Uragan Class Monitor - Armament

Armament

In their first eight years of operation the monitors were equipped with three different types of artillery pieces. Procurement efforts for all three types were started at the same time in 1863. An order was placed in 1863 with the Krupp factories in Germany for 9 inch smoothbore guns with steel barrels; these were initially used to arm the monitors.

At the same time, Artillery specialist Filemon N. Pestich was sent to America along with Artseulov and Lessovsky to acquire gun technology. He returned in 1864 with technology for the production of 15 inch smoothbore Dahlgren guns, the type in use on the American Passaics. A new gun factory was established in Petrozavodsk in Russian Karelia. Production of Dahlgren guns was immediately started at the Aleksandrovsk gun factory, with the first 15 inch gun cast on January 2, 1864, The first 15 inch guns were installed on the monitors by 1868, but they only became available for all ships in 1869. Unlike the American sister ships, mixed armaments of 15 inch and smaller guns were not used.

Also in 1863 development of a rifled gun started with the help of Krupp technology. The Obukhov State Plant was founded in St. Petersburg to produce guns based on Krupp designs. The new 9 inch Breech-loading rifled guns become known as the 229 mm cannon M1867. The ships were rearmed with these guns starting in 1873.

As the monitors were hulked in 1900 the rifled M1867 guns were removed; they later served as coastal artillery in Peter the Great's Naval Fortress. Some of the guns still exist on the seafortress of Suomenlinna in Helsinki.