CZK - Kasematní kanon vz. 44/59

85 mm fortress cannon model 1944/1959
Text author Martin Ráboň, Historical Military Club - Brno
Text edited by Jiří Tintěra, Difrology Club - Prague


85 mm fortress cannon vz. 44/59 (1) was intended for heavy fortifications (infantry logs) and formed the main component of the armament of heavy fortifications in the 1960s-1990s in the southern Moravia towns of Šatov, Hevlín and Mikulov and near Bratislava in Petržalka.


Already in the late 1940s the Czechoslovak Army was considering the use of the gun in the Czechoslovak Army. The army was considering re-equipping the pre-war infantry cabins on the southern border of the country. The possibility was offered to install the original L1 weapon - 4 cm anti-tank gun vz. 36 calibre 47 mm in the preserved rifles of five buildings in Petržalka and in six buildings in South Moravia after reinstalling the rifles torn out during the occupation. Due to the performance of this weapon (an anti-tank shell could penetrate 50 mm armour at a distance of 1100 metres), the development of a more powerful new weapon or the reconstruction of some other suitable field weapon for fortress conditions was considered. The hottest candidate for reconstruction was originally a German 88 mm calibre cannon, the barrel of which was produced at the Škoda Plzeň plant during the occupation of Czechoslovakia.


During the months of January and February 1952, it was decided to use the Soviet-made Model 44 85 mm calibre tank gun as the starting weapon for the development of the new fortress gun. The pressure to unify the ammunition, the solid characteristics of this cannon and the somewhat smaller size compared to the 88 mm (2) calibre cannon certainly played a role.


The development of the fortress cannon was commissioned in 1952. Firing tests took place in 1954 (3), after which the design work was stopped. The decision to complete the reconstruction of the tank gun was not made until 1958.


Work on the modified gun was completed in 1959, and military trials were held at the Jince test facility from 24 November to 10 December of that year. The cannon was put into service with the Czechoslovak Army.


In total, 20 pieces of 85 mm strength cannon vz. 44/59, including 1 prototype, 18 cannons for the needs of the facilities (12 pieces for the infantry huts in the area of South Moravia, 5 pieces for the infantry huts at Petržalka, 1 piece for the CE training facility at the Jordán target area, later moved to the training facility at VVP Libavá) and 1 backup gun. The reconstruction of the above mentioned number of guns was carried out in the national enterprise Konstrukta Trenčín at the turn of 1959-1960.


The modification of the firing ranges of all the selected combat objects took place in the summer months of 1959, the installation of the guns was completed in the first half of 1960.


The main tasks of this weapon were
1/ destruction of tanks, self-propelled guns and other enemy motorized and mechanized means,
2/ silencing and destroying enemy artillery,
3/ destruction of infantry firing means and live enemy forces. production) 800 m/sec
- when firing an anti-tank missile (blunt tip and ballistic cap) with a BP-365 tracer (sov. production) 792 m/sec
- when firing an anti-tank missile (sharp tip) with a GP-365 tracer (sov. and sov. production) 785 m/sec
- when fired with a three-shot grenade (from one piece), reduced charge, O-365 K (sov. production) 785 m/sec


Weight
- anti-tank missiles with tracer (čs. production) 9,20 kg
- anti-tank missiles (full) with tracer (of čs. production) 9,20 kg
- anti-tank missiles (with blunt tip and ballistic cap) with tracer BP-365 (sov. 9,20 kg
- anti-tank missiles (with sharp tip) with tracer BP-365 (sov. production) 9,20 kg
- anti-tank sub-caliber missiles with tracer (czechoslovak and sov. production, BP-365n) 4,99 kg
- fragmentation grenade (from one piece) full charge (czechoslovak and soviet production) 9,54 kg


Most pressure of powder gases about 2585 kg/cm2.


