Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond

Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Saint-Chamond
Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Saint-Chamond
Type	Field howitzer
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1915–1945
Used by	France; Nazi Germany; Finland; Romania; Kingdom of Serbia
Wars	World War I, World War II
Production history
Designer	Saint-Chamond
Manufacturer	Saint-Chamond
Produced	1916–17?
No. built	390
Specifications
Mass	3,040 kg (6,700 lb)
Barrel length	2.517 m (8 ft 3 in) L/17.8
Crew	12
Shell weight	43.5 kg (96 lb)
Caliber	155 mm (6.1 in)
Breech	semi-automatic vertical sliding-block
Recoil	Hydro-spring
Carriage	Box trail
Elevation	-5° to +40°
Traverse	5° 40'
Rate of fire	2-3 rpm
Muzzle velocity	370 m/s (1,200 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	9.3 km (5.8 mi)

The Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Saint-Chamond was a French howitzer used during World War I. It was based on a private prototype of a 150 millimetres (5.9 in) howitzer presented to the Mexican government in 1911. The French government ordered 400 Saint-Chamond howitzers in 1915, these being delivered starting in late 1916. Small numbers of Saint-Chamond howitzers were given to the Serbian and Romanian armies towards the end of World War I. The Saint-Chamond howitzer served in the French Army after World War I and were mobilised at the outbreak of World War II. Finland bought 24 Saint-Chamond howitzers during the Winter War and these served until the 1960s. The German Army captured 200 Saint-Chamond howitzers after the fall of France and used these as field guns and coastal defence guns until the end of World War II.

Development and Production

FAMH (Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécourt), commonly known by the FAMH main factory location - Saint-Chamond, developed a 150 millimetres (5.9 in) heavy howitzer as a complementary artillery piece to the Mondragon-designed 75 millimetres (3.0 in) field guns Saint-Chamond had built for the Mexican Army. The prototype howitzer was presented to the Mexican Govt. in 1911 but did not result in a production order. In 1913 the Saint-Chamond prototype howitzer was demonstrated to the French Army but there was no official interest since it was thought the Canon de 155 C Mle 1904 TR Rimailho howitzer satisfied the heavy howitzer requirements of the French Army. In 1915, the French Army conducted a series of unsuccessful attacks on German trench lines. After the Second Battle of Artois in May 1915 an analysis of the performance of the artillery showed that the Rimailho howitzers were incapable of delivering the volume of fire required by extant artillery doctrine. This doctrine required that heavy howitzers should deliver an intense bombardment on enemy trench lines just before an infantry attack. Gen. Joffre, the French Army Commander-in Chief, demanded new heavy howitzers which were capable of sustained high rates of fire and had sufficient range to minimise the effects of counter-battery fire. 400 155 millimetres (6.1 in) howitzers were ordered from Saint-Chamond in June 1915. However, production delays meant that the Saint-Chamond howitzers didn't enter service until the Autumn of 1916. The Saint-Chamond howitzers were delivered at a rate of 50 howitzers/month and once the order was complete Saint-Chamond produced the Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider under licence until the end of the war. In 1917 a modified Saint-Chamond howitzer was prototyped which increased the max. range to match that of the Schneider howitzer but this wasn't taken up because of concerns about disrupting production of the Schneider howitzer.

Description

The Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Saint-Chamond was a howitzer of relatively advanced design for its time. It used a hydro-spring recoil system mounted below the barrel and had a small gun shield. The box carriage had wooden wheels so it could only be towed as a single load at low speeds by vehicles or by a team of 8 horses The barrel was drawn back over the trail for towing. It had a semi-automatic vertical sliding block breech that ejected the cartridge case after firing. A loading tray was attached to the carriage on a swinging mount. It fired a 43.5 kilograms (96 lb) high-explosive (Obus FA Mle 1915) shell to a range of 9,300 metres (10,200 yd).[1] The ammunition was "semi-fixed" the propellent was packaged in small bags in a brass cartridge and the total propellent charge could be adjusted by changing the number of bags. The Saint-Chamond howitzer was unique among French guns in that it had rear-positioned trunnions. The advantage of rear-positioned trunnions is that the breech doesn't "disappear" into a box trail as is the case with trunnions mounted at the centre of gravity of the barrel and receiver. This means that the howitzer can be loaded at high elevation angles since the breech position does not change significantly throughout the elevation range. The disadvantage of rear-positioned trunnions is that the elevation system must be more robust since it must bear greater forces from the barrel weight. To reduce the forces on the elevation gearing an equilibrator is necessary, this is usually a spring, or in the case of the Saint-Chamond a pneumatic system. The Saint-Chamond elevation system also moved the gun shield along with the barrel which meant that the gun shield could be smaller than a fixed gun shield.[2] The traverse system was similar to that of other French guns, a worm gear moved the carriage across the axle.[3]

Operational use

Although the Saint-Chamond howitzer was 400 kg lighter than the equivalent Schneider howitzer its maximum range was 2,400 metres (2,600 yd) shorter. It was generally used in second line and training units until the end of World War 1. It remained on strength until World War 2 and saw some action during the German invasion of France in May 1940.

