Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913–1917

Anti-aircraft gun

Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913–1917
French canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1915 at Salonika in World War I.
Type	Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1914–1945
Used by	France Finland German Empire Nazi Germany Poland North Vietnam
Wars	World War I World War II First Indochina War
Production history
Designed	1897
Manufacturer	Schneider et Cie
Variants	Modèle 1913 Modèle 1915 Modèle 1917
Specifications
Mass	3,000 kg (6,600 lb)
Barrel length	2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) L/33

Shell	Fixed QF 75 × 350 mm R
Shell weight	6.25 kg (13.8 lb)
Caliber	75 mm (3.0 in)
Breech	Nordenfelt eccentric screw
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic
Elevation	+10° to 70°
Traverse	360°
Rate of fire	12 rpm
Muzzle velocity	575 m/s (1,890 ft/s)
Effective firing range	6.5 km (21,000 ft)

The Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913–1917 were a family of French 75 mm anti-aircraft guns designed and manufactured by Schneider et Cie at Le Creusot. The guns were used by the French Army during the First World War and Second World War.

History

The origins of the modèle 1913–1917 go back to the Canon de 75 modèle 1897 field gun which was first employed on improvised anti-aircraft mounts, which were typically earthen embankments or scaffolds to get the muzzle pointed skyward. Later in the war, specialized anti-aircraft mounts were developed.

These included:

Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1913 - a self-propelled version, on the back of a De Dion-Bouton truck chassis. The gun could be brought into action in five minutes, but its traverse and elevation were slow which combined with a lack of fire direction equipment limited its effectiveness. Puteaux completed 20 self-propelled versions in 1913 and by the end of WWI 196 had been completed.
Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1915 - a pit mounted high-angle steel girder framework which took approximately 24 hours to prepare for firing. There was also a version with a rotating platform mounted on a concrete pedestal. The platform allowed 0° to 75° of elevation and 360° traverse. During the 1930s improvements in aircraft speed and ceiling combined with slow traverse and elevation of the mount rendered them obsolete. In April 1940 approximately 20 mle 1915 were left in service.
Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1917 - a single-axle towed version with three outriggers. This had all fire-control equipment mounted on the carriage and was a Schneider design.
7.7 cm FlaK L/35 - a Krupp conversion of captured M1897 field guns to fire German 7.7 cm ammunition. The guns were placed on a modified de Bange 120 or 155 carriage to allow up to 60° of elevation and the guns were mounted on an elevated ring to allow 360° of traverse. By Spring of 1916 every division had a two gun platoon for AA defense and 394 guns were converted. An unknown number of guns were also converted by Rheinmetall to stationary AA guns. This conversion entailed mounting the guns on a high-angle pedestal mount with a platform and 360° traverse. When the barrels became worn out they were replaced with German made ones of the same length without the distinctive muzzle roller guides of the French gun.

The most common anti-aircraft configuration was a fixed battery of four mle 1915 guns located near cities, factories or military bases. Target range was measured by optical coincidence rangefinders and height by optical height finders which measured the distance to the target and the elevation angle, which together gave the height of the aircraft. These coordinates were transmitted to a single Brocq fire-control station, which was an electric tachymetric device that calculated target speed, altitude and direction to determine deflection angles. The deflection calculations were transmitted to displays on each gun for the crew to aim at for barrage fire. The guns themselves had only simple sights and lacked the ability to engage individual targets.

Anti-aircraft effectiveness during the First World War was poor but many of these systems remained in use without improvement until the Second World War. By which time they were nearly useless against faster, higher flying targets. During the late 1920s it was realized that the mle 1897 was outmoded as an anti-aircraft weapon and development of a new gun barrel was begun in 1928. The goals of the rearmament program were faster rate of fire, higher muzzle velocity, increased vertical range, modern fire control and greater mobility with new gun carriages. Priority for armaments was given to the Maginot Line fortifications being built and work moved at a slow pace. Lack of funds meant all three anti-aircraft versions of the mle 1897 were still in use in large numbers when World War II began in 1939. It is estimated that 913 mle 1897 anti-aircraft guns were still in service in 1940.

