Canon de 194 mle GPF

Canon de 194 mle GPF
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	France  Nazi Germany
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Louis Filloux
Designed	1917
Specifications
Weight	29,600 kg (65,300 lb)
Barrel length	6.57 m (21 ft 7 in) L/42.2
Shell	80.86 kg (200 lb)
Caliber	194mm (7.63in)
Elevation	0° to 35°
Traverse	55°
Muzzle velocity	640 m/s (2,100 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	18,300 m (20,000 yd)
Main armament	194 mm (7.6 in) gun
Engine	Panhard SUK4 M2 120 hp (89kw)
Speed	8-10 km/h (5-6 mp/h)

The Canon de 194 mle GPF (Grand Puissance Filloux - High-Power Filloux) - was the first French tracked self-propelled gun (SPG). Designed at the end of World War I, it was a pioneering weapon with many modern features.

The vehicle was designed in Schneider's Le Creusot works. It was originally planned to arm it with a 155 mm gun but a weapon of 194 mm was eventually chosen. A few examples of this SPG were armed with a modified 280 mm siege mortar, this version was known as the M 280 sur chenilles (literally - "tracked M 280"). Both weapons used the same chassis and were powered by a 120 horsepower (89 kW) Panhard SUK4 M2 engine. Compared to its contemporary British SPG, the Gun Carrier Mark I, the Canon de 194 was much more advanced; it was driven by only one person, had hydraulic brakes and the gun had automatically adjusting recoil mechanisms and pneumatic recuperators.

After the Great War all M 280 models were converted to take the 194 mm gun. Around 50 were still in use at the outbreak of World War II, some were used against the invading German forces. Surviving vehicles were pressed into Wehrmacht service as the 19.4 cm Kanone 485 (f) auf Selbstfahrlafette. At least 3 of them were used by the Germans in Russia in about 1942, serving in the 84th Regiment of Heer Artillery.

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