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78-512: Many attempts had been made at developing breech-loading cannons, but had only partial success sealing of the breech. When fired, hot gases and burning gunpowder could escape, losing power and potentially burning the operating crew. Rifles, with smaller loads and thus less stress, were able to use rubber in O-rings as on the Chassepot rifle . The same principle of breech sealing applied on cannons

156-751: A Coventry Ordnance Works mounting, the "Centre Trunnion". At the Armistice there were 29 guns in service in Britain. In June 1940, with many British field guns lost in the Battle of France , 895 M1897 field guns and a million rounds of ammunition were purchased from the U.S. Army. For political purposes, the sale to the British Purchasing Commission was made through the US Steel Corporation . The basic, unmodified gun

234-645: A muzzle brake and mounted on a 5 cm Pak 38 carriage, now named 7.5 cm Pak 97/38 they were used by the Wehrmacht in 1942 as an emergency weapon against the Soviet Union's T-34 and KV tanks. Its relatively low velocity and a lack of modern armor-piercing ammunition limited its effectiveness as an anti-tank weapon. When the German 7.5 cm Pak 40 became available in sufficient numbers, most remaining Pak 97/38 pieces were returned to occupied France to reinforce

312-711: A French 75 named "Bridget" which is preserved today at the United States Army Ordnance Museum . During his service with the American Expeditionary Forces , Captain (and future U.S. President) Harry S. Truman commanded a battery of French 75s. By the early 1930s, the only U.S. artillery units that remained horse-drawn were those assigned to infantry and cavalry divisions. During the 1930s, most M1897A2 and A3 (French made) and M1897A4 (American made) guns were subsequently modernized for towing behind trucks by mounting it on

390-551: A brass case which was ejected when the breech was manually opened. Semi-automatic breech opening and shell ejection during recoil and return had not been developed yet. The French 75 introduced a new concept in artillery technology: rapid firing without realigning the gun after each shot. Older artillery had to be resighted after each shot in order to stay on target, and thus fired no more than two aimed shots per minute. The French 75 easily delivered fifteen aimed rounds per minute and could fire even faster for short periods of time, but

468-687: A firm named Gruson , which searched for potential buyers. After reviewing the blueprints in February 1892, the French artillery engineers advised that a gun should be produced without purchasing the Haussner invention. Accordingly, General Mathieu turned to Lt. Colonel Joseph-Albert Deport , at the time the Director of the Atelier de Construction de Puteaux (APX), and asked him whether he could construct

546-550: A gun on the general principle of the Haussner long-cylinder recoil without infringing the existing patents. After it was judged possible, a formal request was sent out on 13 July 1892. It took five more years under the overall leadership of Mathieu's successor, General Deloye, to perfect and finally adopt in March 1898 an improved and final version of the Deport 75 mm long-recoil field gun. Various deceptions, some of them linked to

624-479: A license) by the Krupp company on their breech-loaders . In 1872, de Bange designed the de Bange system , a new type of obturating ring for breech-loading artillery pieces. His system utilized the same general principle devised by Andrew Hotchkiss ca. 1855 for his rifled muzzle-loading projectiles, where two parts of the shell squeezed a soft (in that case lead) ring under the pressure of gunpowder fumes to obturate

702-444: A new model. That new plan was abandoned after the 1920s budget cuts. However, a few Mle 1897 guns were modernized between the wars. The Rif War showed the vulnerability of the crew against snipers during guerilla operations. The roues métalliques DAG , solid metallic wheels, were developed in the late 1920s to offer more protection to the crew, although they were very noisy during movements. They were mostly sent to units serving in

780-455: A new split-trail carriage. In addition to the new carriage the Mle 1897/33 had a new gun shield, pneumatic tires, sprung suspension, and the wheels "toed in" when the trails were spread. The new carriage offered higher angles of traverse and elevation than the earlier box-trail carriage. However, the Mle 1897/33 was inferior to the new Canon de 105 C Mle 1935 B that used the same carriage, so it

