FRENCH 75

field gun of 75-millimetre (2.95-inch) bore devised in 1894 by Colonel Albert Deport of the French army. It was distinguished from other cannon of its time by its recoil system: the barrel and breech recoiled on rollers while the gun carriage itself remained in place instead of jumping or rolling backward. The recoil was damped by a cylinder containing oil and the barrel and breech were returned to firing position by air in a second cylinder, compressed by the recoil. Introduced in 1897, the weapon was used by French and Allied armies until the fall of France in World War II.