Modernizations

Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1928 GB - Increases in aircraft performance lead to a proposal in 1925 to improve the capabilities of DCA guns. The Manufacture d'Arme de Levallois (MLS) proposed replacing the old gun barrels with new 53 caliber barrels with muzzle brake built by Schneider. This raised muzzle velocity to 700 m/s (2,300 ft/s) and raised the effective ceiling to 7,500 m (24,600 ft).
Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1917/34 - Some mle 1913 self-propelled guns and towed mle 1917 guns also had their barrels replaced with mle 1928 barrels to produce the Canon de 75 mm contre aéronefs mle 17/34.
Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1928/39 - An upgrade of the static mle 1915 platform guns with mle 1928 gun barrels.
Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1932 ABS - Atelier de Bourges (ABS) developed a new gun carriage with four folding cruciform outriggers. It used the same mle 1928 barrel and was equipped with an automatic breech which raised the rate of fire of 25 rounds per minute. The carriage was designed for motor traction and could be towed at 40 km/h (25 mph) and could be combat ready in 20 minutes. A total of 332 were in service in May 1940.
Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1933 - A competing model from Schneider with four folding cruciform outriggers. It used the same mle 1928 barrel, could fire 20 rounds per minute, could be towed at 8 km/h (5 mph) and could be combat ready in 30 minutes. A total of 192 were in service in May 1940.

German Service

Large numbers of 75 mm guns were captured by Germany after the French defeat in 1940.

Guns in German service were called:

7.5 cm FK 97(f) - These were un-modernized mle 1897 guns. Some were sold to Axis satellites, some were converted to 7.5 cm Pak 97/38 anti-tank guns and others were integrated into Atlantic Wall defenses.
7.5 cm Flak M.17/34(f) - Modernized mle 17/34 guns in German service as anti-aircraft guns.

Photo Gallery

An improvised anti-aircraft mount with a mle 1897.
A mle 1915 gun at Salonika in 1917.
A Krupp 7.7 cm FlaK L/35 AA gun at the Musée royal de l'armée, Brussels.
Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1917.
A French time fuse from WWI.

Notes

^ Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Anti-aircraft guns. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-668-03818-8. OCLC 2000222.
"75–77 mm Calibre Cartridges". www.quarryhs.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
^ Bishop, Chris (1998). The encyclopedia of weapons of World War II. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. pp. 150–151. ISBN 0760710228. OCLC 40924461.
Fleischer, Wolfgang (February 2015). German artillery : 1914-1918. Barnsley. p. 88. ISBN 9781473823983. OCLC 893163385.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
"7.7cm L/35 Flak Kanone (franz.)". www.passioncompassion1418.com. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
Routledge (1994). History of the Royal regiment of Artillery – Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55. London: Brassey's. pp. 14–50. ISBN 1-85753-099-3.
"Finnish Army 1918–1945: Antiaircraft Guns part 3". www.jaegerplatoon.net. Retrieved 2017-09-07.

External links

http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=d28

Media related to Canon de 75 modèle 1897 AA gun at Wikimedia Commons

v t e French artillery of World War I
Anti-aircraft guns	Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 24 C modèle 1870 Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider Canon de 75 modèle 1914 Schneider De Bange 90 mm cannon Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and heavy artillery	Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 court modèle 1904 Rimailho Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155 mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	Cellerier Mortar Mortier de 58 T N°1 Mortier de 58 T N°1 bis Mortier de 58 mm type 2 Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1916 Batignolles Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry Mortier de 240 mm Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 120 L mle 1878 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 Obusier de 155 C mle 1881 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Materiel de 155 sur affut-truc Schneider Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau Canon de 274 modèle 87/93 Glissement Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/81 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 TR Mle 1903 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Self propelled artillery	Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220mm L Mle1917 Schneider (FAHM) Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond
Armoured vehicle guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 Canon de 75 modèle 1897

v t e French artillery of World War II
Anti-aircraft guns	Mitrailleuse de 25 mm CA mle 39 Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917 Canon de 75 CA modèle 1940 Schneider
Anti-tank guns	25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun 25 mm APX modèle 1937 AC 37 anti-tank gun AC 47 anti-tank gun 47 mm APX anti-tank gun
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and Heavy artillery	Canon de 105 court mle 1934 Schneider Canon de 105 court mle 1935 B Canon de 105 L mle 1936 Schneider Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 145/155 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155mm GPF Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider-St Chamond
Mortars	Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 Canon de 75 M modele 1919 Schneider Canon de 75 M modele 1928 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider Canon Court de 105 M modèle 1919 Schneider
Railroad artillery	Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1906/10 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 320 modèle 1917 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Tank guns	37 mm SA 18 37 mm SA mle 1938 47mm SA mle 1935 75 mm ABS mle 1929

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