Vladivostok's Railway Guns

Railway artillery mount of the Battery No. 1 with initially installed 10-inch gun at the Petrograd Metal Work. 1917.
Railway artillery mount of the Battery No. 1 (future TM-8) with initially installed 10-inch gun at the Petrograd Metal Work. 1917. From collection of N.V. Gavrilkin
203mm/45 railway artillery mount TM-8 of Railway Battery No. 1 at firing position
203-mm/45 railway artillery mount TM-8 of Railway Coast Artillery Battery No. 1 at firing position. From collections of Military-Historical Museum of the Pacific Fleet
Raolway artillery mount of armoured train
Railway artillery mount of the armoured train "Ataman Churkin" with 152-mm/45 Kanet gun (future railway artillery mount No. 3 of the Railway Coast Artillery Battery No. 2) in 1920. From collection of N.V. Gavrilkin
One of new-built in 1928 - 1929 152-mm/45 railway artillery mounts of the Railway Coast Artillery Battery No. 2 at fire position
One of new-built in 1928 - 1929 152-mm/45 railway artillery mounts of the Railway Coast Artillery Battery No. 2 at fire position. From collection of Military-Historical Museum of the Pacific Fleet
130-mm/55 railway artillery mount of the Railway Coast Artillery Battery No. 3 in route.
130-mm/55 railway artillery mount of the Coast Artillery Battery No 3 in route. From collections of Military-Historical Museum of the Pacific Fleet.

In 1931 after invasion of Japanese troops into Manchuria the navy guns installed on railway cars were delivered to Vladivostok for the rapid improvement of its defense. There were formed three Railway Batteries - # 1 on 2 - 203-mm guns, # 2 on 3 - 152-mm Kanet guns and # 3 on 3 - 130-mm guns. In January 1932 they were located on the firing positions. These batteries formed 5-th Separate Railway Artillery Division. They were located on the railways gone along coast of Amursky Gulf on the Western shore of Schkot peninsular. Later the Battery # 1 was transferred to Uliss Bay, where special railway were constructed. During that time there were rapid works on the Leningrad metal plant on producing of three railway artillery mounts TM-1-14. The 356-mm guns from noncompleted battle cruiser "Ismail" were used for they. Such artillery mounts may shoot from special concrete platform on 360î. In November - December, 1933 the Battery # 6 of three guns TM-1-14 were delivered from Leningrad (the modern name is Saint Petersburg) to Vladivostok. Upto 1934 there were constructed the concrete platforms on the position "First River" in First RiverValley and prepared position "Damp Corner" in Explanation River Valley. There was used a former Vladivostok Fortress railway built in 1905 for the position "First River" but railway to the "Damp Corner" was constructed specially. The position "Egersheld" were built also. For possibility of rapid maneuver of the artillery mounts in 1933 - 1935 there were built special "Comrade Stalin" railway tunnel about 1.3 km length. In 1934 there were finished the producing of railway artillery mounts TM-2-12 on Nikolaev A. Marty State plant which formed the Batteries ## 7 and 8.

305/40-mm naval railway artillery mount TM-2-12
305/40-mm naval railway artillery mount TM-2-12. From collection of N.V. Gavrilkin

The artillery mounts from the Black Sea Navy former battle ships "St. Evstafyi" and "Ioann Zlatoust" and 305-mm gun barrels of 40 calibres length made in England by Wickers company in 1915 - 1917, were used for their producing. In the end of 1934 the Batteries ## 7 and 8 arrived in Vladivostok. Later, in 1935, the Battery # 8 was transferred to the new position near station Danube on the Eastern shore of the Ussuriisky Gulf.

Naval railway artillery mounts TM-2-12 in Vladivostok

Naval railway artillery mounts TM-2-12 at position "Egersheld" in Vladivostok (From the book by L.I. Amirkhanov "Naval Guns at the Railway. SPb., 1994")

During Second World War there were produced the new railway guns on a base of 130-mm guns B-13-2s in the Dalzavod, Vladivostok. They composed a new 222-nd Naval Artillery Railway Division. All railway batteries were united in 12-th Naval Railway Artillery Brigade. The heavy railway artillery mounts may almost adequate struggled against battle ships of possible enemy being really invulnerable because of their mobility. In August, 1945 130-mm guns of 222-nd division participated in the millitary actions against Japan on the land, operated in the region of railway station Grodekovo.

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