25 mm APX modèle 1937W
25 mm APX modèle 1937

The 25 mm APX modèle 1937 or Canon de 25 mm semi-automatique modèle 1937 was a French anti-tank gun that saw service in the first years of the Second World War.

25 mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gunW
25 mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun

The Hotchkiss 25 mm anti-aircraft gun was an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the French firm of Hotchkiss. It served in World War II with French, Japanese and other nations' forces. Other than the designer company and the calibre, this weapon is not related to the semi-automatic 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun; in particular, the cartridge used is different.

25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gunW
25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun

The 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun was a French anti-tank gun from the 1930's, built by the Hotchkiss arsenal, that saw service in the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War and the Indochina War.

47 mm APX anti-tank gunW
47 mm APX anti-tank gun

The 47 mm APX anti-tank gun was a French anti-tank gun that saw service in the first years of the Second World War.

AC 37 anti-tank gunW
AC 37 anti-tank gun

The AC 37 was a French anti-tank gun of 37mm caliber, developed by the Ateliers de Puteaux. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930s. It was frequently paired with a Jumelage de Mitrailleuses (JM) cupola with twin machine guns.

AC 47 anti-tank gunW
AC 47 anti-tank gun

The AC 47 was a French anti-tank gun of 47mm caliber. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930s; another version was created for naval use.

Canon de 75 CA modèle 1940 SchneiderW
Canon de 75 CA modèle 1940 Schneider

The Canon de 75 contre avion modèle 1940 Schneider was a French 75 mm anti-aircraft gun designed and manufactured by Schneider et Cie at Le Creusot. These guns were used by the French Army during the Second World War.

Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modele 1909 SchneiderW
Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modele 1909 Schneider

The Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modèle 1909 Schneider was a French mountain gun, manufactured by Schneider et Cie. According to Kennblätter fremden Geräts, Germany used the former French gun as the 10.5 cm GebH 343(f). The gun could be towed by a horse or mule.

Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modèle 1919 SchneiderW
Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modèle 1919 Schneider

The Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modèle 1919 Schneider was a French mountain gun produced by Schneider and intended to be used in conjunction with the 75 mm mle.19 that was used by a number of countries during World War II.

Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRPW
Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP

The Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP was a French infantry support gun, first used during World War I. TRP stands for tir rapide, Puteaux. The tactical purpose of this gun was the destruction of machine gun nests.

Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906W
Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906

The Canon de 65 M modele 1906 where M stands for "montagne", or briefly 65 mm Mle 1906 where "mle" stands for "modèle", was a French mountain gun which entered service with the régiments d'artillerie de montagne in 1906 and was one of the first soft-recoil guns in service. The carriage of the Mle 1906 was hinged and could be broken down into four mule loads for transport. By 1939, the weapon was generally used as an infantry support gun. After 1940, the Germans would use these as 6,5 cm GebK 221(f). The gun was also used by Israel, Albania, Poland and Greece.

Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917W
Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917

The Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913–1917 were a family of French 75 mm anti-aircraft guns designed and manufactured by Schneider et Cie at Le Creusot. The guns were used by the French Army during the First World War and Second World War.

Canon de 75 M(montagne) modele 1919 SchneiderW
Canon de 75 M(montagne) modele 1919 Schneider

The Canon de 75 M (montagne) modèle 1919 Schneider was a French mountain gun designed as a replacement of the 65 mm mle 1906. The mle 1919 was manufactured by Schneider et Cie and used during World War II. For transport, the gun could be broken down into seven sections. This weapon was used by Brazil, Paraguay, Yugoslavia and Greece. When captured by the Germans in World War II, the French guns were designated 7.5 cm GebK 237(f); the Yugoslav guns were designated 7.5 cm GebK 283(j). The gun crew was protected by an armoured shield.

Canon de 75 M(montagne) modele 1928W
Canon de 75 M(montagne) modele 1928

The Canon de 75 Montagne modèle 1928 was a French mountain gun, used by France, Poland and Nazi Germany during World War II.

Canon de 75 modèle 1897W
Canon de 75 modèle 1897

The French 75 mm field gun was a quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and Soixante-Quinze. The French 75 was designed as an anti-personnel weapon system for delivering large volumes of time-fused shrapnel shells on enemy troops advancing in the open. After 1915 and the onset of trench warfare, other types of battlefield missions demanding impact-detonated high-explosive shells prevailed. By 1918 the 75s became the main agents of delivery for toxic gas shells. The 75s also became widely used as truck mounted anti-aircraft artillery. They were also the main armament of the Saint-Chamond tank in 1918.

Canon de 105 court mle 1934 SchneiderW
Canon de 105 court mle 1934 Schneider

The Canon de 105 court modèle 1934 Schneider was a French howitzer used in World War II. Captured weapons were used by the German Heer as the 10.5 cm leFH 324(f). It was a conservative design by Schneider et Cie. Production was slow with only 144 built by the beginning of the Battle of France. A more advanced 105 mm howitzer design, the Canon de 105 court mle 1935 B, was produced by the State Arsenal at Bourges, and was ordered in larger numbers. 70 105 mm howitzers mod. 1934 Schneider bought by Lithuania in 1937.

Canon de 105 court mle 1935 BW
Canon de 105 court mle 1935 B

The Canon de 105 court modèle 1935 B was a French howitzer used in World War II. It was designed by the State Arsenal at Bourges to replace the Canon de 105 court mle 1934 Schneider. Some 610 were originally ordered, although production was terminated in 1939 in favor of anti-tank guns. Only some 232 were in service when the German attacked in May 1940. Captured weapons were used by the German Heer as the 10.5 cm leFH 325(f) and assigned to training and second-line occupation units. During Italy's occupation of southern France, 127 pieces were captured by the Royal Italian Army, which used it under the name Obice da 105/153.

