English: French 75 mm field gun and limber at the Imperial War Museum in London, England. One of the finest artillery pieces of the First World War. Designed in 1897, the 75 mm was soon adopted by the French army and by the outbreak of war nearly 4000 ‘75s’ were in service. By the end of hostilities over 17000 had been manufactured in France. Light, mobile, accurate and with a rapid rate of fire, the 75 mm field gun had few flaws. Its revolutionary hydro-pneumatic recoil system, wheet brakes and trail spade ensured that the gun remained stable when fired. The quick-acting breech mechanism gave a rate of fire that could exceed 20 round per minute. Its only major limitation was that the French offensive tactics it had encouraged were not suited to trench warfare and the shell it fired was too light to pose a serious threat to heavily defended positions.

This gun was presented to the Museum by the French government shortly after the First World War. It had served with the 2nd Battery of the 61st Field Artillery Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division, a French regiment with a distinguished war record, seeing action in the battles of the Marne, Yser, First Ypres, Verdun, Somme and Aisne.

Technical specifications:

Calibre: 3 inches (7,6 cm)

Weight in action: 2,520 lb (1,143 kg)

Range: 9,846 yards (9,003 m)

Ammunition: 11,7 lb (5,2 kg) high explosive, 16 lb (7,2 kg) shrapnel