the guns of Obukhov ----------1895

the Obukhov Works---St Petersburg-- began supplying the Russian Empire with artillery in 1863---and continues as a major production facility 156 years later

Finland was a russian province for 111 years--the linked video documents working condition of an Obukov 305 mm fixed fortification gun at Kuivasaari



YouTube

The Obukhov State Plant is also known for it production of other military equipment and tanks starting with the T-18; a light tank based on the popular design of Renault.
During the siege of Leningrad (‎September 1941 – January 1944) the plant continued to make tank and guns. In the soviet propaganda film Nepobedimye (1943) one can see the T-34 tanks coming out of the plant, though I am not sure if indeed the Obukhov State Plant was making those, and it is not likely the film was made in Leningrad that was mostly sealed and starving at the time. But, of course, one cannot tell with incredible efforts at the time. Soviet union even organized the premiere of Shostakovich's Symphony No.7 on 9 August 1942 in Leningrad.

I hope not to digress too much from the main topic. The French built Russian battleship Tsesarevich shown in the last photo was a very advanced for the time design with electricity operated turrets and many other refinements. It is interesting to see the reverse-sloped tumblehome hull design. This type of design is seeing a comeback in recent years and is meant to reduce the ship's radars visibility; for example in the Zumwalt class destroyer of United States Navy. Of course in 1900 this was not a consideration as naval radar did not come into use until WW2 (though in a rudimentary form was built and demonstrated by Christian Hulsmeyer in 1904).

The factory pictures are wonderful. The use of white walls and ceilings coupled with all the windows and natural light make for a almost peaceful setting. I'll bet their lighting bill was nil.

Stuart

Some very neat lions shafting in those photo's. See the crane operator/maintenance guy looking down from the far end of the crane ?

Regards Tyrone.

Very impressive and remarkably clean and tidy shop.

Is that a ship's stern frame casting, with one end in the archway alongside the religious cabinet?

The overhead cranes are driven from the square shaft running above the lineshaft.

I suspect this may have formerly been the Abouchoff engineering, ordnance, and iron & steel works, established by Paul Abouchoff.

Easton & Anderson supplied a good number of large cranes to Abouchoff works in the 1880s, including a pair of 75 ton overhead cranes driven by square shaft (not the cranes in the photo), which could be coupled to lift 150 T, 60T wire-rope-driven cranes for the turnery, 60 ton Fairbairn-type steam crane for quenching gun barrels, 2x75T hand operated cranes stradding a dock, 60T steam crane serving steam hammer, etc.

In the first photograph, I wonder if the big slotting machine was built by Thomas Shanks of johnstone in Scotland, It looks suspiciously like one of their pattern of slotting machines.