858-455: A number of "autocanon de 75 mm mle 1913" anti-aircraft guns, as a stopgap measure while it developed its own anti-aircraft alternatives. They were used in the defence of Britain, usually mounted on de Dion motor lorries using the French mounting which the British referred to as the "Breech Trunnion". Britain also purchased a number of the standard 75 mm guns and adapted them for AA use using

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936-646: A number of unlikely places. A substantial number had been delivered to Poland in 1919–20, together with infantry ordnance, in order to fight in the Polish-Soviet War . They were known as 75 mm armata wz.1897 . In 1939 the Polish army had 1,374 of these guns, making it by far the most numerous artillery piece in Polish service. Many were captured by Germany during the Fall of France in 1940, in addition to Polish guns captured in 1939. Over 3,500 were modified with

1014-447: A second cylinder placed underneath. That second cylinder contained a freely floating piston which separated the surging oil from a confined volume of compressed air. During the barrel's recoil the floating piston was forced forward by the oil, compressing the air even further. This action absorbed the recoil progressively as the internal air pressure rose and, at the end of recoil, generated a strong but decreasing back pressure that returned

1092-594: A similar system to the Prussian Dreyse needle gun , became the French service weapon on 30 August 1866. In the following year it made its first appearance at the Battle of Mentana on 3 November 1867, where it inflicted severe losses upon Giuseppe Garibaldi 's troops. It was reported at the French Parliament that " Les Chassepots ont fait merveille! ", ("The Chassepots have done wonderfully!") The heavy cylindrical lead bullets fired at high velocity by

1170-663: A single minute, with devastating results. Because of the gun's traversing ability, the greater the distance to the enemy concentration, the wider the area that could be swept. Each Mle 1897 75 mm field gun battery of 4 guns consisted of 170 men led by four officers recruited among graduates of engineering schools. Enlisted men from the countryside were given charge of the six horses that pulled each gun and its first limber. Another six horses pulled each additional limber and caisson which were assigned to each gun. A battery included 160 horses, most of them pulling ammunition as well as repair and supply caissons. The French artillery entered

1248-570: A smaller caliber (11 mm vs. 15.4 for the Dreyse), the Chassepot ammunition had more gunpowder (5.68 grams vs 4.85 grams), resulting in higher muzzle velocity (436 meters per second, 33% over the Dreyse), a flatter trajectory and a longer range. Thus the sights on the Chassepot could be elevated up to 1,600 meters, while the maximum sight setting of the Dreyse was only 600 meters. The Chassepot had

1326-667: A stable platform. Bringing down the wheel anchors tied to the braking system was called " abattage ". The gun could not be elevated beyond eighteen degrees, unless the trail spade had been deeply dug into the ground; however, the 75 mm field gun was not designed for plunging fire . The gun could be traversed laterally 3 degrees to the sides by sliding the trail on the wheel's axle. Progressive traversing together with small changes in elevation could be carried out while continuously firing, called " fauchage " or "sweeping fire". A four-gun battery firing shrapnel could deliver 17,000 ball projectiles over an area 100 metres wide by 400 metres long in

1404-594: A weight of 4.1 kg versus 4.57 kg for the needle-fire rifle. It was also shorter (1310 mm vs. 1424 mm). After the war, 20,000 captured Chassepot rifles were sold to the Shah of the Persian Qajar dynasty . In 1872 the Empire of Brazil purchased 8631 Chassepots; after being faced with a possible war involving Argentine claims over Paraguay. The weapons, however, were never officially distributed to

1482-520: The Atlantic Wall defenses or were supplied to Axis nations like Romania (PAK 97/38) and Hungary. Non-modified remainders were used as second-line and coastal artillery pieces under the German designation 7.5 cm FK 231(f) and 7,5 cm FK 97(p) . The few 60 Mle 1897/33s captured by the Germans were given the designation 7.5 cm K232(f) . In 1915 Britain acquired

