5-inch gun M1897

5-inch gun M1897
5-inch gun M1897 on balanced pillar mount M1896
Type	Coastal artillery, Field gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1897–1920
Used by	United States Army
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Watervliet Arsenal
Designed	1897
Manufacturer	Watervliet Arsenal Bethlehem Steel
No. built	70 total[1] 35 M1897[2] 35 M1900 52 coast defense emplacements[3]
Variants	M1897, M1900
Specifications
Mass	M1897: 7,583 pounds (3,440 kg) M1900: 11,120 pounds (5,040 kg)
Barrel length	M1897: 45 calibers, 225 inches (5.7 m) bore length M1900: 50 calibers, 250 inches (6.4 m) bore length
Hydro-spring
Carriage	M1896 balanced pillar M1903 pedestal most carriages manufactured by Watertown Arsenal[5]
Elevation	40° (field carriage)[2]
Traverse	balanced pillar: 360° (varied with emplacement) pedestal: 360° (varied with emplacement)
Maximum firing range	M1900: 12,918 yards (11,812 m)[4]
Feed system	hand

The 5-inch gun M1897 (127 mm) and its variant the M1900 were

Under the Endicott program, 52 5-inch guns were emplaced in the United States, 32 on M1896 balanced pillar carriages and 20 on M1903 pedestal mounts.[3]^[8]

World War I

After the American entry into World War I, the Army recognized the need for large-caliber guns for use on the Western Front. The Coast Artillery operated all US Army heavy artillery in that war, due to their experience and training with these weapons. A total of 28 5-inch coast defense guns were removed from fixed emplacements and mounted on M1917 wheeled carriages as field guns;^[2][9] these equipped a Coast Artillery regiment in France, the 69th.^[10] All of these were probably M1897 weapons.^[2][9] However, due to the Armistice, the regiment did not complete training in time to see action, and reportedly never received ammunition.^[10] None of the 5-inch guns were returned to coast defenses. In June 1919, after the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the field carriages for the 5-inch guns were declared obsolete and scrapped.^[2]

Following World War I a number of gun types deployed in small numbers were scrapped, including all of the remaining coast defense 5-inch guns. Some were donated to local governments for use as war memorials; at least seven of these remain.^[11]

Surviving examples

At least seven Army 5-inch guns remain as war memorials:^[11]

• One 5-inch gun M1897,
  Fort Caswell
  , NC)
• One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. 21, Veterans' Memorial Park, Mahoning Ave.,
  Warren, OH (formerly at Battery Wagner, Fort Baker
  , Marin County, CA)
• One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. 13,
  Wayne, PA (formerly at Battery Bell, Fort Schuyler
  , NY)
• One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. Unk.,
  Indiana, PA
• One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. 3,
  Fort Winfield Scott
  , San Francisco, CA)
• One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. 22,
  Chewsville, MD (formerly at Battery Vicars, Fort Worden
  , WA)
• One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. Unk.,
  Boonsboro, MD

• Coastal artillery
• Seacoast defense in the United States
• United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
• Harbor Defense Command
• 5"/51 caliber gun
  - Navy weapon of similar size and era, some used as coast defense in World War II
• Coast Artillery fire control system
• List of field guns

References

• Berhow, Mark A., ed. (2015). American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide (Third ed.). McLean, Virginia: CDSG Press.
  ISBN 978-0-9748167-3-9
  .
• Crowell, Benedict (1919). America's Munitions 1917-1918. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
• Lewis, Emanuel Raymond (1979). Seacoast Fortifications of the United States. Annapolis: Leeward Publications.
  ISBN 978-0-929521-11-4
  .
• Lohrer, George L. (1904). Ordnance Supply Manual, United States Army Ordnance Dept. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. pp. 221–233.
• Williford, Glen (2016). American Breechloading Mobile Artillery, 1875-1953. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
  ISBN 978-0-7643-5049-8
  .

• FortWiki gun type list
• Drawing and description of the balanced pillar carriage, from Ordnance and Gunnery, 1915.