Russia
10"/45 (25.4 cm) Pattern 1891
254 mm/45 (10") Pattern 1891
Updated 17 June 2012
This weapon was a joint Army/Navy project.  The Navy version was too lightly constructed and hence suffered from weak barrels and poor ballistic qualities.  The Army weapon was a heavier design with good ballistic qualities, but had very primitive mounts that restricted their rate of fire.

By 1901, OSZ had delivered 30 guns of which 27 were installed on ships.  By 1917 there were only ten guns on hand on Naval Ministry charts, of which four were installed in the battleship Rostslav. 

The Army had a large number these guns in coastal batteries, including one battery of five guns at Port Arthur in 1904 and another in the Moonzund area in 1917.  These guns were the main coast defense weapons of the Russian Navy from 1892 to 1914.

The Russian pre-dreadnoughts Admiral Senyavin and General-Admiral Apraksin were captured following the Battle of Tsushima (Battle of the Japan Sea) and became the Japanese Mishima and Okinoshima.
WNRussian_10-45_m1891_Apraksin_pic.jpg

Coast Defense Ship General Admiral Graf Apraksin
Photograph from "History of Russian/Soviet Battleships"
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Gun Characteristics
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Designation 10"/45 (25.4 cm) Pattern 1891
254 mm/45 (10") Pattern 1891
Ship Class Used On Pobeda, Admiral Apraksin and Rostislav classes
Date Of Design 1891
Date In Service N/A
Gun Weight 22.2 to 27.2 tons (22.5 to 27.6 mt)
Gun Length oa 450 in (11.430 m)
Bore Length 432.4 in (10.983 m)
Rifling Length 356.1 in (9.045 m)
Grooves 68
Lands N/A
Twist N/A
Chamber Volume N/A
Rate Of Fire Adm. Apraksin:  1 shot every 1.5 - 2 minutes
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Ammunition
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Type Bag
Projectile Types and Weights AP and HE - 496.5 lbs. (225.2 kg)
Bursting Charge HE "old model" - 18.3 lbs. (8.3 kg)
Projectile Length 3.1 - 4.0 calibers
Propellant Charge Most ships:  144.62 lbs. (65.6 kg)
Peresvet, Oslyabya and Rostislav:  133.38 lbs. (60.5 kg)
Muzzle Velocity Most ships:  2,273 fps (693 mps)
Pobeda:  2,549 fps (777 mps)
Working Pressure Peresvet, Oslyabya and Rostislav:  9.8 tons/in2  (1,730 kg/cm2)
Approximate Barrel Life N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun Admiral Ushakov - 99 rounds per twin turret
Rostislav - 80 rounds
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Range
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Elevation With 496.5 lbs (225.2 kg) shells
Range @ 35 degrees 18,412 yards (16,836 m)
Range @ 30 degrees
(see Note 1)		 22,403 yards (20,486 m)
Notes: 

1) This is the range for Pobeda's guns with a muzzle velocity of 2,549 fps (777 mps).

2) It should be mentioned that these maximum ranges were of little use at the time these ships were built.  Fire control systems and rangefinders capable of accurately firing at ranges over 10,000 yards (9,140 m) were nonexistent.
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Armor Penetration with 496.5 lbs. (225.2 kg) AP "old model" Shell
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Elevation
Range
Side Armor
Striking Velocity
Angle of Fall
0 degrees
0 yards (0 m)
13.50 in (343 mm)
2,560 fps (777 mps)
0
0.92 degrees
2,000 yards (1,830 m)
10.9 in (277 mm)
2,200 fps (671 mps)
1.06
2.07 degrees
4,000 yards (3,660 m)
8.66 in (220 mm)
1,890 fps (576 mps)
2.55
3.52 degrees
6,000 yards (5,490 m)
6.93 in (176 mm)
1,615 fps (492 mps)
4.79
5.36 degrees
8,000 yards (7,320 m)
5.55 in (141 mm)
1,380 fps (421 mps)
8.06
7.66 degrees
10,000 yards (9,140 m)
4.29 in (109 mm)
1,200 fps (367 mps)
12.70
12.31 degrees
12,000 yards (10,970 m)
3.31 in (84 mm)
1,100 fps (336 mps)
18.71
Notes:

1) Data for guns on Pobeda with a muzzle velocity of 2,549 fps (777 mps) vs. KC-type Armor.

2) This projectile was in use during the Russo-Japanese War.

3) Data from "Gangut" Issue 7 article.
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Mount / Turret Data
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Designation Twin Turret Mount
  All:  (2)
Weight Adm. Apraksin:  240 tons (244 mt)
Peresvet, Oslyabya (bow mount):  415 tons (420 mt)
Peresvet, Oslyabya (stern mount):  365 tons (370 mt)
Elevation Adm. Ushakov, Adm. Senyavin, Rostislav:  -5 / +15 degrees
Adm. Apraksin, Pobeda, Peresvet, Oslyabya:  -5 / +35 degrees
Rate of Elevation N/A
Train +135 / -135 degrees
Rate of Train N/A
Gun Recoil N/A
Loading Angle Adm. Ushakov, Adm. Senyavin:  +7.5 degrees
Peresvet class:  +10 degrees
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Data from
"Entsiklopedia Otechestvennoi Artillerii" (Encyclopedia of Fatherland [Russian] Artillery) by A.V. Shirokorad
"Gangut" Issue 7 article by S.I. Titushkin
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Special help from Vladimir Yakubov
Page History

05 December 2006 - Benchmark
17 June 2012 - Added remark about use by Japanese