The 75 Cannon
The non recoil 75 mm Cannon was a French-built artillery piece. Officially designated "Canon de 75, modèle 1897," it was used by both the French and American armies in World War IThe design was finalized by Commandant Deport, of Ateliers de Puteaux to start service in 1898, and built by the Schneider firm.
The "75 (soixante-quinze)" was based on the 90 mm caliber breech-loading, rifled De Bange Cannon. It fired a 5 kg high-explosive (HE) and shrapnel munition with a range of 5,500 meters to 8,500 meters. As a mobile artillery piece it was used in large numbers during World War I. In 1914, France had approximately 1,100 guns of this design. It was versatile even as anti-aircraft gun with a 7.5-kg munition filled with shrapnel.
In World War II, during the German invasion of France in 1940 it was used as an anti-tank cannon.
The 75mm had a rate of fire up to 20 shots per minute, due to an elaborate hydraulic mechanism and the employment of an earth spade to reduce recoil. This meant that the cannon did not need to be relaid after firing, which otherwise consumed the gun crew's time. However, the gun was unable to elevate beyond 18 degrees, which meant that it could not be used for plunging fire.
The German army opposed it with the 77 Cannon with a similar design.