Mougin turret

The turrets were used at twenty-two forts of the Séré de Rivières system built in the 1870s.

The turret consists of two 155 mm guns under a bowl-shaped armor shield, sunk into the ground and surrounded by a thick concrete apron that protected the multi-level traverse and loading facilities below.

This reduces the chances of enemy fire hitting the guns, a small risk on a moving ship, but significant for a fixed fortification.

[4] Twenty-five turrets were built at a cost of 205,000 francs each, primarily at Commentry near Montluçon.

[5] A comparative evaluation between French Mougin turrets with de Bange guns and German Schumann-Gruson turrets with Krupp guns took place at Bucharest in 1883–84 under the supervision of Belgian General Henri Alexis Brialmont, who was then overseeing the design of the fortifications of Bucharest.

The trials at Cotroceni revealed that the French turrets were more reliable, and had a higher rate of fire, but the German guns were more accurate.

[4] The first two Mougin turrets were installed at the Fort de Giromagny on the eastern defensive curtain of France near Belfort.