The 3.2-inch gun M1897 (81 mm), with its predecessors the M1885 and M1890, was the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

's first steel, rifled,

breech loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally bre ...

field gun. It was the Army's primary field artillery piece in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, Philippine–American War, and Boxer Rebellion from 1898 to 1902.

Design

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 Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

of preceding weapons. The guns had an

interrupted screw Breech from Russian 122 mm M1910 howitzer, modified and combined with 105 mm H37 howitzer barrel An interrupted screw or interrupted thread is a mechanical device typically used in the breech of artillery guns. It is believed to have be ...

breech with either a

de Bange Charles Ragon de Bange (17 October 1833 – 9 July 1914) was a French artillery officer and Polytechnician. He invented the first effective obturator system for breech-loading artillery, which remains in use. He also designed a system of field g ...

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 and common,

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

, or canister types available. The M1885 and M1890 used black powder when first introduced, but the M1897 was redesigned for

smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared t ...

; the M1890 weapons were then modified for smokeless powder and re-designated M1897s.Ordnance, p. 7 In the

, difficulties were encountered in ramping up production of smokeless powder, so the M1885 and M1890 weapons were deployed to use the available black powder. The M1890 was a simplification of the M1885, with the barrel made from two forgings instead of eight. 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 Direct fire or line-of-sight fire refers to firing of a ranged weapon whose projectile is launched directly at a target within the line-of-sight of the user. The firing weapon must have a sighting device and an unobstructed view to the target, ...

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.

Service history

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. Beginning in 1902 the 3.2-inch gun was largely replaced in combat units by the

3-inch M1902 field gun The 3-inch Gun, Model of 1902 was the U.S. Army’s first nickel steel, quick-firing field gun with a recoil mechanism. Like its predecessor the 3.2-inch gun M1897, it was a rifled breechloader. Design During the second half of 1890s the so-call ...

. However, 3.2-inch guns lingered in reserve and training roles. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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.

Surviving examples

At least 38 of these weapons survive, six in private hands. * Two M1897 at Fort Stevens State Park, Hammond, Oregon * One M1885 at

Rock Island Arsenal The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...

, Illinois * One M1897 in Abilene, Texas * One M1885, Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado * One M1885 at Memorial Triangle Park in Brookhaven, New York * One M1897 in Burlington, Wisconsin * One M1885 in Waterford, Wisconsin * One M1897 in Veterans' Memorial Park, Hull, Massachusetts * One M1890, Main Street, Flemington, New JerseyPage on 3.2-inch gun in Flemington, NJ at Barking-Moonbat.com
/ref> * 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 Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

in Veterans section. Limber & ammunition carriages located at

Fort Caspar Fort Caspar was a military post of the United States Army in present-day Wyoming, named after 2nd Lieutenant Caspar Collins, a U.S. Army officer who was killed in the 1865 Battle of the Platte Bridge Station against the Lakota and Cheyenne. Found ...

entrance, Casper Wyoming.

Gallery

File:Cannons being loaded on transport preparing to sail to Cuba for the Spanish-American war- Tampa, Florida (3465709198).jpg, 3.2-inch guns being loaded at Tampa FL during the Spanish–American War. File:WHI.2014.65 (13967806952).jpg, 3.2-inch guns of the 6th US Artillery in the Spanish–American War. File:Manila646 1899.jpg, 3.2-inch guns in the Philippines.

References

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External links