The Black Elephant
***
Of all the endeavours
of the Russian Empire, few can match the history of the 'Black
Elephant' in their folly or queerness.
Her history began in
those difficult days that were the late 1870's. With the Great Game
in full swing, the Bear looked in all directions for something to
overcome the Lion's advantageous position. More-so than any other
departure, they turned to recent advances in the science of warfare
in an effort to level the playing field.
In complete secrecy,
dozens of projects were commenced, of which only a handful come to
fruition. Among these was the 'Black Elephant'; a self-propelled gun
carriage.
Powered by a compact
double-expansion engine and running a pair of 'endless tracks' she
was able to travel at up to five miles-per-hour without assistance,
and without need for a railway or even a paved road.
Her armament consisted
of a 6” breech-loading naval rifle with enough shells and charges
stowed aboard for it to be fired a dozen times. This was housed
within an ironclad shell of a thickness quite able to protect the
crew from all manners of musketry, as well as the fragments of
explosive shells.
Furthermore, for
protection against roving cavalry and sappers the machine was armed
with a Gorlov machine-gun, housed within a rotating turret of the
kind seen on a warship.
By design, the 'Black
Elephant' was a machine that represented the very state-of-the-art of
warlike science in its time. A prototype was construed and underwent
extensive clandestine trials in the autumn of 1879. And by the end of these the machine had left a greatly positive impression, winning a her designers a
contract for the construction of fourteen additional armoured gun
carriages, for a total of fifteen machines.
Despite substantial
delays, construction was completed by early 1882. Twelve of the
machines were deployed in defence of major cities and military
installations in Russia's western provinces; but a far more devious
plan was hatched for final three.
***
Continue to Part 2... (Coming Soon)
The Lead Tally - 2014
Acquired: +55 Painted: +23 Total: -32
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