Canon de 155mm GPF

Canon de 155 GPF mle.1917
155 mm GPF gun at US Army Ordnance Museum in travel position
Type	Field gun, Coastal artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1917–1945
Used by	France United States Nazi Germany Philippines Australia Chile
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Colonel Louis Filloux
Specifications
Weight	Travel: 13,000 kg (28,660 lbs)
Barrel length	5.915 m (20 ft) L/38.2

Shell	separate-loading, cased charge. 43 kg (95 lb)
Caliber	155 mm (6.10 in)
Recoil	1.8m 10° to 1.1 28°
Carriage	split trail
Elevation	0° to +35°
Traverse	60°
Rate of fire	2 rpm
Muzzle velocity	735 m/s (2,411 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	19,500 m (21,325 yds)

The Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux (GPF) mle.1917 was a 155 mm cannon used by the French Army during the first half of the 20th century.

History

US gun and crew, France 1918

Coast defence gun on Panama mount, Garden Island, Western Australia, 1943

The gun was designed during World War I by Colonel Louis Filloux to meet France's urgent need for modern heavy artillery, and became the standard heavy field gun of the French Army from 1917 until World War II. It was also adopted by the United States as the M1917, and a close derivative of it was made in and used by the US as the M1918 through World War II.

It was also manufactured in the USA from 1917, after the US switched to metric artillery based on French patterns. It was used by the United States Army and United States Marine Corps as their primary heavy artillery gun under the designation 155 mm Gun M1917 (French-made) or M1918 (US-made) until 1942, when it was gradually replaced by the 155 mm M1A1 'Long Tom'. US Army forces in the Far East (USAFFE) such as the 301st FA Regiment (Philippine Army) and the 86th FA Regiment (Philippine Scouts), and also US Coast Artillery units (91st and 92nd CA Regiments, Philippine Scouts) used this artillery piece against the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941-42. Some of the guns were originally emplaced in "Panama mounts" on Corregidor, Caballo, and Carabao islands at the entrance of Manila Bay. A number of them were removed from their emplacements and used as "roving batteries" and gave effective counterbattery fire. The gun was later mounted on a self-propelled mount as the M12 Gun Motor Carriage and saw action in 1944-45.

During World War II, some US-made guns were used for coast defense of US and allied territories, such as Australia and Bermuda, typically on "Panama" mountings - circular concrete platforms with a raised centre section, with the carriage tires pivoting around the center section and the split trails spread out on rails at the platform's edge.^[1]

In 1940, France fielded 450 of these guns.^[2] Many of them were captured and used by Germany for the rest of the war. In German service it was known as the 15.5 cm K 418(f); it served with heavy artillery battalions and on coastal defense duties. A battery of six of these guns^[3] were the cause of the actions at Pointe du Hoc in June 1944.

Gallery

At Fort de la Pompelle near Reims, France
At Battery Moltke, Jersey, Channel Islands

References

↑ Berhow, Mark A., Ed. (2004). American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide, Second Edition. CDSG Press. pp. 200–235. ISBN 0-9748167-0-1.
↑ Crawford, Steve; Chant, Chris. Artillery of World War II. p.11
↑ www.memorial-caen.fr

Sources

van der Vat, Dan; Eisenhower, John S. D. D-Day: The Greatest Invasion - A People's History Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, ISBN 1-58234-314-4
Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
Touzin, Pierre; Vauvillier, François (2006). Les Matériels de l'Armée Française: Les canons de la victoire, 1914-1918. Tome 1: L'Artillerie de Campagne. Paris: Histoire et Collections. ISBN 2-35250-022-2.
155-Millimeter Gun Materiel, Model of 1918 (Filloux) Handbook of artillery: including mobile, anti-aircraft and trench matériel (1920) US Army Ordnance Dept, May 1920. Pages 229-245.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canon de 155 mm GPF.

French artillery of World War I

Infantry and Mountain guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906 Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modele 1909 Schneider

Heavy mortars	Mortier de 240 mm CT Mortier de 240 mm LT Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider

Field, Medium and Heavy guns	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155mm GPF Canon de 194 mle GPF

French artillery of World War II

Anti-tank guns	25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun AC 37 anti-tank gun AC 47 anti-tank gun 47 mm APX anti-tank gun

Infantry and Mountain guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906 Canon de 75 M(montagne) modele 1919 Schneider Canon de 75 M(montagne) modele 1928 Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modele 1909 Schneider Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modèle 1919 Schneider

Heavy mortars	Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider

Field, Medium and Heavy guns	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 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 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155mm GPF Canon de 194 mle GPF

Artillery of France

United States artillery of World War I

Tank guns	Puteaux SA 18 QF 6 pounder 6 cwt Hotchkiss

Small and pack guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP QF 2.95 inch Mountain Gun

Field, medium and heavy guns	3-inch M1902 field gun Canon de 75 modèle 1897 75 mm Gun M1916 75 mm Gun M1917 4.7 inch Gun M1906 6-inch field howitzer M-1908 Canon de 155mm GPF Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk VI – VIII 240 mm Trench Mortar

Anti-aircraft guns	75 mm Gun M1916 3-inch gun M1917 3-inch Gun M1918

Coast artillery guns	3-inch gun M1903 4.72-inch Armstrong gun 5-inch gun M1897 6-inch Armstrong gun 6-inch gun M1897 8-inch gun M1888 10-inch gun M1895 12-inch gun M1895 12-inch coast defense mortar 14-inch gun M1907 16-inch gun M1895 16-inch gun M1919 155 mm gun M1918MI

Railway artillery	8-inch gun M1888 10-inch gun M1895 12-inch coast defense mortar 12-inch gun M1895MIA1 14"/50 caliber railway gun

United States artillery of World War II

Tank guns	37 mm gun M5/M6 75 mm gun M2/M3/M6 76 mm gun M1 3 inch gun M7 90 mm gun M3 105 mm howitzer M4

Anti-tank guns	37 mm M3 57 mm M1 75 mm M1897 3 inch M5 90 mm T8 105mm T8

Field, medium and heavy guns	75 mm M1897 75 mm howitzer M1 105 mm howitzer M2 105 mm howitzer M3 4.5 inch gun M1 155 mm howitzer M1918 155 mm howitzer M1 155 mm gun M1918MI 155 mm gun M1/M2 "Long Tom" 8 inch howitzer M1/M2 8-inch gun M1 240 mm howitzer M1

Mortars	60 mm mortar M2 81 mm mortar M1 4.2 inch mortar M2 Little David

Other vehicle-mounted	75 mm howitzer M2/M3 75 mm gun M1897 105 mm howitzer M2 155 mm gun M1918MI 155 mm gun M2

Anti-aircraft guns	37 mm M1 40 mm M1 3 inch M3 90 mm M1 120 mm M1

Coast artillery guns	3-inch gun M1903 90 mm M1 6-inch gun M1903 155 mm gun M1918MI 8-inch Mk. VI 8-inch gun M1888 10-inch gun M1895 12-inch coast defense mortar 12-inch gun M1895 14-inch gun M1907 16-inch gun M1895 16-inch gun M1919 16-inch Marks 2 and 3 16-inch howitzer M1920

Railway artillery	8-inch Mk. VI 8-inch M1888 14-inch M1920

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