This series of weapons was designed to provide a modern alternative to breech loading conversions of the Civil War-era 3-inch Ordnance rifle. It was constructed of steel and was of built-up construction with a central rifled tube, and reinforcing hoops from the trunnions to the breech. Its steel was stronger than the wrought iron of preceding weapons. The guns had an interrupted screw breech with either a de Bange plastic obturator or (on the earlier modifications) a conceptually similar design by Spaniard Luis Freyre y Góngora with a metallic ring, and fired separate-loading, bagged charges and projectiles. The projectiles weighed approximately 13.5 lb (6.1 kg) and common, shrapnel, or canister types available.[1] The M1885 and M1890 used black powder when first introduced, but the M1897 was redesigned for smokeless powder; the M1890 weapons were then modified for smokeless powder and re-designated M1897s.[1][2] In the Spanish–American War, difficulties were encountered in ramping up production of smokeless powder, so the M1885 and M1890 weapons were deployed to use the available black powder.[1] The M1890 was a simplification of the M1885, with the barrel made from two forgings instead of eight.[2] The guns had a box trail carriage built from bolted steel plates with two large wooden spoked wheels. The guns did not have a recoil mechanism or a gun shield but the carriage's wheel brakes provided some recoil absorption. Due to its low angle of elevation +20° it was a direct fire weapon. For transport, the gun was attached to a limber for towing by a horse team and there were seats attached to the axle of the carriage for the crew. The limber also had seats for crew members plus ammunition and supplies.[1]
Service historyedit
This weapon was the workhorse light artillery piece of the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War from 1898 to 1902. At least 16 were deployed to Cuba in the former conflict. It was also used in the China Relief Expedition in 1900.[1] Beginning in 1902 the 3.2-inch gun was largely replaced in combat units by the 3-inch M1902 field gun. However, 3.2-inch guns lingered in reserve and training roles. During World War I, the Army primarily used the French 75 mm gun instead of its own designs, which were mostly kept in the United States for training. The 3.2-inch guns were declared obsolete and almost all were scrapped beginning in 1919.[1]
Surviving examplesedit
At least 38 of these weapons survive, six in private hands.[1]
Two M1897 at Fort Stevens State Park, Hammond, Oregon
Three M1897 at San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
One M1897 #225 with clean bore, Casper municipal cemetery, Casper, WY in Veterans section. Limber & ammunition carriages located at Fort Caspar entrance, Casper Wyoming.
^Artillery preserved in Massachusetts by Harold A. Skaarup
^Page on 3.2-inch gun in Flemington, NJ at Barking-Moonbat.com
Ordnance Dept., US Army (1917). Handbook of the 3.2-inch Field Battery. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Williford, Glen M. (2016). American Breechloading Mobile Artillery, 1875–1953. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN978-0-7643-5049-8.
External linksedit
Description of the use of 3.2-inch guns in the Philippines, US War Department report for fiscal year ended June 30, 1900, pp. 357–359
January 01, 1970
inch, m1897, with, predecessors, m1885, m1890, army, first, steel, rifled, breech, loading, field, army, primary, field, artillery, piece, spanish, american, philippine, american, boxer, rebellion, from, 1898, 1902, model, 1885, with, crew, spanish, american, . The 3 2 inch gun M1897 81 mm with its predecessors the M1885 and M1890 was the U S Army s first steel rifled breech loading field gun It was the Army s primary field artillery piece in the Spanish American War Philippine American War and Boxer Rebellion from 1898 to 1902 1 3 2 inch gun M1897Model 1885 with crew Spanish American War era Note the three stage barrel rather than the two stage barrel used on the Model 1897 TypeLight field gunPlace of originUnited StatesService historyIn service1885 1919Used byUS ArmyWarsSpanish American WarPhilippine American WarBoxer RebellionProduction historyDesignerWatervliet ArsenalDesigned1885ManufacturerGun Watertown Arsenal West Point Foundry Watervliet ArsenalCarriage Springfield Arsenal Rock Island ArsenalProduced1885 1899No built100 M1885 272 M1890 and M1897 372 total 1 VariantsM1885 M1890 M1897SpecificationsMass830 lb 380 kg gun amp breech 2 130 lb 970 kg gun amp carriage total 1 Barrel length26 calibers 83 2 inches 2 11 m bore 1 ShellSeparate loading bagged charges and projectiles Black powder M1885 and original M1890 Smokeless powder M1897 