M1902 field gun
Encyclopedia
The M1902, a.k.a. M1905 3-inch gun (76.2mm) was the U.S. Army’s first steel, rifled
, breech loading, quick-firing
field gun
.
, breech loading and springs to absorb the gun's recoil
and quickly return it to the firing position combined to improve the range, accuracy, and rate of fire of the gun, allowing it to be used more effectively in operations with infantry. These new capabilities allowed the gun to provide accurate indirect fire on targets not in a direct line of sight, which provided crucial firepower for infantry attacks. It was also one of the first artillery guns to have an armored shield to protect the crew from small arms fire.
General Pershing brought several of the guns with him during the Mexican Punitive Expedition in 1916-17 but they were not fired in combat.
The M1902/5 was used from 1905-1917. During World War I
, the Army used the French 75s instead of the M1902s, which were mostly kept in the United States
for training. Very few of the M1902s were used in combat in Europe. They were phased out of active service in the 1920s.
The gun fired 3 inches (76.2 mm) Shrapnel or Explosive Shells that weighed 15 Pounds. It had a muzzle velocity of 1700 ft/s (518.2 m/s) with an effective range of 6500 yards (5,943.6 m), and a maximum range of 8500 yards (7,772.4 m). The maximum rate of fire was 15 rounds per minute.
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
, breech loading, quick-firing
Quick-firing gun
A quick-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate...
field gun
Field gun
A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...
.
History
The features of riflingRifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
, breech loading and springs to absorb the gun's recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
and quickly return it to the firing position combined to improve the range, accuracy, and rate of fire of the gun, allowing it to be used more effectively in operations with infantry. These new capabilities allowed the gun to provide accurate indirect fire on targets not in a direct line of sight, which provided crucial firepower for infantry attacks. It was also one of the first artillery guns to have an armored shield to protect the crew from small arms fire.
General Pershing brought several of the guns with him during the Mexican Punitive Expedition in 1916-17 but they were not fired in combat.
The M1902/5 was used from 1905-1917. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Army used the French 75s instead of the M1902s, which were mostly kept in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for training. Very few of the M1902s were used in combat in Europe. They were phased out of active service in the 1920s.
The gun fired 3 inches (76.2 mm) Shrapnel or Explosive Shells that weighed 15 Pounds. It had a muzzle velocity of 1700 ft/s (518.2 m/s) with an effective range of 6500 yards (5,943.6 m), and a maximum range of 8500 yards (7,772.4 m). The maximum rate of fire was 15 rounds per minute.
Surviving artifacts
- http://www.firstdivisionmuseum.org/museum/exhibits/tankpark/M1902.aspx Cantigny Park, in Wheaton, Illinois.
- http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMA3R3_Westminster_Town_Common_3_Inch_Field_Gun_Westminster_MA Westminster, MassachusettsWestminster, MassachusettsWestminster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 7,277.- History :Westminster was first settled in 1737, and was officially incorporated in 1759....
- http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5MRR_1905_3_Inch_Field_Gun_New_London_MO New London MO.
- http://www.primeportal.net/artillery/david_lueck/75mm_m1902_3inch/ Aberdeen ME.
- http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=31613 Fort Sam HoustonFort Sam HoustonFort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston....
- http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM9QX0_Model_1902_Field_Gun_Oklahoma_City_OK Oklahoma City OK
- one at Clemson UniversityClemson UniversityClemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
- one complete unit at Fort SillFort SillFort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
museum - one at Texas A&M University. Operated by the Corps of Cadets, Parson's Mounted Cavalry (The Spirit of '02)
- one at Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, Faribault, MN, USA
- Three at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Wayne, PA, U.S.A.
See also
- List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation SNL C-24
- List of field guns
- 76 mm divisional gun M1902 Russian equivalent
- 7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art was a field gun used by Germany in World War I.-Description:The gun combined a barrel of the earlier 7.7 cm FK 96 with a recoil system, a new breech and a new carriage. Existing FK 96s were upgraded over time. The FK 96 n.A...
German equivalent - Ordnance BLC 15 pounderOrdnance BLC 15 pounderThe Ordnance BLC 15 pounder gun was a modernised version of the obsolete BL 15 pounder 7 cwt gun, incorporating a recoil and recuperator mechanism above the barrel and modified quicker-opening breech...
British equivalent