2. Constructional data
Calibre 85 mm
Length of barrel with butt 4645 mm
Length of rifled part of bore 3495 mm
Number of rifling 24
Length of thread 25 calibre
Rise angle (constant) 7° 9´
Maximum aiming point 18°
Maximum inclination - 8°
Gauge range ± 22° 30´
Normal slide length 280 to 320 mm
Maximum permissible slide length 330 mm
Initial spindle pressure 34 to 37 atm.
Quantity of fluid in the spindle 3,15 dm3
Quantity of fluid in the slide brake (without compensator) 3,65 dm3
weight of elevation masses (without armour) 1150 kg
weight of slide parts 900 kg


General data on the gun design
85 mm strength gun vz. 44/59 consists of a barrel with a flushing device, a breech with a breech semi-automatic, a cradle, a decelerating device, a lavalet, a square and metering control, a protective cover, a launching gear, the cartridge box (right or left, depending on the orientation of the firing room), the tank sight, the auxiliary sight and the barrel reloading device for the infantry hut firing room.


- The complete barrel consists of the barrel itself (monoblock), the butt of the barrel, the clamping screw, the socket and the purging device.
- The breech is wedge-shaped, with semi-automatic mechanical type, the wedge is vertical, dropping.
- The cradle is cast, socket-shaped. Its bearings contain cradle pins which are bolted to the cradle carrier. At the rear, underneath the cradle, is a drift bracket which has two holes in which the brake piston rods are fixed by nuts. Inside the cradle there is a barrel which slides in guide bushes pressed and fixed to the body of the cradle. On the top of the cradle is a bracket with a hole in which the piston rod of the flushing device is fixed by a nut.
- The braking device consists of a liquid brake and an air-fluid spindle.
- The slide brake is located on the left side. It is filled with glycerine fluid steol M in the quantity of 3,65 l.
- The gate valve is located on the right side. It is filled with glycerine liquid steol M in the quantity of 3.15 l and air (or nitrogen) compressed to 34 to 37 atm.
- The normal length of the slide is 280 to 320 mm. The maximum permissible length of the slide is 330 mm (indicated by the inscription ″STOP″).
- The frame, gun armour, visor and cradle carrier are part of the lavalet. All these components are cast, the wall thicknesses are chosen to protect the operator from injury and the weapon from destruction.
- The sighting handle is serrated and is located on the cradle carrier on the left side of the cannon. It allows the main sight to be adjusted from -8° to +18°.
- The recoil control is located below the square control, also on the left side of the gun. It allows to give the main sighting in the range of ± 22°30´ and to monitor it on the sighting scale.
- The protective cover consists of two covers (right and left) and a cartridge trap, which can be hinged upwards and secured in this position.
- The gun's trigger system consists of an electric and a manual trigger. The trigger of the electric trigger is located on the handle of the square wheel and the trigger of the manual trigger is located on the left hand guard.
- The cartridge case drain is located under the rear of the barrel and consists of a lower and upper part. The left side is used for objects with a left-hand wing cover, while the right side is used for fortresses with the opposite wing cover. The difference between the two cartridge cases is only in the shape of their lower part.
- The tank sighting scope TS-16 is articulated.
- The auxiliary sight is mechanical with a plate on which the pointer moves by means of a lever gear.
- The device for dragging the barrel to the firing room is located in the firing room and consists of rails (shorter and longer), a mobile trestle (internal), a support trestle (internal), two trestles, a cover and a carrier. While the gun is in action, these components are stored along the walls.
- The gun is mounted in the gunroom at the front of the firing room. A TS-16 tank sighting scope is placed on the left side of the gun and the gunner moves in this area. The loader has a station on the right side of the gun.
- Observation of the area in front of the fortress is carried out through the portholes in the gunroom and from the armoured bell (command turret).
- The gun crew (1 NCO and 4 men) should be able to mount the gun in the gunroom and move it to the firing position in 20 minutes.


