Canon de 194 mle GPF

Canon de 194 mle GPF
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	France Nazi Germany
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Louis Filloux
Designed	1917
Specifications
Weight	29,600 kg (65,300 lb)
Barrel length	6.57 m (21 ft 7 in) L/42.2

Shell	80.86 kg (200 lb)
Caliber	194mm (7.63in)
Elevation	0° to 35°
Traverse	55°
Muzzle velocity	640 m/s (2,100 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	18,300 m (20,000 yd)

Main armament	194 mm (7.6 in) gun
Engine	Panhard SUK4 M2 120 hp (89kw)
Speed	8-10 km/h (5-6 mp/h)

The Canon de 194 mle GPF (Grand Puissance Filloux - High-Power Filloux) - was the first French tracked self-propelled gun (SPG). Designed at the end of World War I, it was a pioneering weapon with many modern features.

The vehicle was designed in Schneider's Le Creusot works. It was originally planned to arm it with a 155 mm gun but a weapon of 194 mm was eventually chosen. A few examples of this SPG were armed with a modified 280 mm siege mortar, this version was known as the M 280 sur chenilles (literally - "tracked M 280"). Both weapons used the same chassis and were powered by a 120 horsepower (89 kW) Panhard SUK4 M2 engine. Compared to its contemporary British SPG, the Gun Carrier Mark I, the Canon de 194 was much more advanced; it was driven by only one person, had hydraulic brakes and the gun had automatically adjusting recoil mechanisms and pneumatic recuperators.

After the Great War all M 280 models were converted to take the 194 mm gun. Around 50 were still in use at the outbreak of World War II, some were used against the invading German forces. Surviving vehicles were pressed into Wehrmacht service as the 19.4 cm Kanone 485 (f) auf Selbstfahrlafette. At least 3 of them were used by the Germans in Russia in about 1942, serving in the 84th Regiment of Heer Artillery.

Sources

Chant, Chris (2005), Artillery, Amber Books, ISBN 1-904687-41-5
Hogg, Ian. Twentieth-Century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000. ISBN 0-7607-1994-2 Pg.76
"La Heer et l'Héritage Francais I° partie les Blindés" (in French)

External links

Interwar propaganda video
Photos of the exemplar at Aberdeen Proving Grounds:
http://www.maquetland.com/article-phototheque/2538-saint-chamond-194mm-spg-aberdeen
http://www.aviarmor.net/tww2/tanks/france/gpf194.htm (text in Russian, numerous old photos)

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

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.