and converted M1890 Shell weight13 lb 8 oz 6 kg 1 Calibre3 2 inch 81 mm Breechde Bange style interrupted screw 1 RecoilWheel brakes no recoil mechanism 1 CarriageBox trailElevation 20 maxTraverseNoneMuzzle velocity1 685 ft s 514 m s Maximum firing range6 530 yd 5 970 m Feed systemHand Contents 1 Design 2 Service history 3 Surviving examples 4 See also 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External linksDesign editThis series of weapons was designed to provide a modern alternative to breech loading conversions of the Civil War era 3 inch Ordnance rifle It was constructed of steel and was of built up construction with a central rifled tube and reinforcing hoops from the trunnions to the breech Its steel was stronger than the wrought iron of preceding weapons The guns had an interrupted screw breech with either a de Bange plastic obturator or on the earlier modifications a conceptually similar design by Spaniard Luis Freyre y Gongora with a metallic ring and fired separate loading bagged charges and projectiles The projectiles weighed approximately 13 5 lb 6 1 kg and common shrapnel or canister types available 1 The M1885 and M1890 used black powder when first introduced but the M1897 was redesigned for smokeless powder the M1890 weapons were then modified for smokeless powder and re designated M1897s 1 2 In the Spanish American War difficulties were encountered in ramping up production of smokeless powder so the M1885 and M1890 weapons were deployed to use the available black powder 1 The M1890 was a simplification of the M1885 with the barrel made from two forgings instead of eight 2 The guns had a box trail carriage built from bolted steel plates with two large wooden spoked wheels The guns did not have a recoil mechanism or a gun shield but the carriage s wheel brakes provided some recoil absorption Due to its low angle of elevation 20 it was a direct fire weapon For transport the gun was attached to a limber for towing by a horse team and there were seats attached to the axle of the carriage for the crew The limber also had seats for crew members plus ammunition and supplies 1 Service history editThis weapon was the workhorse light artillery piece of the Spanish American War and the Philippine American War from 1898 to 1902 At least 16 were deployed to Cuba in the former conflict It was also used in the China Relief Expedition in 1900 1 Beginning in 1902 the 3 2 inch gun was largely replaced in combat units by the 3 inch M1902 field gun However 3 2 inch guns lingered in reserve and training roles During World War I the Army primarily used the French 75 mm gun instead of its own designs which were mostly kept in the United States for training The 3 2 inch guns were declared obsolete and almost all were scrapped beginning in 1919 1 Surviving examples editAt least 38 of these weapons survive six in private hands 1 Two M1897 at Fort Stevens State Park Hammond Oregon One M1885 at Rock Island Arsenal Illinois One M1897 in Abilene Texas One M1885 Fairmount Cemetery Denver Colorado 3 One M1885 at Memorial Triangle Park in Brookhaven New York 4 One M1897 in Burlington Wisconsin 5 One M1885 in Waterford Wisconsin 6 One M1897 in Veterans Memorial Park Hull Massachusetts 7 One M1890 Main Street Flemington New Jersey 8 One M1897 in Montgomery Illinois Three M1897 at San Juan Hill Santiago de Cuba Cuba One M1897 225 with clean bore Casper municipal cemetery Casper WY in Veterans section Limber amp ammunition carriages located at Fort Caspar entrance Casper Wyoming See also editList of U S Army weapons by supply catalog designation SNL C 24 List of field gunsGallery edit nbsp 3 2 inch guns being loaded at Tampa FL during the Spanish American War nbsp 3 2 inch guns of the 6th US Artillery in the Spanish American War nbsp 3 2 inch guns in the Philippines References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Williford pp 15 19 a b Ordnance p 7 3 2 inch gun in Denver CO at Waymarking com PDF about 3 2 inch gun in Brookhaven NY War memorials in Burlington WI War memorials in Waterford WI Artillery preserved in Massachusetts by Harold A Skaarup Page on 3 2 inch gun in Flemington NJ at Barking Moonbat com Ordnance Dept US Army 1917 Handbook of the 3 2 inch Field Battery Washington DC Government Printing Office Williford Glen M 2016 American Breechloading Mobile Artillery 1875 1953 Atglen Pennsylvania Schiffer Publishing ISBN 978 0 7643 5049 8 External links editDescription of the use of 3 2 inch guns in the Philippines US War Department report for fiscal year ended June 30 1900 pp 357 359 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 3 2 inch gun M1897 amp oldid 1144594548, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