1560-620: The De Bange 240 mm and De Bange 270 mm . Several of these weapons were used during the colonial wars of the end of the 19th century, during the First World War and also sometimes during the Second World War . As with other cannons, the de Bange cannons had the disadvantage of being slow to fire, as they were affected by recoil , and thus had to be re-aimed after every shot. This inconvenience would be solved with

1638-414: The De Bange 90 mm cannon ( field artillery , 1877), the De Bange 80 mm cannon ( mountain artillery , 1878), the De Bange 120 mm L cannon (siege artillery, 1878), De Bange 155 mm L cannon (siege artillery, 1877), De Bange 155 mm C howitzer (siege artillery, 1881), as well as mortars for siege warfare, such as the 1880 De Bange 220 mm mortar , 1885 De Bange 270 mm and coastal batteries such as

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1716-460: The Dreyfus Case which erupted in 1894, had been implemented by Deloye and French counter-intelligence to distract German espionage. The final experimental version of Deport's 75 mm field gun was tested during the summer of 1894 and judged very promising. Extensive trials, however, revealed that it was still prone to hydraulic fluid leakage from the long-recoil mechanism. The Deport 75

1794-908: The French Navy ), in Belgium (Liege), and in Italy at Brescia (by Glisenti ). The approximate number of Chassepot rifles available to the French Army in July 1870 was 1,037,555 units. Additionally, state manufacturies could deliver 30,000 new rifles monthly. Gun manufacturers in England and Austria also produced Chassepot rifles to support the French war effort. The Josef und Franz Werndl & Co. in Steyr , Austria delivered 12,000 Chassepot carbines and 100,000 parts to France in 1871. Manufacturing of

1872-500: The Kingdom of Saxony and of the Kingdom of Bavaria . Others were disposed of "as is" with British surplus dealers. In most but not all, the French receiver markings on these German-captured Chassepot rifles had been erased. Canon de 75 mod%C3%A8le 1897 The French 75 mm field gun is a quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75 mm Mle 1897 . It

1950-708: The Welin breech block of 1889, which greatly increased the load-bearing surface of the breech, allowing them to be made shorter, simpler, more secure and faster to operate. Other block mechanisms are also used, but the de Bange obturator remains widespread even on these. In 1873, de Bange became Director of the "Atelier-de-précision" in the Central Depot in Paris (Paris arsenal's precision workshop), in order to redesign French light and heavy artillery. Between 1877 and 1881, de Bange developed several artillery pieces, such as

2028-414: The plateforme Arbel Mle 1935 . Mounted on that platform, the Mle 1897 gun could now quickly traverse to engage enemy tanks. During this period number of the guns entered Irish service being sourced from Britain. Despite obsolescence brought on by new developments in artillery design, large numbers of 75s were still in use in 1939 (4,500 in the French Army alone), and they eventually found their way into

2106-681: The 57 and 75 that would emerge was the recoil system. But even before the 57 entered testing, in 1890 General Mathieu, Director of Artillery at the Ministry of War , had been informed that Konrad Haussner, a German engineer working at the Ingolstadt arsenal, had patented an oil-and-compressed-air long-recoil system. They also learned that Krupp was considering introducing the system after testing it. Krupp would later reject Haussner's invention, due to insoluble technical problems caused by hydraulic fluid leakage. In 1891 Haussner sold his patents to

2184-573: The 75 batteries became the carriers of choice to deliver toxic gas shells, including mustard gas and phosgene . The French Army had to wait until early 1917 to receive in numbers fast-firing heavy artillery equipped with hydraulic recoil brakes (e.g. the 155 mm Schneider howitzer and the long-range Canon de 155 mm GPF ). In the meantime it had to do with a total of about four thousand de Bange 90 mm, 120 mm and 155 mm field and converted fortress guns, all without recoil brakes, that were effective but inferior in rate of fire to

