The Puteaux SA 18 was a French single-shot, breech-loading

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

, used in World War I through World War II, primarily mounted on combat vehicles. It is closely related to the

Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

, also produced by Puteaux. It was a simple, reliable weapon with a high rate of fire made possible by a semi-automatic breech system. It was primarily intended to be used against infantry and machine-gun nests because its low muzzle velocity made it unsuitable for anti-armour use. Although its armour penetration capabilities were poor, it was able to combat light armoured vehicles as late as 1939. The gun was operated by one soldier and was found easy to use, with a low incidence of jamming. It was sighted on target with a separate scope attached to the left side of the weapon.

Technical details

The barrel length was 21 calibres (L/21). While its maximum fire rate was 15 rounds per minute,37mm wz. 18 (SA-18) Puteaux at Derela.pl
/ref> its practical rate was only 10 rounds.
/ref> After firing, the breech opened and ejected the used cartridge case automatically. The weapon was served only by the gunner who aimed it through a simple 1x direct sight. This gun was standard on French light tanks and armoured cars, being mounted on the

Renault FT The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...

and

White AM armoured car The White AM armoured car (officially the Automitrailleuse White or abbreviated as the White AM) was a French First World War armoured car that was built on a commercial American White Motor Company truck chassis with armoured bodies supplied ...

in World War I. In World War II, it was used on the

Renault R-35 The Renault R35, an abbreviation of ''Char léger Modèle 1935 R'' or R 35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. Designed from 1933 onwards and produced from 1936, the type was intended as an infantry support light tank, ...

Hotchkiss H-35 The Hotchkiss H35 or was a French cavalry tank developed prior to World War II. Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry becaus ...

and H-38,

FCM-36 The FCM 36 or ''Char léger Modèle 1936 FCM'', was a light infantry tank that was designed for the French Army prior to World War II. It had a crew of two and was equipped with a short 37 mm main armament and a 7.5 mm coaxial machine g ...

and several types of French

armoured cars Armored (or armoured) car or vehicle may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armoured fighting vehicle, any armed combat vehicle protected by armor ** Armored car (military), a military wheeled armored vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an arm ...

, mainly the White-Laffly AMD 50. In the Polish Army of the 1920s through World War II the wz.18 Puteaux gun was used on Renault FT light tanks and Renault R-35 and Hotchkiss H-35, Peugeot armoured cars, and the Samochód pancerny wz. 28,

Samochód pancerny wz. 29 Samochód Pancerny wzór 29 ("armoured car year 1929 model"), commonly known as Ursus or CWS, was a Polish interwar heavy armored car. A handful of these vehicles saw combat during the Polish-German War of 1939. History and description The ca ...

and Samochód pancerny wz. 34 armoured cars. It was also used on some Polish riverine craft and

armoured trains An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...

References

External links

{{WWIIFrenchGuns Tank guns of France World War I artillery of France World War II weapons of France 37 mm artillery