203mm/50 Modèle 1924 gun

The 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 was a medium naval gun of the French Navy.

The type was used on the Duquesne and Suffren classes of heavy cruisers as main battery, mounted in four twin turrets weighing 180 tonnes each. The calibre of 203mm (8 inches) was characteristic of heavy cruisers built as a result of limitations imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.

Description
These guns used two bags each containing 23.5 kg of smokeless powder with a 123-kg projectile to achieve the stated maximum range at an elevation of 45 degrees. Each gun could fire approximately 4 to 5 rounds per minute. Range was somewhat less with the 134-kg M1936 APC (armour-piercing) shell.

The type was also mounted in a single twin turret aboard the Surcouf, which was designed as a submarine heavy cruiser intended to disrupt enemy supply lines. This flavour of the gun was fitted with mechanically actuated tampions to allow quick dive. These guns could open fire 2.5 minutes after surfacing and fire approximately 3 rounds per minute. Maximum elevation of 30 degrees limited maximum range to 28 km. These were the second largest guns carried by any submarine after to HMS M1 during the second world war.

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

 * BL 8 inch Mk VIII naval gun British equivalent
 * 20.3 cm SK C/34 Naval gun German equivalent
 * 203 mm /53 Italian naval gun Italian equivalent
 * 20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun Japanese equivalent
 * 8"/55 caliber gun United States equivalent