2262-625: The Army, since the decision to buy the Comblain had already been made and because of issue with the cartridge's reliability. The weapons ended their career in deposit or were handed over to police forces and shooting clubs. Some of these weapons were possibly used by rebels during the War of Canudos , they may have been captured from the Bahia police after the engagement at Maceté. Chassepots were used during

2340-783: The British in Italy and in small numbers in Northern Europe until the end of the war. Many others were used for training until 1942. The 75 mm M2 and M3 tank guns of the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman Medium tanks, the 75 mm M6 tank gun of the M24 Chaffee light tank and the 75 mm gun of the -G and -H subtypes of the B-25 Mitchell bomber all used the same ammunition as the M1897. The 75 mm Pack Howitzer M1 used

2418-402: The British received 170 American half-track M3 gun motor carriage which mounted a 75 mm; they used these in Italy and Northern Europe until the end of the war as fire-support vehicles in armoured car regiments . Romania had a considerable number of World War I guns of 75 mm and 76.2 mm. Some models were modernized at Resita works in 1935 including French md. 1897. The upgrade

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2496-542: The Chassepot rifle ended in February 1875, four years after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, with approximately 700,000 more Chassepot rifles made between September 1871 and July 1874. The Chassepot was named after its inventor, Antoine Alphonse Chassepot (1833–1905), who, from the mid-1850s onwards, had constructed various experimental forms of breech loaders. The first two models of the Chassepot still used percussion cap ignition. The third model, using

2574-563: The Chassepot rifle inflicted wounds that were even worse than those of the Minié rifle . By 1868, the entire French active army had been re-armed with the Chassepot. In the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), the Chassepot met its Prussian counterpart, the Dreyse needle-fire rifle. The Chassepot had several advantages over the Dreyse. It featured a rubber obturator on its bolt head to provide a more efficient gas-seal. Although it fired

2652-465: The Chassepot rifle. Nearly all rifles of the older Chassepot model (Mle 1866) remaining in store were eventually converted to take the 11 mm Gras metallic cartridge ammunition ( fusil Modèle 1866/74). About 665,327 Chassepot rifles had been captured by the German coalition that defeated France in 1871. Large numbers of these captured Chassepot rifles were shortened and converted to 11 mm Mauser metallic cartridge. It served with cavalry units of

2730-604: The Federalist Revolution and by the rebels of the 1923 revolution in Rio Grande do Sul. In June 1880, some 40 1866 Chassepots with a few bayonets were delivered to the port of Buenos Aires. Those Chassepots were of 11mm calibre and were possibly rechambered for the Gras cartridge (They were delivered together with Gras rifles in a shipment of 450 weapons). Surplus Chassepot were exported to China . Some of

2808-520: The French 75 was assembled by the automobile firm of De Dion-Bouton and adopted in 1913. The total production of 75 mm shells during World War I exceeded 200 million rounds, mostly by private industry. In order to increase shell production from 20,000 rounds per day to 100,000 in 1915, the government turned to civilian contractors, and, as a result, shell quality deteriorated. This led to an epidemic of burst barrels which afflicted 75 mm artillery during 1915. Colonel Sainte-Claire Deville corrected

2886-610: The French victories that ensued, was seen as significant. In the case of Verdun, over 1,000 French 75s (250 batteries) were constantly in action, night and day, on the battlefield during a period of nearly nine months. The total consumption of 75 mm shells at Verdun during the period February 21 to September 30, 1916, is documented by the public record at the Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre to have been in excess of 16 million rounds, or nearly 70% of all shells fired by French artillery during that battle. The French 75

