75 mm Gun M1917

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

75 mm gun Model of 1917

Type	Field gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1918 - 1945
Used by	United States United Kingdom
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1917
Produced	1917
Specifications
Weight	995 lb (gun & breech) 2890 lb (total)
Barrel length	83.915 inch (bore) 88.21 inch (total)

Shell	16 lb (Shrapnel) 12.3 lb (HE)
Calibre	75 mm
Recoil	hydro - spring 45-49 inches
Carriage	wheeled, pole trail
Muzzle velocity	1693 ft/s (Shrapnel) 1900 ft/s (HE)
Effective range	6494 yds (Shrapnel) 8100 yds (HE short fuze) 7450 yds (HE long fuze)

The 75 mm Gun Model of 1917 (British) was an interim measure produced by the United States in World War I after it had decided to switch from 3-inch (76 mm) to 75 mm calibre for its field guns.

1 History
2 See also
3 Surviving examples
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The US decided early in World War I to switch from 3-inch (76 mm) to 75 mm calibre for its field guns. Its preferred gun for re-equipment was the French 75 mm Model of 1897, but early attempts to produce it in the US using US commercial mass-production techniques failed, partly due to delays in obtaining necessary French plans, and then their being incomplete or inaccurate, and partly because US industry was not equipped to work to Metric measurements.^[1] By 1917 US firms had produced 851 QF 18 pounders for export to Britain. Hence production of a 75 mm version offered a simple interim solution, being basically a copy of the British QF 18 pounder rechambered for French 75 mm ammunition, utilizating existing production capacity. It remains very similar to the 18 pounder, the main visible difference being a shorter barrel with straight muzzle.

The gun was developed too late to see action in World War I.

Early in World War II Britain lost many of its field guns in France, and the US transferred its large remaining stocks of the Model of 1917 to Britain where its similarity to the 18 pounder made it useful for British home defence and training needs.