TWO VIEWS OF 155-MILLIMETER GUN, MODEL 1918, G. P. F.
The upper view shows the piece mounted on an auto truck for quick moving about.
In order to produce enough forgings to supply the finish-machining shops, an order for 50 jackets was later given to the Edgewater Steel Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa., where the jackets were forged. These were then sent to the Heppenstall Forge & Knife Co. for rough machining and finally returned to the Edgewater Steel Co. for heat treating. An order for 150 jackets was also given to the Tacony Ordnance Corporation.
Shortly before the signing of the armistice, the jacket was redesigned so that the heavy breech end was forged separately in the shape of a breech ring. This design, however, was not produced.
It was desired to develop a 4.7-inch gun carriage having the characteristics of the split-trail 75-millimeter gun carriage, model of 1916, so that greater elevation and wide traverse could be obtained. The Bethlehem Steel Co. was given a small order for 36 carriages of their own design prior to the war, and their pilot carriage had been undergoing tests at the proving ground. The design was, however, not sufficiently advanced to be used in the war.
| Unit. | Contractor. | Number ordered. | Number completed at the signing of armistice. | Number completed up to April 17, 1919. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.7-inch gun carriage, model of 1906 | Rock Island Arsenal | 303 | 183 | 183 |
| Studebaker Corporation | 380 | 88 | 175 | |
| Walter Scott Co. | 250 | 49 | 57 | |
| 4.7-inch gun-carriage limber | American Car & Foundry Co. | 433 | 433 | 433 |
| Maxwell Motor Co. | 479 | 82 | 250 | |
| 4.7-inch gun caisson | American Car & Foundry Co. | 1,848 | 320 | 848 |
| Ford Motor Co. | 1,001 | 106 | 400 | |
| 4.7-inch cannon | Northwestern Gun Co. | 56 | ||
| Watervliet Arsenal | 93 |
Sixteen of these units, also 48 which were previously on hand, were floated for overseas up to November 11, 1918.
THE 5-INCH AND 6-INCH GUN MOUNTS.
In the war emergency America sought to put on the front every pound of artillery she could acquire from any source whatsoever. Accordingly, before any of the manufacturing projects were even started, the Ordnance Department conducted a preparedness inventory of the United States to see what guns already in existence we might find that could be improvised for use as mobile artillery in France. The search discovered a number of heavy cannon that could serve the purpose—part of them belonging to the Army, these being the guns at our seacoast fortifications; part belonging to the Navy, in its stores of supplies for battleships; and part of them being the property of a private dealer, Francis Bannerman & Son, of New York.