2964-866: The M2A1 105 mm M101 split-trail Howitzer ; some were removed from their towed carriages and installed on the M3 Half-Track as the M3 gun motor carriage (GMC) tank destroyers . M3 GMCs were used in the Pacific theater during the Battle for the Philippines and by Marine Regimental Weapons Companies until 1944. The M3 GMC also formed the equipment of the early American tank destroyer battalions during operations in North Africa and Italy, and continued in use with

3042-604: The North African colonies. From 1928, the French Army also adopted bogies to enable transport by motor vehicles, such as the Citroën-Kégresse P17 . Mounted on the bogies, the guns could be towed at a maximum speed of 30 km/h on the road but the removal of the bogies was complicated. A more modern version of the Mle 1897, the Canon de 75 Mle 1897/33 , mounted the original barrel and recoil mechanism on

3120-537: The appearance of the famous Canon de 75 , that had a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism, which kept the gun's trail and wheels perfectly still during the firing sequence. However, there were two howitzers the Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 and Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 with de Bange breeches and recoil mechanisms designed by Captain Louis Henry Auguste Baquet. From 1882 to 1889, de Bange

3198-425: The barrel (see Rotation of ammunition ), and used a breech block made of three parts; an interrupted screw locking mechanism at the rear, a doughnut-shaped grease-impregnated asbestos pad that sealed the breech, and a rounded movable "nose cone" at the front. When the gun fired, the nose was driven rearward, compressing the asbestos pad and squeezing it so it expanded outward to seal the breech. The French referred to

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3276-525: The barrel returned to its resting position. In typical use the French 75 could deliver fifteen rounds per minute on its target, either shrapnel or melinite high-explosive , up to about 8,500 m (5.3 mi) away. Its firing rate could even reach close to 30 rounds per minute, albeit only for a very short time and with a highly experienced crew. At the opening of World War I, in 1914, the French Army had about 4,000 of these field guns in service. By

3354-611: The basis of many field artillery units into the early stages of World War II. The forerunner of the French 75 was an experimental 57 mm gun which was first assembled in September 1891 at the Bourges arsenal under the direction of Captain Sainte-Claire Deville. This 57 mm gun took advantage of a number of the most advanced artillery technologies available at the time: The only major design difference between

3432-854: The battlefields of France in November 1918. Manufacture of the French 75 by American industry began in the spring of 1918 and quickly built up to an accelerated pace. Carriages were built by Willys-Overland , the hydro-pneumatic recuperators by Singer Manufacturing Company and Rock Island Arsenal , the cannon itself by Symington-Anderson and Wisconsin Gun Company. American industry built 1,050 French 75s during World War I, but only 143 had been shipped to France by 11 November 1918; most American batteries used French-built 75s in action. The first U.S. artillery shots in action in World War I were fired by Battery C, 6th Field Artillery on October 23, 1917, with

3510-513: The breech when the shot was fired. This simple yet effective technology was successfully adapted to artillery in 1877 by Colonel de Bange , who invented grease-impregnated asbestos pads to seal the breech of his new cannons (the De Bange system). The Chassepot used a paper cartridge that many refer to as 'combustible', although in reality it was quite the opposite. It held an 11 mm (0.433 in) round-headed cylindro-conoidal lead bullet that

3588-411: The demands of trench warfare. In 1918, a boat-tailed shell (with a superior ballistic coefficient ) which could reach 11,000 metres (12,000 yd) was deployed for use during the latter part of the war. Developed through French artillery research, it increased the effective range of the French 75 by about thirty-eight percent. Every shell, whether it be a high-explosive or shrapnel shell, was fixed to

3666-466: The end of the war about 12,000 had been produced. It was also in service with the American Expeditionary Forces , which had been supplied with about 2,000 French 75 field guns. Several thousand were still in use in the French Army at the opening of World War II , updated with new wheels and tires to allow towing by trucks rather than by horses. The French 75 set the pattern for almost all early-20th century field pieces, with guns of mostly 75 mm forming