The Romanian Army was given 14 Saint-Chamond howitzers in 1917 and these served until World War 2.

The rebuilt Serbian (later Yugoslav) Army was given a few batteries of Saint-Chamond howitzers in 1917-18. These remained on strength after World War 1 and were upgraded in the 1920s to match the performance of the Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider howitzer and served until World War II.

Finland bought 24 Saint-Chamond howitzers from France in 1939 at the start of the Winter War. They arrived in Finland at the beginning of March 1940 and were issued to Heavy Artillery Battery 8, but the war ended before the unit reached the front. They served with Heavy Artillery Battalions 27 and 29 during the Continuation War.[4] The howitzers served on after World War 2 until the 1960s.

The German Army captured 200 Saint-Chamond howitzers after the fall of France and used them as field guns and coastal defence guns as the 15.5 cm sFH 415 (f) until the end of the war.

Surviving Howitzers

Four survive in Finland:

Vuorenmaa of Artjärvi in Orimattila, Finland, free entry, in woods
Artillery Museum of Finland in Hämeenlinna, Finland
Salpa Line museum
War memorial at the village of Juva, Eastern Finland

Notes

Vauvillier and Touzin, p. 60
St-Chamond manual Fig.11
St-Chamond manual Fig.14
"ARTILLERY PART 6: Heavy Howitzers (150 mm - 155 mm)". 5 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2009.

References

Gander, Terry; Chamberlain, Peter (1979). 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. ISBN 0-385-15090-3.
Hogg, Ian V. (1998). Allied Artillery of World War I. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-104-7.
Stroea, Adrian; Gheorghe Bãjenaru (2010). Artileria românã în date si imagini. Bucarest: Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-606-524-080-3. (available at http://www.worldwar2.ro/documents/004-artileria-romana-in-date-si-imagini.pdf)
Vauvillier, François (2006). "Un Oiseaux Rare: le Canon de 155 C Modèle 1915 Saint-Chamond". Histoire de Guerre, Blindés & Matériel (74): 59–60.
Vauvillier, François; Pierre Touzin (2009). Les Canons de la Victoire 1914-1918 Tome 1 - L'Artillerie de Campagne. Paris: Histoire & Collections. p. 60. ISBN 978-2-35250-106-0.
Annexe au Reglement Provisoire de Manoevre de l'Artillerie de Campagne - Du Matériel de 155 Court Modèle 1915 "St-Chamond" - Description et Entretien de Matériel (St-Chamond manual). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. 1916. Retrieved 24 December 2013.

External links

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[1] Vauvillier and Touzin, p. 60

[2] St-Chamond manual Fig.11

[3] St-Chamond manual Fig.14

[4] "ARTILLERY PART 6: Heavy Howitzers (150 mm - 155 mm)". 5 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2009.

French artillery of World War I
Anti-aircraft guns	Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 155 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider Canon de 75 modèle 1914 Schneider De Bange 90 mm cannon Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and heavy artillery	Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 court modèle 1904 Rimailho Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	Mortier de 58 mm type 2 Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry Mortier de 240 mm Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 Canon de 76 M modele 1909 Schneider Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau Canon de 274 modèle 87/93 Glissement Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/81 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 TR Mle 1903 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Self propelled artillery	Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220mm L Mle1917 Schneider (FAHM) Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond
Armoured vehicle guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 Canon de 75 modèle 1897

French artillery of World War II
Anti-aircraft guns	Mitrailleuse de 25 mm CA mle 39 Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917 Canon de 75 CA modèle 1940 Schneider
Anti-tank guns	25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun 25 mm APX modèle 1937 AC 37 anti-tank gun AC 47 anti-tank gun 47 mm APX anti-tank gun
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 155 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and Heavy artillery	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 GPF Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider-St Chamond
Mortars	Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 Canon de 75 M modele 1919 Schneider Canon de 75 M modele 1928 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider Canon Court de 105 M modèle 1919 Schneider
Railroad artillery	Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1906/10 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 320 modèle 1917 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Tank guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 47mm SA mle 1935 Canon de 75 modèle 1897