75MM FRENCH FIELD GUN MLE 1897 - WORLD WAR I

Canon de 75 mle 1897 (75 mm gun model 1897) is a French field cannon used during both world wars. Its first prototype was created in 1897, and mass production started at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It was the first modern general construction cannon, ideally suited to a maneuvering war. Its revolution was mainly based on the use of a retractor, which enabled a drastic increase in the rate of fire, as well as an innovative barrel design (core barrel, cast and coat), which increased the range. During World War I, it achieved its greatest successes only at the beginning of the conflict (August-October 1914), at the maneuvering stage of the war. When the troops in the West fell in the trenches, the famous "seventy-five" became an impractical weapon. It was too small to carry out counter-batter fire and to fight the enemy fortifications. As a flat-gauge weapon, it was also not suitable for firing on trenches. It gave way to the excellent Canon de 105mm 1913 model howitzer. In the years 1914-1918, several versions of the Canon de 75 mle 1897 were created, the most interesting of which is the autocanon de 75 mm mle 1913 (anti-aircraft gun on a car chassis). Technical data Canon de 75 mle 1897: range: 11,200 m, caliber: 75 mm, combat weight: 1199 kg, rate of fire: up to 12 rounds / min.