3-inch M1902 field gun

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
M1902 field gun
300px
M1905 model
Type Light field gun
Place of origin  United States
Service history
In service 1902–1920s
Used by USA
Wars World War I
Production history
Designed 1902
Produced 1902–1917
Variants M 1902, 1904, 1905
Specifications
Weight gun & breech : 835 lb (379 kg) (1902 & 1904)
788 lb (357 kg) (1905);
2,520 lb (1,140 kg)
gun & carriage total.
Barrel length Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (bore); Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (total)
Shell Fixed ammunition, 15 lb (6.8 kg) shell
Calibre Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Breech Interrupted screw
Recoil hydro - spring, Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Carriage Wheeled
Elevation -5° to 15°
Muzzle velocity 1,700 ft/s (520 m/s)
Effective firing range 6,000 yd (5,500 m)
at 15° elevation
Maximum firing range 8,500 yd (7,800 m) approx.

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.

Design

The features of rifling, 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. The gun fired 3 inches (76 mm) Shrapnel or Explosive Shells that weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms).[1] This was of a heavier poundage than the older guns, in its role, could cope with (the use of steel provided this benefit) meaning that the M1902 could fire a shell (when taking note of the use of tighter rifling) at a greater muzzle velocity at a greater accuracy than any other field gun of American origin to that point. It had a muzzle velocity of 1,700 ft/s (520 m/s) with an effective range of 6,500 yards (5,900 m), and a maximum range of 8,500 yards (7,800 m). The maximum rate of fire was 15 rounds per minute.

This was not the same weapon as the 3-inch M1902 seacoast gun, which was designed by Bethlehem Steel and was mounted in fixed defenses.

Service history

General John J. 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 75mm gun 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 gradually phased out of active service in the 1920s.

Surviving examples

File:3-inch M1902 field gun at the 1st Division Museum tank park.JPG
M1902 field gun at the First Division Museum tank park at Cantigny Park.
A 3-inch M1902 field gun exhibited at the Texas Military Forces Museum, Austin, Texas.
  • Cantigny Park, in Wheaton, Illinois.[2]
  • Westminster, Massachusetts[3]
  • New London MO.[4]
  • Aberdeen Proving Ground[5]
  • Fort Sam Houston[6]
  • Oklahoma City OK[7]
  • one at Clemson University
  • one complete unit at Fort Sill 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.
  • one at Veteran's of Foreign Wars Post no.33, Greensburg, PA, USA
  • one in 3-inch M1902 field gun Mission county park, San Antonio, Texas. The gun is missing its wheels.
  • New Bedford, Massachusetts
  • Camp Edwards, Massachusetts
  • Newport Artillery Company Armory, Newport, RI
  • One complete unit at High Street Cemetery, Danvers, Massachusetts[8]
  • two at Lakeview Park in the City of Lorain near Cleveland Ohio
  • A refurbished 1902 American field gun is on display in the city of Hopewell, VA
  • A recently restored 3-inch M1905 field gun is in the possession of 3-7 Field Artillery at Schofield Barracks, HI
  • A restored 3-inch M1902 field gun is on display at the U. S. Army Museum of Hawaii at Fort DeRussy in Honolulu, HI
  • one at Texas Military Forces Museum, Austin, TX
  • One at the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City, OK. www.45thdivisionmuseum.com
  • One on the courthouse grounds, Ralls County, Mo, town of New London.
  • Costa Mesa, California
  • One M1905 on the grounds of the Rush County Courthouse, Rushville, Indiana
  • Two at the Washington National Guard Museum, Camp Murray, Washington
  • One M1905 on the grounds of VFW Post 5700 in Hightstown, NJ

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

  1. ↑ M1902 3 Inch Field Gun
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ [2]
  4. ↑ [3]
  5. ↑ [4]
  6. ↑ [5]
  7. ↑ [6]
  8. ↑ High Street Cemetery

References

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=3-inch_M1902_field_gun&oldid=3558389"