75 mm FRC M27

75 mm FRC M27
TypeAnti-aircraft gun
Place of originBelgium
Service history
In service1927-1945
Used byBelgium
Nazi Germany
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerKrupp
Designed1913
ManufacturerFonderie Royale des Canons (FRC)
Produced1927[1]
Specifications
Mass7,930 kg (17,480 lb)
Barrel length3.9 m (12 ft 10 in) L/52[1]
ShellFixed QF
Shell weight6.4 kg (14 lb)
Caliber75 mm (3.0 in)
BreechVertical sliding-wedge
CarriageDual-axle flatbed road carriage or railroad flatcar.
Elevation0° to +70°
Traverse360°[1]
Muzzle velocity700 m/s (2,300 ft/s)
Maximum firing range7.5 km (25,000 ft) vertical ceiling[1]

The 75 mm FRC M27 was a Belgian anti-aircraft gun built after the First World War and used during the Second World War.

History

The origins of the FRC M27 lie in the German Krupp 8.8 cm SK L/45 naval gun of 1913. In addition to its role aboard warships of the Imperial German Navy, it was also used as a shore based anti-aircraft gun and coastal artillery during the First World War.[2] The Belgians obtained a number of these guns either when the Germans retreated or as reparations following Germany's defeat during the First World War.

The barrels were lined down to 75 mm by the Fonderie Royale des Canons (FRC) in 1927. The guns were given a muzzle brake and mounted on a shielded, high angle mount on either a dual-axle flatbed road carriage or on a railroad flatcar.[citation needed] Those weapons captured after the German occupation of Belgium in 1940 were taken into Wehrmacht service as the 7.5 cm Flak(b).[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Chamberlain, Peter; Gander, Terry (1975). Anti-aircraft guns. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 3. ISBN 0668038187. OCLC 2000222.
  2. ^ "SK 88 gun at Landships". www.landships.info. Retrieved 2017-09-09.