| Canon de 75 modèle 1897 French 75 75 Soixante-Quinze | |
|---|---|
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| General Historical Information | |
| Place of origin: | France |
| Category: | Field Gun |
| Used by: |
France |
| Passengers: | 1 or 2 |
| Calibre: | 75 mm |
| Ammunition: | ↑ AP - Shrapnel ↓ HE |
| Elevation: | -11° to+ 18° |
| Traverse: | 6° |
| Rate of Fire: | 15 rpm |
| Maximum Range: | 11 km |
| Mobile: | Yes |
| Used by vehicles / ships: | Lorraine 37L Hauler (Towed) |
| Position 1: | Driver or gunner |
| Position 2: |
Gunner |
| Historical Picture | |
| |
During World War I the French 75' or, more formally, the Canon de 75 modèle 1897, passed into French national legend as the gun that enabled the French to win the war. It was famous even before 1914 as what may now be regarded as the first of all modern field artillery designs: it coupled a highly efficient recoil mechanism with a rapid-action breech design and a carriage that enabled hitherto unheard-of rates of fire to be maintained.By 1939 the 75 was rather past its
best, and was outranged by more
modern field gun designs, but the
French still had well over 4,500 of them
in front-line use. Other nations also had
the 75. The list of these nations is
long and included the USA (which
produced its own 75-mm M1897A2 and 75-mm M1897A4 versions), Poland (armata polowa wz 97/17), Portugal, many of the French colonies, some Baltic states, Greece, Romania, Ireland and many other nations.
The 75 has undergone some adaptation as a form of tank weapon, but it was to be left to the Americans to make the full development of this possibility when they later adapted the type as the main gun for their M3 and M4 tank series. In France the 75 was updated to Canon de 75 modèle 1897/33 standard with a new split trail carriage, but by 1939 there were few of these in service.
In the shambles of May and June
1940 huge numbers of 75s fell into the
hands of the Germans, who were only
too happy to use many of them for their
own purposes as the 7.5-cm FK 231(f)
or, more commonly, as the 7.5-cm FK
97(f). At first many were issued to
occupation garrisons and second-line
formations, while others were later incorporated
into the beach defences of
the Atlantic Wall. Many more were
stockpiled ready to be on hand when
some use could be found for them. That
came during 1941 when it was discovered
the hard way that the armour of
the T-34/76 Soviet tank was invulnerable
to nearly all the German anti-tank
weapons. As a hasty stopgap improvisation
the stockpiled 75s were taken
from the storerooms, fitted with strengthening
bands around the barrel and
placed on 5-cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun
carriages. A muzzle brake was fitted
and special armour-piercing (AP)
ammunition was hastily produced, the
results were rushed to the Eastern
Front and there they proved just capable
of tackling the Soviet tank armour.
This rushed improvisation was known
to the Germans as the 7.5-cm Pak 97/38
and was really too powerful for the light anti-tank gun carriage, but it
worked for the period until proper
anti-tank guns arrived on the scene,
The 7.5cm Pak 97/38 was not the
only war-time development of the 75,
for later the Americans developed the
75 to the stage where it could be carried
in North American B-25 bombers
as an anti-ship weapon.
Wz.1897/17[]
| Wz.1897/17 | |
|---|---|
| |
| General Historical Information | |
| Place of origin: | France |
| Category: | Field Gun |
| Used by: |
Poland |
| Passengers: | 1 or 2 |
| Calibre: | 75 mm |
| Ammunition: | ↑ AP - Shrapnel ↓ HE |
| Elevation: | -11° to+ 18° |
| Traverse: | 6° |
| Rate of Fire: | 15 rpm |
| Maximum Range: | 11 km |
| Mobile: | Yes |
| Position 1: | Driver or gunner |
| Position 2: |
Gunner |
| Historical Picture | |
| [[File:|300px]] | |
The French 75 was first brought to Poland in time for the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920, when Germany invaded in 1939 it was the most common artillery piece with 1374 guns in service. The second most common field gun were Russian Putilov guns that were rechambered to fire the same ammunition, resulting in the Wz. 1902/26. The Wz.1897/17 is a versatile gun that can use multiple types of shells, AP, Shrapnel or HE. It can be towed by the C7P. An model of an older carriage for the same gun is used in the Battle of Ilza.
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