75 mm Field Gun M1897 on M2 Carriage

75 mm Field Gun M1897 on M2 Carriage. The American Legion Family. , It served in multi functional roles to include field and anti-tank gun. These types of artillery pieces were used by the U.S. Army during World War I, the interwar period, and World War II., Originally of French design, the Canon de 75 modèle 1897 was supplied to the United States in large numbers and became the standard field gun for the U.S. Army during World War I. The mle 1897 was a revolutionary breech-loading artillery piece that combined a Nordenfelt eccentric screw breech, fixed "quickfire" ammunition, and a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism. The combination of fixed ammunition, recoil mechanism, and simple breech made the mle 1897 one of the fastest-firing and most accurate field guns of its era., After the defeat of France in the spring of 1940, the U.S. Army became worried about its lack of modern antitank guns. In July 1940, the simplified and improved carriage known as the M2A3 was introduced, and it was decided to mount M1897 guns on both M2A2 and M2A3 carriages and equip them with direct-fire sights so they could be used as anti-tank guns. 918 M2A3 carriages had been manufactured in the United States by November 1941. There were 554 M2A2 and 188 M2A3 carriages in service during this time, but because of a shortage of more modern artillery pieces, the M1897/M2A2/3s were issued to both field artillery and anti-tank units. Donation provenance of this artillery piece to American Legion Post 409 is unknown.