www.passioncompassion1418.com
SURVIVING GUN FILE (# 1329)
Version française

France

75 mm Mle 75-05 de tourelle

Under turret Mle 1905

Fortress artillery

Contributor :
Bernard Plumier      http://www.passioncompassion1418.com
     
     
Lien vers post du blog
Location :
France
Douaumont (55)
Fort de Douaumont
Coordinates : Lat : 49.21712 / Long : 5.44021
General comments on this surviving gun :


Identical items in the same location : 2
Items covered by this file : 2

One of the turret guns has a shell entered in its muzzle !


Historic and technical information
Denomination :     75 Mle 75-05 Origin :       ( Arsenaux de l'Etat)          

Historic context :

The first French turrets of the Mougin (1876) and Galopin (1890) types were designed for integrating heavy de Bange 155 mm guns. The temptation was high to design also turrets taking the opportunity of the technical advantage of the famous 75 Mle 1897 fieldgun and particularly is efficient ammunitions.

This was done with the appearance of the 'tourelles cuirassées Mle 1905 pour deux canons de 75 Mle 75-05', retractable, whose structure had been already approved in 1901, as a result of studies made between 1890 and 1895. Their millenieum 1905 probably corresponds to the year when the artillery weapons were adopted. These 'Canon de 75 Mle 75-05' were a variant of the famous 75 Mle 1897 fieldgun, of which they only kept the barrel shortened by 1170 mm (some authors say 600 mm or 690 mm ??), and the Nordenfelt breech mechanism. The turret carriage included two hydro-spring recoil recuperators and allowed elevation angles from -7 to +12 degres. The shortening of the barrel from 34 to 17 calibres and the limitation of the biggest elevation angle to 12 degrees limited the range to 4875 m. But with such 2 quick firing guns, the turret was able to obtain a fire rate up to 22 rounds per minute !

In this configuration the guns needed a crew of 29 men. 55 such turrets, equipped with 110 guns plus the reserve barrels, a 2 'tourelles Bussière turret Mle 1893 pour deux canons de 57 mm' modified for two 75-05 guns were installed in many French forts in August 1914. These quantities made of it the most numerous fortress artillery turret in France in 1914. Another 22 turrets were built before the war but not used during WW1 They were modified after war and installed in the Maginot Line.

Technical data :

  • Complete description : 75 mm Mle 75-05 turret gun
  • Design year : 1905
  • Calibre : 75.00 mm
  • Weight in firing position : unknown
  • Weight for transportation :
  • Tube length in calibres : 17.40 (1305 mm - estimtion based on a 1170 mm shortening)
  • Grooves : 24 to the right, constant 7 degrees angle
  • Projectile weight : 5.3 kg (obus explosif normal) / 7.24 kg (obus à balles) / 7.98 kg (obus explosif allongé) / etc...
  • Initial speed : unknown
  • Fire rate : 11 rounds / min
  • Range : 4875 m
  • Elevation range : -7 to +12.45 degrees
  • Direction range : 360 degrees total range


Sources
  • Index de la Fortification Française 1874-1914           Marco Frijns       Luc Malchair       Jean-Jacques Moulins       Autoédition   2008  
  • Le site web la fortification Séré de Rivières http://www.fortiffsere.fr                           
  • Ministère de la Guerre - Règlement de manoeuvre de l'artilelrie à pied - Service des Canons sous tourelle et casemate et des mitrailleuses sous tourelle - titre VI, VII, VIII - Canons de 75 sous tourelle à éclipse et sous casemate, Mitrailleuses 1900 sous tourelle       Collectif                   Paris - Imprimerie Nationale   1911  
  • Croix de Guerre contre Croix de Fer, La bataille des forts, Verdun face à Metz       Alain Hohnadel       Philippe Bestetti             Heimdal   1995