Canon de 75 modèle 1897

Canon de 75 mm Modèle 1897
Canon de 75 mm Modèle 1897
	Canon de 75 Modèle 1897 on display in Les Invalides
Type	Regimental artillery field gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1898–present; (still used as a saluting gun)
Used by	See § Users
Wars	Many conflicts, including: French colonial campaigns ; Boxer Rebellion ; World War I ; Polish–Soviet War ; Rif War ; Spanish Civil War ; Second Sino Japanese War ; World War II ;
Production history
Designer	Albert Deport; Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville; Emile Rimailho;
Designed	1891–1896
Manufacturer	Gov. arsenals: Puteaux ; Bourges ; Tarbes ; Saint-Étienne ;
Produced	1897–1940
No. built	21,000+
Variants	See § Variants and derivatives
Specifications
Mass	1,544 kg (3,404 lb)
Barrel length	8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) L/36
Width	2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Height	1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)
Crew	6
Shell	Fixed QF 75×350 mm R
Shell weight	List of shells HE:; 5.4 kg (12 lb) ; HEAT:; 5.97–7.25 kg (13.2–16.0 lb) ; Shrapnel:; 7.24 kg (16.0 lb) ;
Caliber	75 mm (2.95 in)
Breech	Nordenfelt eccentric screw
Recoil	Hydraulic
Carriage	Fixed trail; (Towed by 6 horse team,; or an artillery tractor)
Elevation	−11° / +18°
Traverse	6°
Rate of fire	Burst: 15–30 Rounds/min; (Dependent on crew training and fatigue); Sustained: 3–4 Rounds/min; (Dependent on rate of cooling);
Muzzle velocity	500 m/s (1,600 ft/s)
Effective firing range	HE: 8,500 m (9,300 yd); Shrapnel: 6,800 m (7,400 yd);
Maximum firing range	11,000 m (12,000 yd)

The French 75 mm field gun is a quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Canon de 75 mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and Soixante-Quinze (French for "seventy-five"). The French 75 was designed as an anti-personnel weapon system for delivering large volumes of time-fused shrapnel shells on enemy troops advancing in the open. After 1915 and the onset of trench warfare, impact-detonated high-explosive shells prevailed. By 1918, the 75 became the main agents of delivery for toxic gas shells. The 75s also became widely used as truck mounted anti-aircraft artillery. They were the main armament of the Saint-Chamond tank in 1918 and the Char 2C.

The French 75 is widely regarded as the first modern artillery piece. It was the first field gun to include a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism, which kept the gun's trail and wheels perfectly still during the firing sequence. Since it did not need to be re-aimed after each shot, the crew could reload and fire as soon as the barrel returned to its resting position. In typical use, the French 75 could deliver fifteen rounds per minute on its target, either shrapnel or melinite high-explosive, up to about 8,500 m (5.3 mi) away. Its firing rate could even reach close to 30 rounds per minute, albeit only for a very short time and with a highly experienced crew.

At the opening of World War I, in 1914, the French Army had about 4,000 of these field guns in service. By the end of the war, about 12,000 had been produced. It was also in service with the American Expeditionary Forces, which had been supplied with about 2,000 French 75 field guns. Several thousand were still in use in the French Army at the opening of World War II, updated with new wheels and tires to allow towing by trucks rather than by horses. The French 75 set the pattern for almost all early-20th century field pieces, with guns of mostly 75 mm forming the basis of many field artillery units into the early stages of World War II.