Machines | Bethlehem Steel 37mm Cannon - WWI Era
videos | at work | information | view | construction
http://www.forgottenweapons.com Theme music by Dylan Benson - http://dbproductioncompany.webs.com The 37mm gun was found in many guises during World War One - that caliber was the smallest allowed to use exploding projectiles by the 1899 Hague accords. Every nation in the world, it seems, used 37mm guns of one type or another. Well, one particular version I had the chance to look at was built by Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania for the French Army. Chambered for the same 37x136mm Hotchkiss Heavy cartridge used in US naval service, 200 were purchased in 1916. Only 15 were actually shipped before the US Army seized the bulk of the order in 1917 - but they were never put into any sort of service by the US military. The French tested the guns for suitability as n infantry gun, anti-tank gun, anti-aircraft gun, and naval landing gun - and found unsuitable for all roles. It was probably tested only as a backup in case the redesign of the Mle 1916 Tir Rapid ran into problems. At any rate, the 15 guns sent to France were sent back at the end of the war, and the guns remained in US Army inventory until 1921, when they appear to have been distributed out the National Guard units. I think this is a very cool gun for the present-day enthusiast. In addition to the historical links to WWI, it has the practical benefits of being relatively light and using ammunition relatively inexpensive to reload. And, of course, the free mount and shoulder rest and iron sights give it more the feel of a shoulder rifle than later light artillery that use precisely adjusted mounts. This one is just more fun to shoot! Alas, there are very few still in existence. Perhaps an opportunity for someone who wants to make a reproduction Big Boy's Toy?
Comments
-
Nice coyote gun.
-
There's a duck shadow at 4:56
-
It's like they try and shoot the assault rifle every time he speaks
-
this may sound like a dumb question but how do you aim accurately with iron sites placed on the side of the barrel and not directly on it
-
The Bethlehem steel plant in my city (buffalo) burned down last week
-
the free mount system also appears on the Matilda mk2. properly balanced weapons don't take a lot to move around
-
Did I really get a bit sad, because a weaopon never got the opportunity to kill people ?
-
this channel is more addicting then cigarettes
-
Not Fair, You just have too much fun
-
Funny how you can hear the ricochets at´ 00:28, sounds just like the movies.
-
Lol, that thing couldn't even shoot through 10 mm of plywood.
-
I recommend a camera tripod.
-
I have a friend with a fully operational gun. Not an anti armor gun at all. Antipersonnel gun. That's why it was made to swivel so freely. The Americans fielded a tripod mounted 37mm artillery piece, the m1916 37mm. which was latter used in the Renault tank that the Americans used in 1918.
-
so basically a gigantic sniper rifle lolz on wheels
-
This needs to be a Battlefield 1! I imagine it would make for a nice AT gun.
-
Do you have much info on the British COW gun Coventry Ordnance Works 37mm autocannon? Why was this 37mm round so popular?
-
Very cool little gun. If I had the money to burn, I would love to obtain a German pak40.
-
put the gun on a turret on the back of a truck
-
falling block, semi auto, and a decent anti tank round. if this had been given a magazine feed it would have made for an excellent anti tank gun.
-
That maschiengunfire in the Background xD