75 mm gun (US)
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A number of 75 mm guns were fielded for service by the United States in World War II, in both the Army and the Marine Corps.
There were two lines, howitzers that could trace their design back to the First World War and a series of guns that equipped the American tanks during the Second World War.
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[edit] 75 mm howitzer
The howitzers came from a need for a gun that could be moved across difficult country. The gun and carriage was designed so that it could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by mule or similar pack animal.
[edit] M1
Short barrel (16 calibres) pack howitzer gun.
- Rate of fire: 25 rounds per minute
- Muzzle velocity: 1,250 ft/s (380 m/s)
- Range: 9,610 yards (8790 m)
- Shell: 6.3 kg
[edit] M2
M1 howitzer gun converted for use on the Howitzer Motor Carriage M8, a Stuart tank conversion, and by use of the same turret on the LVT in Marine Corps
[edit] M3
A new build howitzer gun as used on the HMC M8.
[edit] M8
A specially modified pack howitzer (carriage and gun) designed to be airportable. Either parachuted in sections or, as with British practice, delivered whole to the battlefield by Horsa glider. It replaced the 3.75 inch howitzer in use with the British airborne units and was used at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden.
- Overall length: 12 ft 0 in (3.7 m)
- Width: 3 ft 11 in (1.2 m)
- Height: 2 ft 10 in (864 mm)
- Weight: 1339 lb (607 kg)
- Elevation: -5° to +45°
- Maximum range : 9,760 yd (8920 m)
- Rate of fire : 3 to 6 round/min
[edit] 75 mm gun
The American army fielded two medium tanks in World War 2, the M3 and the M4, both of which used the 75 mm gun. The gun was also used to equip the Light Tank M24 and the B-25 Mitchell bomber. The gun was designed to have both powerful HE projectile and good anti-tank capability, however from the middle of the war it was no longer effective in the anti-tank role.
[edit] M2
A version used on early M3 medium tanks.
- Barrel length: 31 calibres
- Muzzle velocity: 588 m/s
- Shell weight (M72 AP): 6.32 kg
- Armour penetration (M72 AP shell, 457 m, at 30 degrees): 60 mm
[edit] M3
Longer derivative of the M2. Equipped American and British vehicles such as the M4 Sherman, the later models of the M3 Grant and the Churchill IV (scavenged from M4 Sherman tanks). US Army also experimented with mounting of the M3 on various wheeled carriages for use as anti-tank gun, but the program was cancelled due to lack of requirement[1].
- Barrel length: 40 calibres (3 m)
- Muzzle velocity: 619 m/s
- Shell weight (M72 AP): 6.32 kg
- Armour penetration (M72 AP shell, 457 m, at 30 degrees): 76 mm
To gain the benefits of the 75 mm gun, particularly its HE shell, the British designed their OQF 75 mm to take the same rounds giving both their main tanks, the Sherman and Cromwell the same ammunition.
[edit] T13E1 / M5
A lightweight version with thin wall barrel and different recoil mechanism. Was used in the B-25H Mitchell bomber. Same ammunition and ballistics as M3.
[edit] M6
A version derived from the T13E1 for the M24 Chaffee light tank.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 8-9
[edit] References
- Zaloga, Steven J., Brian Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45 (2005) Osprey Publishing (New Vanguard 107), ISBN 1-84176-690-9.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
| United States artillery of World War II |
|---|
| Tank guns |
| 37 mm M5/M6 | 75 mm M2/M3/M6 | 76 mm M1 | 3in M7 | 90 mm M3 |
| Anti-tank guns |
| 37 mm M3 | 57 mm M1 | 3in M5 |
| Field, Medium and Heavy guns |
| 75 mm M1/M116 | 105 mm M2/M101 | 105 mm M3 155 mm M1/M114 | 155 mm M1/M2/M59 "Long Tom" | 203 mm M1/M2/M115 |
| Other vehicle mounted |
| 75 mm M2/M3 | 105 mm M1/M2 | 105 mm M4 | 155 mm M1918M1 | 155 mm M2 |
| Anti-aircraft guns |
| 37 mm M1 | 40 mm M1 | 3in M3 | 90 mm M1 |
