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The Canone de 75 modèle 1897 is a French light field artillery piece developed before World War I and serving into World War II. It was commonly known as the Famous French 75, or at times simply the 75 mm Cannon. The French modèle in the designation is often shortened to mle.
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Development
The design was finalized by Commandant Deport, of Ateliers de Puteaux to start service in 1898, and built by the Schneider firm.
The "75 (soixante-quinze)" was based on the 90 mm caliber breech-loading, rifled De Bange Cannon. It fired a 5 kg high-explosive (HE) and shrapnel munition with a range of 5,500 meters to 8,500 meters.
The Famous French 75 introduced a new concept in artillery technology: quick firing. This consisted of a quick-action breech with an on-carriage recoil system and used single-piece ammunition rounds. This made the weapon vastly superior to all other artillery in the role of supporting infantry in the field. The 75mm had a rate of fire up to 20 shots per minute, due to a hydraulic mechanism and of an earth spade to reduce recoil. This meant that the cannon did not need to be relaid after firing, which otherwise consumed the gun crew's time. However, the gun was unable to elevate beyond 18 degrees, which meant that it could not be used for plunging fire.
The experience of US forces with this weapon led to its adoption by the U.S. Army after the war, and its production by U.S. arsenals. Battle experience with it and evaluation of the German 105mm weapon led to the design of the U.S 105 MM howitzer used in WWII, which employed a recoil system based upon that of the French 75, combined with the sliding breech and 105mm caliber of the German weapon, which was combined with the advantages conferred by the adoption of a "split trail" carriage. This U.S. 105 mm weapon performed signal service during WWII. The adoption of the new 105 mm howitzer by the U.S. freed up stocks of U.S. 75s, which the British happily accepted as Lend-Lease during WWII.
Operational history
French_75_gun_at_Cape_Helles_1915.jpg
As a mobile artillery piece it was used in large numbers during World War I. In 1914, France had approximately 1,100 guns of this design. It was versatile even as anti-aircraft gun with a 7.5-kg munition filled with shrapnel. The German army opposed it with the 77 Cannon with a similar design.
Despite obsolecense brought on by further developments in artiller design by World War II, large numbers were still available and they found their way into a number of unlikely places during the that war. Many were captured by Germany during the Fall of France in 1940. These were put to use a year later as an emergency measure against the Soviet Union's T-34 tank while better anti-tank guns were being deployed. The US Army had adopted the weapon upon its entry into World War I and also maintained stocks of the gun. One of the more ingenious uses for the old gun was its mounting upon B-25 Mitchell bombers for use against Japanese shipping.
Specifications
- Calibre: 75 mm / 2.95 inch
- Barrel length: 36 calibre / 2.7 m / 106 inch
- Action weight: 1160 kg / 2560 lb
- Elevation: -11 ° to +18 °
- Traverse: 6 °
- Ammunition: 7.24 kg / 15.9 lb shrapnel shell
- Muzzle velocity: 529 m/s / 1735 ft/s
- Maximum range: 8.5 km / 9300 yd
External links
- in French canon de 75 (http://canonde75.free.fr/)