75 mm Gun M1917
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| 75 mm gun Model of 1917 | |
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| 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) |
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| 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.
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[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.
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[edit] See also
[edit] Surviving examples
- "Minnie" is displayed at the United States Army Ordnance Museum, MD
- Imperial War Museum, Duxford, England
[edit] Notes
- ^ Brown 1920, Pages 50 - 56
[edit] References
- "Handbook of Artillery". US Ordnance Department. Document No. 2033. July 1921
- Sevellon Brown, The Story of Ordnance in the World War. Washington: James William Bryan Press, 1920
[edit] External links
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