3744-480: The first time during the Bastille Day parade of 14 July 1899. The gun's barrel slid back on rollers, including a set at the muzzle, when the shot was fired. The barrel was attached near the breech to a piston rod extending into an oil-filled cylinder placed just underneath the gun. When the barrel recoiled, the piston was pulled back by the barrel's recoil and thus pushed the oil through a small orifice and into

3822-422: The gun forward to its original position. The smoothness of this system had no equal in 1897, and for at least another ten years. Each recoil cycle on the French 75, including the return forward, lasted about two seconds, permitting a maximum theoretical firing rate of about 30 rounds per minute. At the beginning in 1914, the French 75 fired two main types of shells, both with high muzzle velocities (535 m/s for

3900-432: The long-term sustained rate was 3-4 rounds per minute as more than this would overheat the barrel. This rate of fire, the gun's accuracy, and the lethality of the ammunition against personnel, made the French 75 superior to all other regimental field artillery at the time. When made ready for action, the first shot buried the trail spade and the two wheel anchors into the ground, following which all other shots were fired from

3978-514: The main armament of the Saint-Chamond tank in 1918 and the Char 2c . The French 75 is widely regarded as the first modern artillery piece. It was the first field gun to include a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism , which kept the gun's trail and wheels perfectly still during the firing sequence. Since it did not need to be re-aimed after each shot, the crew could reload and fire as soon as

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4056-484: The modern carriage M2A3 which featured a split trail , pneumatic rubber tires allowing towing at any speed, an elevation limit increased to 45 degrees, and traverse increased to 30 degrees left and right. Along with new ammunition, these features increased the effective range and allowed the gun to be used as an anti-tank gun, in which form it equipped the first tank destroyer battalions. In 1941, these guns began to become surplus when they were gradually being replaced by

4134-432: The more modern German heavy artillery. During the interwar, the French army kept the Mle 1897 in service and it continued to be the main gun of the French field artillery. The surplus guns were soon sold to allied countries. Upgrades were considered in the 1920s, such as the use of a split trail carriages. The prototypes were satisfactory but the French Army decided not to fund the improvements, choosing instead to develop

4212-548: The problem, which was due to microfissures in the bases of the shells, due to shortcuts in manufacturing. Shell quality was restored by September 1915, but never to the full exacting standards of pre-war manufacture. The French 75 gave its best performances during the Battle of the Marne in August–September 1914 and at Verdun in 1916. At the time the contribution of 75 mm artillery to these military successes, and thus to

4290-561: The range from 8.5 km to 11.2 km and a rate of fire of 20 rounds/minute. During World War 2 these guns also used Costinescu 75 mm anti-tank round. These upgraded field guns were used in all infantry divisions in World War II. The U.S. Army adopted the French 75 mm field gun during World War I and used it extensively in battle. The U.S. designation of the basic weapon was 75 mm Gun M1897 . There were 480 American 75 mm field gun batteries (over 1,900 guns) on

4368-417: The recoil system, even under the worst field conditions. Captain Sainte-Claire Deville also designed important additional features, such as a device for piercing the fuzes of shrapnel shells automatically during the firing sequence (an "automatic fuze-setter"), thus selecting the desired bursting distance. The independent sight had also been perfected for easy field use by the crews, and a nickel-steel shield

4446-584: The same projectiles fired from a smaller 75×272R case. The Canon de 75 modèle 1897 is still used in France as a saluting gun . When the French Army discarded its 105 HM2 howitzers to replace them with MO-120-RT mortars, only 155 mm artillery pieces remained, for which no blank cartridges were available. The Army then recommissioned two Canon de 75 modèle 1897, then located at the Musée de l'Artillerie de Draguignan. They are used for State ceremonies. The 75

4524-434: The shape of the breech's nose as "mushroom like", as it resembled the cap of a mushroom . The action was controlled by a handle, normally mounted vertically on the right side of the breech. When lifted, the handle operated a cam that forced the breech to rotate counter-clockwise, unlocking the interrupted thread. The entire breech was then pulled rearward with the same handle, sliding on a ring-shaped holder. The breech holder

