37 mm trench gun M1915

37-mm trench gun M1915
37 mm trench gun M1915
TypeInfantry support gun
Place of originRussian Empire
Service history
WarsWorld War I
World War II
Specifications
Mass180.1 kg (397 lbs)
Length1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Barrel length70 cm (2 ft 4 in) L/19[1]
Width100 cm (3 ft 3 in)
Height100 cm (3 ft 3 in)

ShellFixed QF 37 x 94 mm R
HE, APHE, APHE-T,
AP, AP-T, Canister[2]
Shell weight.512 kg (1 lb 2 oz)
Caliber37 mm (1.45 in)
Recoilnone
CarriageBox-trail
Elevation-5° to +15°
Traverse90°[1]
Muzzle velocity442 m/s (1,450 ft/s)
Maximum firing range3.2 km (2 mi)[1]

37-mm trench gun M1915 (Russian: Траншейная 37-мм пушка обр. 1915 года) was a Russian battalion gun employed in World War I.

With World War I switching into a trench warfare phase late in 1914, a need for a highly mobile artillery system to be used against enemy machine gun emplacements and other strongpoints became apparent. In 1915 colonel M. F. Rosenberg, a member of the Artillery Committee, developed such a weapon. The gun was compact enough to fit into machine gun emplacements. It weighed only about 180 kg and could be dismantled into three pieces - barrel (about 74 kg), carriage (82 kg) and wheels (25 kg), making it easy to move around. To protect the crew from enemy fire, the gun was equipped with a shield 6 or 8 mm thick. The weapon was sufficiently accurate at ranges of up to roughly 1 mile or about 1.6 km—this was earlier set out as 1,000-1,200 paces, and a pace is normally the height of the person walking, so this is not a uniform measure.

Similar Weapons

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Infantry, mountain, and airborne guns. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco. p. 60. ISBN 0668038195. OCLC 2067391.
  2. ^ "FINNISH ARMY 1918 - 1945: Infantry Guns & Mountain Guns". www.jaegerplatoon.net. Archived from the original on 2011-01-18. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
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