, they should be processed with a file. The product is recommended to be impregnated with ordinary copper sulphate, which can be purchased at a hardware store. The impregnation process itself is not laborious: copper sulfate must be diluted in a small container, into which the guns should be dipped in turn. As the guns begin to darken, they must be removed from the solution and treated with felt and paste (goy or asidol). This procedure can be performed several times. After surface treatment, the guns will have a realistic bronze color.

Conclusion

In the 18th century, steel plants in the Urals were considered a gigantic industrial complex producing more metal than in any Western European state. A huge amount of necessary material made it possible for Count Shuvalov to realize his design project. As a result of mass production, by 1759, workers had cast 477 different models of the unicorn: guns had six calibers and weighed from 340 kg to 3.5 tons.

Unicorns proved their effectiveness in the war with the Turks, the victory over which gave the tsarist Russia the Crimea and Novorossiya. The presence of these artillery pieces in the 18th century allowed the Russian army to become the strongest in Europe.