Description of the gun (4) - see 85kp-44!59-description.gif

1. barrel
2. cradle
3. square handlebar
4. left hand guard
5. shell trap
6. shell trap chute
7. bolt
8. firing frame
9. Frame
10. visor
11. gun armour
12. cradle carrier
13. tank sight bracket
14. tank sight hinge
15. slip indicator
16. sighting handle
17. sighting indicator
18. cartridge case drain
19. hand trigger
20. tank sighting scope TS-16
21. bracket
22. screw
23. Auxiliary sight
24. positional spirit level
25. sight scale

Cannon mounting (4) - see 85kp-44!59-mounting.gif


1. gun frame
2. frame
3. socket
4. footings
5. support structure
6. plates
7. support beams
8. bracket
9. outer rails
10. outer traveling trestle
11. carriage
12. swing frame
13. inner short rails
14. trestle
15. inner mobile trolley
16. bolt
17. bolt
18. base plate


The guns were dismantled from the buildings in South Moravia in 1999. One specimen has been in the possession of the Military and Technical Museum in Lešany for about 5 years (it is a weapon intended for training), another 12 pieces are in the Czech Republic, the remaining 7 pieces are apparently in the possession of the ASR and nothing is known to the authors about their fate. At present, several museums in the Czech Republic are negotiating to rescue several pieces of this interesting weapon and install them in one of the military-historical expositions.


Notes in footnotes


(1)
The weapon in the Czechoslovak People's Army (CSLA) received a shorter designation, which probably looked like this 85 mm Kp-44/59 ("K" for cannon, "p" for fortress, the hyphen replaced the term "vz."The weapon was developed from the Soviet 85 mm tankovaja puška obr. 1944 g. tank gun and in the CSLA it bore the abbreviated designation 85 mm Kt-44 S ("t" for tank, "S" for Soviet).


(2)
This decision was preceded by work on the site itself, i.e. on the fortress objects. In the second half of July 1947, a survey of the condition of the buildings at Shatov, Hevlin and Mikulov was carried out, during which the soldiers noted the unsatisfactory condition of the buildings, especially their general structural incompleteness (insulation, plaster, etc.), the fact that the gun turrets of the L1 and M guns (for the twin heavy machine guns vz. 37) are torn out, the pollution of the interiors of the objects, including the burial of some wells and tanks of the OMS.


Already in 1947 the commander of the engineer army, Brigadier General Čermák, commissioned repair and finishing works on the objects of heavy fortifications in the area of South Moravia to the construction company Ing. Růžička from Znojmo for about 6 million crowns. The time limit for the execution of the works was 120 days, the military construction supervisor (VSD) was appointed by Sgt. Václav Milavec (former member of the pre-war Directorate of Fortification Works), the construction fell under the jurisdiction of the newly established Construction Section Command III.


The company Ing. Růžička faced many problems during the works due to the dismal post-war period, lack of qualified workers, fuel and quality materials. Moreover, like most other companies, it was affected by the imposition of national administration in April 1948 after the communist takeover. The works were not completed until 11 November 1948, and CZK 7,827,323.20 was spent. At that time, the openings of the gunports were walled up and covered with heraclite.


(3)
All newly developed fortress equipment (weapons, ventilation, etc.) was tested in the CE test and training facility, which was built in 1936 on the Jordán target area in the Jince Military Training Area in Brdy. This facility, incidentally, also needed to be reconstructed before the start of the test programme for the new fortress gun. The structural repairs, e.g. to remove the effects of seven bullet holes in the front wall, were carried out in the second half of March 1948, part of the masonry of the front wall and roof was demolished and the volume of material used in the repair work amounted to about 120 m3 of concrete.


(4)
Drawings and drawing documentation are taken from the ČSLA manual Děl-22-11, MNO, Prague 1960.


Documents
ÚVA - Praha fond MNO 1952 VŽV T 99/4/1/5, carton no. 98, ref. 50.614
ÚVA - Praha fond MNO 1952 VŽV T 99/4/2 - 99/5/1, carton no. 100, ref. 50.614
Děl-22-11 85 mm Fortress gun vz. 44/59, Prague 1960
Jiří Janoušek, Jiří Tintěra and Josef Spurný 85 mm Kp-44/59 (ÚV gun, model 1944 S, Czechoslovak conversion to fortress 1959)
Action of the Diffrology Club: Technical inspection and photodocumentation in the deposit ..., 2003.
collective SPČSO Czechoslovak Fortifications of 1935-38 - Museums and Memorials, Brno 2003
collective SPČSO Utajené strongholds - Czechoslovak Fortifications of 1936-39 in South Moravia, Brno 2003
Martin Ráboň, Jiří Tintěra A-4 Atak no. 046, pp. 2-16, August 2002, supplement May 2003, irregulars from the Diffrology Club
regulars Fortsborník No. 7/II, Brno 2002 and 7/III, Brno 2004
regulars BOING, No. 54 and 55, 2004, from the Historical Military Club - Brno

I am presenting an inventory of stamped identification marks of a cassette gun with serial number 17 - which is an exhibit of the Museum of Czechoslovak Fortifications and Artillery Fortress Bouda.