4602-410: The shrapnel shell) and a maximum range of 8,500 metres. Their relatively flat trajectories extended all the way to the designated targets. French 75 shells, at least initially in 1914, were essentially anti-personnel . They had been designed for the specific purpose of inflicting maximum casualties on enemy troops stationing or advancing in the open. Several new shells and fuses were introduced due to

4680-568: The war in August 1914 with more than 4,000 Mle 1897 75 mm field guns (1,000 batteries of four guns each). Over 17,500 Mle 1897 75 mm field guns were produced during World War I, over and above the 4,100 French 75s which were already deployed by the French Army in August 1914. All the essential parts, including the gun's barrel and the oleo-pneumatic recoil mechanisms were manufactured by French State arsenals: Puteaux, Bourges, Châtellerault and St Etienne. A truck-mounted anti-aircraft version of

4758-468: The warriors of the Ethiopian Empire were equipped with Chassepot rifles during the first Italo-Ethiopian War of 1896. The breech was closed by a bolt similar to those of more modern rifles. Amongst the technical features of interest introduced in 1866 on the Chassepot rifle was the method of obturation of the bolt by a segmented rubber ring which expanded under gas pressure and thus sealed

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4836-630: Was Director of the Cail Manufacturing Corporation ( Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Cail ), the forerunner of the Société française de constructions mécaniques , where he worked on weapon design and trade, selling guns to such countries as Serbia . A street is named after him ( Rue du Colonel de Bange ) in the city of Versailles . Chassepot rifle The Chassepot (pronounced / ˈ ʃ æ s p oʊ / SHAS-poh ), officially known as Fusil modèle 1866 ,

4914-466: Was a bolt-action military breechloading rifle . It is famous for having been the arm of the French forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It replaced an assortment of Minié muzzleloading rifles, many of which were converted in 1864 to breech loading (the Tabatière rifles ). An improvement to existing military rifles in 1866, the Chassepot marked the commencement of the era of modern bolt action, breech-loading military rifles. The Gras rifle

4992-419: Was a devastating anti-personnel weapon against waves of infantry attacking in the open, as at the Marne and Verdun. However, its shells were comparatively light and lacked the power to obliterate trench works, concrete bunkers and deeply buried shelters. Thus, with time, the French 75 batteries became routinely used to cut corridors with high-explosive shells, across the belts of German barbed wire . After 1916,

5070-428: Was a leakproof hydro-pneumatic long-recoil mechanism which they named "Frein II" (Brake # II). A major improvement was the placement of improved silver-alloy rings on the freely moving piston which separated the compressed air and the hydraulic fluid inside the main hydro-pneumatic recoil cylinder. These and other modifications achieved the desired result: the long-term retention of hydraulic fluid and compressed air inside

5148-408: Was added to protect the gunners. The armored caissons were designed to be tilted in order to present the shells horizontally to the crews. The wheel brakes could be swung under each wheel ("abattage"), and, together with the trail spade, they immobilized the gun during firing. The gun was officially adopted on 28 March 1898 under the name " Matériel de 75 mm Mle 1 897 ". The public saw it for

5226-409: Was also innovatively used to mitigate avalanche risk at Alta Ski Area by Monty Atwater after returning from service in WWII. Using artillery and explosives then became the state of the art for avalanche mitigation, and Alta, as a world-renowned home of avalanche research, used this tool for 75 years until it was retired in favor of more modern, effective, and safe techniques after the 2023 ski season. It

5304-439: Was an adaption of the Chassepot designed to fire metallic cartridges introduced in 1874. It was manufactured by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS), Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault (MAC), Manufacture d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) and, until 1870, in the Manufacture d'Armes de Mutzig in the former Château des Rohan . Many were also manufactured under contract in England (the "Potts et Hunts" Chassepots delivered to

