Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP

Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
American troops train with a 37 mm Infantry gun, May 1918
Type	Infantry support gun Aircraft artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	France United States Commonwealth of the Philippines Italy Poland
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Atelier de Puteaux
Produced	1916
Specifications
Weight	Combat: 108 kg (238 lbs) Travel: 160.5 kg (354 lbs)
Barrel length	74 cm (2 ft 5 in)
Caliber	37x94R mm (1.45 in)
Elevation	-8° to 17°
Traverse	35°
Rate of fire	Sustained: 25 rpm
Muzzle velocity	367 m/s (1,200 ft/s)
Effective firing range	1,500 m (1,600 yd)
Maximum firing range	2,400 m (2,600 yd)

The Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP (37mm mle.1916) was a French infantry support gun, first used during World War I. TRP stands for tir rapide, Puteaux (fast-firing, designed by the Atelier de Puteaux). The tactical purpose of this gun was the destruction of machine gun nests. It was also used on aircraft such as the Beardmore W.B.V and the Salmson-Moineau. Fighter ace René Fonck used a 37mm mle.1916 on a SPAD S.XII.

The modèle 1916 gun's 37mm caliber was the smallest allowed for explosive shells under the 1899 Hague Convention and hence was used by a many nations for small guns.

The guns were fitted to a tripod, to which wheels could be attached for transport. The guns could also be carried by four men, after being broken down into two, two-man loads - the 104-pound (47 kg) gun and recoil mechanism, and the 84-pound (38 kg) trails. Some were equipped with an gun shield. The breech-block of the gun was essentially a smaller version of that fitted to the well-known French 75 gun.

The guns could be crewed by two men, a loader and an aimer, and had a maximum rate of fire of around 35 rounds per minute. They were equipped with a removable APX telescopic sight. for direct fire, and a quadrant sight for indirect fire.

In US service, each gun was assigned an ammunition limber, which carried 14, sixteen-round boxes of ammunition as well as tools and accessories. The gun and its limber were normally together towed by a single horse or mule. But were manhandled forward if contact with the enemy was expected.

U.S. high explosive ammunition for the TRP was the Mark II HE shell with a projectile weighing 0.67 kilograms (1.5 lb) and a TNT bursting charge of 27.2 grams. The French Army used the Obus explosif Mle1916 HE round with a projectile weighing 0.555 kilograms (1.22 lb) and a bursting charge of 30 grams. Captured rounds of this type were designated Sprgr 147(f) by the German military in World War II.