75mm Schneider-Putilov field gun model 1902/36
75mm Schneider-Putilov field gun model 1902/36.
75mm Schneider-Putilov field gun model 1902/36. Notice the damage caused by the shell explosion inside the breech.
Camouflaged 75mm  Schneider-Putilov gun model 1902/36 on the front line

After WW1, Romania remained with a very large quantity of 75 mm shells (around 5 million), but artillery park was extremely varied, having numerous different types and calibers. The need for standardization was very clear. The Schneider-Putilov 76.2 mm gun model 1902 seemed the obvious choice to introduce as a standard 75 mm gun for the infantry division, as around 460 pieces had been abandoned by the Russian Army in Romania.

The retubing of these artillery pieces began in 1925 at the Resita steel works. Two different templates were used: one that mimicked the original interior of the gun and one that mimicked the interior of the 75mm Krupp model 1904. While the 76.2 mm version preserved the performance of the initial model, the version prepared for the 75 mm ammo had a poor performance in both precision and range.

By 1933, 78 pieces of the model 1925 were in a poor state and had to be replaced. Since the idea to import new 75 mm artillery from Czechoslovakia was given up in the early '30s, a new refurbishment program began with the Resita steel works. This time the upgrade included the introduction of a new intermediary Resita model tube, as well as of a new inner tube. Three version of the inner tube were made: one having as template the 75 mm Puteaux model 1897 gun, one having the rifling of the 75 mm Puteaux model 1897 gun and the chamber of the 75 mm Krupp model 1904 and one preserving the original template. The targeting and recoil system were also upgraded. The idea was to use the existing ammo stocks until they were depleted and then all the versions would use the Schneider model 1917 shell, with which a maximum range of 11,200 m was achieved (significantly higher than the original 8,500 m range).

This model was named the 76.2/75 mm Shneider-Putilov model 1902/1936 and formed the backbone of the artillery regiments of the infantry divisions in the first years of WW2.
Specifications
Caliber 76.2mm/75mm
Barrel length 2,250mm, 30 calibers
Weight 1,350 kg during fire, 1,950kg during march
Shell weight 6.415kg
Muzzle velocity 588m/s
Vertical field of fire -3 to +17
Horizontal field of fire 5
Max range11,200m

Author: Victor Nitu
Sources:

Stroea A., Bajenaru Gh., Artileria romana in date si imagini, Ed. Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei, 2010

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