Canon de 155mm GPF

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Canon de 155 mm GPF mle 1917
155 mm GPF gun at US Army Ordnance Museum in travel position
Type	field gun, coastal artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1917-1945
Used by	France USA Nazi Germany Philippines
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Colonel L.J.F. Filloux
Specifications
Weight	13,000 kg (travelling)
Barrel length	5.915 m L/38.2

Shell	separate-loading, cased charge. 95 lb (43.1 kg)
Caliber	155 mm
Recoil	1.8m 10° to 1.1 28°
Carriage	split trail
Elevation	0° to +35°
Traverse	60°
Rate of fire	2 rpm
Muzzle velocity	735 m/s
Maximum range	19,500 m

US gun and crew, France 1918

The Canon de 155 mm Grande Puissance Filloux (GPF) mle 1917 is a 155 mm cannon used by the French Army during the first half of the 20th century. It was also used by the United States Army and United States Marine Corps as their primary heavy artillery gun under the designation 155 mm Gun M1917 or M1918 until 1942, when it was gradually replaced by the 155 mm M1A1 'Long Tom'. Associated US Army forces in the Far East (USAFFE) such as the 301st FA Regiment (Philippine Army) and the 86th FA Regiment (Philippine Scouts) also used this artillery piece in 1942. The gun was also mounted on a self-propelled mount as the M12 Gun Motor Carriage and saw action in 1944-45. These guns are famous as the type taken out by Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder's 2nd Ranger battalion near Pointe du Hoc.
In German service it was known as the 15.5 cm K 418(f) where it served with heavy artillery battalions and on coastal defense duties.

[edit] Sources

D-Day: The Greatest Invasion - A People's History Dan van der Vat, John S. D. Eisenhower, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, ISBN: 1582343144
http://www.landships.freeservers.com/new_pages/alby_155mm_gpf_kitreview.htm- Same site as below.
Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
Touzin, Pierre; Vauvillier, François (2006). Les Matériels de l'Armée Française: Les canons de la victoire, 1914-1918. Tome 1: L'Artillerie de Campagne. Paris: Histoire et Collections. ISBN 2-35250-022-2.
155-Millimeter Gun Materiel, Model of 1918 (Filloux). in "Handbook of artillery : including mobile, anti-aircraft and trench matériel (1920)" United States. Army. Ordnance Dept May 1920. Pages 229-245. provided online by University of California and www.archive.org