M1902 field gun

Infobox Weapon
name=M1902 field gun


caption=
origin=USA
type=Light field gun
is_ranged=yes
is_artillery=yes
is_UK=yes
service=1902 - 1920s
used_by=USA
wars=World War I
designer=
design_date=
manufacturer=
unit_cost=
production_date=
number=
variants=M 1902, 1904, 1905
weight=gun & breech : 835 lb (1902 & 1904); 788 lb (1905); 2,520 lb gun & carriage total.
length=
part_length=84 inch (bore); 87.8 inch (total)
width=
height=
crew=
caliber=3 inch
cartridge=Fixed ammunition, 15 lb shell
action=
rate=
velocity=1,700 ft/sec
range=6,000 yards @ 15°
max_range=8,500 yards (approx.)
feed=
sights=
breech=interrupted screw
recoil=hydro - spring, 45 inch
carriage=
elevation=-5° - 15°
traverse= The M1902, "a.k.a. M1905" 3-inch gun (76.2mm) was the U.S. Army’s first steel, rifled, breech loading, recoiling field gun. These features improved 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 convert|3|in|mm Shrapnel or Explosive Shells that weighed 15 Pounds [ [http://www.firstdivisionmuseum.org/museum/exhibits/tankpark/M1902.aspx M1902 3 Inch Field Gun ] ] . It had a muzzle velocity of convert|1700|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on with an effective range of 6500 yards, and a maximum range of 8500 yards. The maximum rate of fire was 15 rounds per minute.

ee also

*List of artillery#Towed howitzers and field guns
*76 mm divisional gun M1902

Notes

References

* [http://www.archive.org/details/handbookofartill00unitrich "Handbook of artillery : including mobile, anti-aircraft and trench matériel (1920)"]

External links

*Lieut.-Col. E.L. Gruber, [http://www.archive.org/details/noteson3inchgunm00grubrich "Notes on the 3 inch gun materiel and field artillery equipment. Compiled for the Reserve Officers' Training Corps of Yale University". 1917.]