5382-526: Was commonly known as the French 75 , simply the 75 and Soixante-Quinze (French for "seventy-five"). The French 75 was designed as an anti-personnel weapon system for delivering large volumes of time-fused shrapnel shells on enemy troops advancing in the open. After 1915 and the onset of trench warfare , impact-detonated high-explosive shells prevailed. By 1918 the 75s became the main agents of delivery for toxic gas shells . The 75s also became widely used as truck mounted anti-aircraft artillery . They were

5460-405: Was easily replaced in the field by infantrymen. The older Dreyse needle gun and its cartridge had been designed to minimize those problems but to the detriment of its ballistic properties. To correct this problem the Chassepot was replaced in 1874 by the Gras rifle which used a centerfire drawn brass metallic cartridge. Otherwise, the Gras rifle was basically identical in outward appearance to

5538-413: Was hinged on one side, normally the left, so when the breech block was slid all the way to the rear it could be rotated out of the way for loading. The de Bange system was widely adopted, including by the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy . The technique developed by de Bange is still in use. The only major advance on the original de Bange system was the introduction of the stepped screw in

5616-509: Was known in British service as "Ordnance, QF, 75 mm Mk 1", although many of the guns were issued to units on converted or updated mountings. They were operated by field artillery and anti-tank units. Some of the guns had their wheels and part of their carriages cut away so that they could be mounted on a pedestal called a "Mounting, 75 mm Mk 1". These weapons were employed as light coastal artillery and were not declared obsolete until March 1945. During World War II through Lend Lease ,

5694-409: Was made with removable barrels. Several types of guns of close caliber were barreled to use the best ammunition available for 75 mm caliber, explosive projectile model 1917 "Schneider". The new barrel was made of steel alloy with chrome and nickel with excellent mechanical resistance to pressure which allowed, after modifying the firing brake, the recovery arch and the sighting devices an increase of

5772-582: Was not as easy to develop. Several materials were able to hold the pressure and heat of cannon fire, but did not expand like rubber, thereby failing to provide a tight seal. The most successful of those designs was the Broadwell ring invented by American engineer Lewis Wells Broadwell (who worked as a sales agent for the Gatling Gun Company in Europe) in early 1860s and widely applied (without

5850-417: Was notably the only place in the world in which live artillery was allowed to be shot over the heads of civilians, and may be the only place in which this gun was used for a purely peaceful purpose, and to save lives in place of taking them. The French Navy adopted the 75 mm modèle 1897 for its coastal batteries and warships The 75 mm modèle 1897–1915 was placed on SMCA modèle 1925 mountings with

5928-421: Was only built in small numbers. A more modest upgrade to the Mle 1897 was the Canon de 75 Mle 1897/38 which was a modernized field artillery variant. The original box-trail carriage was retained but the gun had a new gun shield, sprung suspension and pneumatic tires for motor transport. The 75 Mle 1897 was also considered as a possible anti-tank gun by the French Army, who in 1936 ordered a new circular platform,

6006-544: Was returned to Puteaux arsenal for further improvements. Hydraulic fluid leakage was typical of this experimental phase of artillery development during the 1890s, as Haussner and Krupp had previously experienced. In December 1894, Deport was passed over for promotion, and resigned to join " Chatillon-Commentry ", a private armaments firm. Two young military engineers from Ecole Polytechnique , Captains Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville and Emile Rimailho, continued development and introduced an improved version in 1896. Their contribution

6084-476: Was wax paper patched. An inverted standard percussion cap was at the rear of the paper cartridge and hidden inside. It was fired by the Chassepot's needle (a sharply pointed firing pin) upon pressing the trigger. While the Chassepot's ballistic performance and firing rates were excellent for the time, burnt paper residues as well as black powder fouling accumulated in the chamber and bolt mechanism after continuous firing. The bolt's rubber obturator eroded in action but

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