This is not a complete list of stamped data. Only the clearly stamped ones are written. They have been clarified thanks to the kindness of the museum's armourer, Mr. Bedřich Škraňka. How this weapon looks now and other data can be found at the following internet address: http://www.armyfort.com/cz/akce.php?id=50

Jedným z objektov ťažkého opevnenia v Petržalke ktorý bol týmito kanónmi vyzbrojený a kde sa dodnes zachovali časti ich lafetácie je zrub B-S-8 "Hřbitov" ležiaci vedľa pozostatkov vojenského cintorína v tesnej blízkosti štátnej hranice.


Vlastné foto.

Kým objekt na predchádzajúcich záberoch je uzavretý, v inom zrube, myslím že v B-S-2 "Mulda" alebo v B-S-3 "Paseka" je možné vidieť lafetáciu kanóna v interiéri. Objekty sú pomerne dobre zachované jednak preto, že boli v užívaní armády až do začiatku 90.rokov minulého storočia, jednak preto lebo niektoré z nich sú stále v hraničnom pásme a tiež preto lebo ležia bokom od cykloturistických trás.


Vlastné foto.

Tieto fotky sú zo zrubu B-S-1 "Štěrkoviště", kúsok od brehu Dunaja. Tá lafeta aj interiér objektu sú zatiaľ najzachovalejšie čo som doteraz videl. Ale to časom hodím do sekcie o opevneniach. Námer aj odmer je plne funkčný, dokonca aj ručné spúšťadlo funguje.


Vlastné foto.

Vlastné foto.

Vlastné foto.

Vlastné foto.

"V rokoch 1959 - 63 sa podarilo do pechotných zrubov inštalovať 17 zbraní a ostatné (z celkového počtu 20 ks) slúžili k výcviku v cvičných objektoch v Jíncích (neskôr v Libave), Znojme a Mikulove".


Zdroj:Bílek, Jiří, a.i.: Československá lidová armáda v koaličních vazbách Varšavské smlouvy, MO ČR 2008

85 mm pevnostný kanón PvK vz.44/59 je umiestnený v ťažkom opevnení a tvorí hlavnú zložku výzbroje tohoto opevnenia.


85 mm PvK vz.44/59 sa líši od 85 mm TK vz.44 niektorými konštrukčnými zmenami, ako například vyplachovacie zariadenie, lafetácia, rozsah námeru i odmeru, konštrukcia odmerového riadidla, mieridlá, odvod nábojníc apod. Tieto zmeny vyplynuli z vlastného určenia kanónu.




Zdroj : Del-22-11 85 mm Pevnostný kanón vz.44/59 – predpis ČSĽA, Praha 1960

Cannon installed in the object of MJ-S4

A Video of the installation:
mj-s4.rajce.idnes.cz.

Exponát muzea opevnění - Bouda, stav v roce 2004.


Foto via MO Bouda.

Kompletní kanón tohoto typu je k vidění v Lešanech, kde je zabudovaný do upravené stěny jednoho z výstavních objektů.

Kasematní kanony se vrátily


Koncem měsíce dubna se vrátily dva pevnostní kanóny vzor 44/59 do srubu MJ-S 3 "Zahrada“ u Šatova. Tyto kasematní zbraně představovaly hlavní výzbroj šesti jihomoravských pevností v letech 1960-1999. Osazení děl zajistilo Technické muzeum v Brně ve spolupráci s Klubem historického vojenství v Brně, obcí Šatov a firmou Znovín.


Bližší informaci naleznete na stránkách Armyfortu a Technického muzea v Brně.


Videozáznam o stěhování vysílala TV Nova 27. dubna 2006.

Kasematní kanony se vrátily


Ještě odkaz na dvě videa:
www.armyfort.com
www.armyfort.com