The production of gun bodies for the 75-millimeter units was quite satisfactory. The Bethlehem Co., the Wisconsin Gun Co., the Symington-Anderson Co., and the Watervliet Arsenal were the contractors who built the gun bodies. Gun bodies of three types, but all of the same 75-millimeter bore, were ordered—the American type (the modified 3-inch gun), the British type (the modified 3.3-inch gun), and the French type.
Our ordnance preparation would have given us enough 75's for the projected army of 3,360,000 men on the front in the summer of 1919, together with appropriate provision for training in the United States. Of the 75's built in this country, 143 units were shipped to the American Expeditionary Forces before the armistice went into effect. Meanwhile the French had delivered to our troops 1,828 units of this size. The total equipment of 75's for our Army in France from all sources thus amounted to 1,971 guns with their complete accessories.
| Unit. | Contractor. | Number ordered. | Number completed at signing of armistice. | Number floated overseas to Nov. 11, 1918. | Number completed up to April 17, 1919. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75-mm. gun carriage, model 1916 | Rock Island Arsenal | 472 | 159 | 34 | 185 |
| Bethlehem Steel Co. | 455 | 14 | 25 | ||
| New York Air Brake Co. | 400 | 33 | 97 | ||
| 75-mm. gun carriage (French) | Willys-Overland Co. | 2,927 | 291 | 1,299 | |
| 75-mm. gun carriage (British), complete | Bethlehem Steel Co. | 2,868 | 724 | 124 | 921 |
| 75-mm. gun carriage limber (British), complete | do. | 968 | 439 | 1,010 | |
| 75-mm. gun carriage limber, model 1918 | do. | 436 | 436 | 441 | |
| American Car & Foundry Co. | 3,661 | 3,661 | 980 | 3,661 | |
| 75-mm. gun caisson, model 1918 | Bethlehem Steel Co. | 1,666 | 302 | 4,957 | 831 |
| American Car & Foundry Co. | 20,356 | 11,680 | 18,301 | ||
| 75-mm. caisson limber, model 1918 | Bethlehem Steel Co. | 1,916 | 1,210 | 1,916 | |
| American Car & Foundry Co. | 20,675 | 15,526 | 4,126 | 20,675 | |
| 75-mm. cannon, model 1916 | Symington-Anderson Co. | 640 | 416 | 19 | 416 |
| Wisconsin Gun Co. | 160 | 116 | 116 | ||
| Watervliet Arsenal | 264 | 161 | 192 | ||
| Bethlehem Steel Co. | 340 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 75-mm. cannon (French) | Symington-Anderson Co. | 4,300 | 103 | 860 | |
| Wisconsin Gun Co. | 2,050 | 9 | 190 | ||
| 75-mm. cannon (British) | Bethlehem Steel Co. | 2,868 | 592 | 124 | 909 |
4.7-INCH GUNS.
In the 4.7-inch field gun, model of 1906, America took to France a weapon all her own. It was a proven gun, too, developed under searching experiments and tests. There were 60 of these in actual service when we got into the war. The 4.7-inch guns, with their greater range and power, promised to be particularly useful for destroying the enemy's 77-millimeter guns.
The carriage model of 1906 for the 4.7-inch gun is of the long recoil type, the recoil being 70 inches in length. The recoil is checked by a hydraulic cylinder, and a system of springs thereupon returns the gun to the firing position. The gun's maximum elevation is 15 degrees, at which elevation, with a 60-pound projectile, the gun has a range of 7,260 meters, or 4½ miles. With a 45-pound projectile a range of 8,750 meters, or nearly 5½ miles, can be obtained at 15 degrees elevation. It is possible to increase this range to about 10,000 meters, or well over 6 miles, by depressing the trail into a hole prepared for it, a practice often adopted on the field to obtain greater range. The total weight of the gun carriage with its limber is about 9,800 pounds.
An order for 250 of the 4.7-inch carriages was placed with the Walter Scott Co., at Plainfield, N. J., July 12, 1917, upon the recommendation of committees of the Council of National Defense, who were assisting the Ordnance Department in the selection of industrial firms willing to accept artillery contracts. Of the 250 ordered from this concern, 49 were delivered up to the signing of the armistice.
The Rock Island Arsenal had also been employed previously in turning out 4.7-inch carriages; and the capacity of that plant, although small, was utilized. Under the date of July 23, 1917, the arsenal was instructed to deliver 183 carriages. Late in December, 1917, the Studebaker Corporation was given an order for 500. On September 30, 1918, Rock Island Arsenal was given an additional order for 120 carriages, while the Studebaker order was reduced to 380. Additional plant facilities had to be provided at both the Walter Scott Co. and the Studebaker Corporation.
Up to December 12, 1918, a total of 381 carriages of the 4.7-inch type had been completed and delivered. These carriages included the recoil mechanism. In the month of October, 1918, alone, 113 were produced, and this rate would have been continued had the armistice not been signed.