Canon de 105 L mle 1936 SchneiderW
Canon de 105 L mle 1936 Schneider

The Canon de 105 L modèle 1936 Schneider was a field gun used by France in World War II.

Canon de 105 mle 1913 SchneiderW
Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider

The Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider was a French artillery piece used in World War I and World War II by many European countries.

Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. ChamondW
Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond

The Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Saint-Chamond was a French howitzer used during World War I. It was based on a private prototype of a 150 millimetres (5.9 in) howitzer presented to the Mexican government in 1911. The French government ordered 400 Saint-Chamond howitzers in 1915, these being delivered starting in late 1916. Small numbers of Saint-Chamond howitzers were given to the Serbian and Romanian armies towards the end of World War I. The Saint-Chamond howitzer served in the French Army after World War I and were mobilised at the outbreak of World War II. Finland bought 24 Saint-Chamond howitzers during the Winter War and these served until the 1960s. The German Army captured some Saint-Chamond howitzers after the fall of France and used these mostly as coastal defence guns until the end of World War II.

Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 SchneiderW
Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider

The Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider, often abbreviated as the C17S, was a French howitzer designed by Schneider. It was essentially the Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Schneider fitted with a different breech to use bagged propellant rather than the cartridge cases used by the older howitzer. It was used by France, Russian Empire, Belgium, Rumania, and the United States from 1917 during World War I and was widely exported after the war. Surviving weapons were in service with France, Poland, Greece, Italy, Belgium, the United States, and Finland during World War II. Captured weapons were used by the Germans for their 2nd-line artillery and coast defense units.

Canon de 155mm GPFW
Canon de 155mm GPF

The Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux (GPF) mle.1917 was a WWI-era French-designed 155 mm gun used by the French Army and the United States Army during the first half of the 20th century in towed and self-propelled mountings.

Canon de 194 GPFW
Canon de 194 GPF

The Canon de 194 GPF - 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.

Canon de 240 L Mle 1884W
Canon de 240 L Mle 1884

The Canon de 240 mm L modèle 1884 was a heavy artillery piece originally employed as coastal artillery and later converted to siege artillery and railway artillery roles. Mle 1884 guns were used in both World War I and World War II.

Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1887W
Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1887

The Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1887 was a heavy naval gun used as the main armament of a number of French pre-dreadnoughts and coastal defense ships during World War I. Eight were converted to railway artillery in World War I and four were used during World War II.

Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceauW
Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau

The Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau was a French railway gun used by the French Army and the United States Army during World War I. The guns were used again by the French Army during World War II.

Darne machine gunW
Darne machine gun

The Darne machine gun is a machine gun of French origin.

Hispano-Suiza HS.404W
Hispano-Suiza HS.404

The HS.404 is an autocannon originally designed and produced by Spanish/French company Hispano-Suiza in the mid-1930s. It was widely used as an aircraft, naval and land-based weapon by French, British, American and other military services, particularly during World War II. The cannon is also referred to as Birkigt type 404, after its designer Marc Birkigt and later versions based on British development are known as 20 mm Hispano.

Hotchkiss M1929 machine gunW
Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun

The 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun was a heavy machine gun designed and manufactured by Hotchkiss et Cie from the late 1920s until World War II and saw service with various nations' forces, including Italy and Japan where the gun was built under license.

LG clocheW
LG cloche

The LG cloche was a defensive element common to many Maginot Line ouvrages. The fixed cupola was deeply embedded into the concrete on top of a combat block, with only the top surface visible. The opening permitted the ejection of grenades from the interior of the cloche, providing a means of close defense against enemy troops on top of the bunker. 75 units were installed in the Maginot Line.

Modèle 1939 (mine)W
Modèle 1939 (mine)

The Mle 1939 was a French bouncing anti-personnel mine used at the start of the Second World War, it was developed largely in response to the German S-mine bounding mine. It saw very little service before the fall of France. The plans escaped to the US via Major Pierre Delalande, a member of the French Corps of Engineers, and were used as the basis for the American M2 bounding mine which saw wider service during the war but was considered largely ineffective. The M2 mine was replaced almost immediately afterwards with the M16 bounding mine, an almost exact copy of the German S-mine. The French also later produced a copy of the S-mine, the Mle 1951 mine.

Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889W
Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889

The Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 sur affût G was a heavy mortar originally employed as coastal artillery and later converted to the siege artillery role. Mle 1889 mortars were used in both the First world war and Second world wars.

Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 SchneiderW
Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider

The Mortier de 280 TR Modèle 1914 Schneider was a French siege howitzer manufactured by the Schneider et Cie company, used during World War I. The howitzer had its origins from a Russian Army policy to upgrade its artillery park after the poor showing of Russian artillery in the 1904-5 Russo-Japanese war. In 1909 an agreement was signed between Schneider and the Russian armaments manufacturer Putilov to jointly develop and produce a number of artillery types. One of these types was a 279.4 mm (11-inch) siege howitzer with a range of 6,000 m (20,000 ft) to replace very old Russian guns of similar calibre. Schneider delivered the first prototype of the siege howitzer to the Russians in 1912 for extensive testing. Although the Russians found the gun was unable to penetrate the heaviest reinforced concrete fortifications its general performance was judged satisfactory which led to an order for 16 howitzers to be delivered in 1915. The French Army expressed interest in the Schneider howitzer as a possible replacement for the Mortier de 370 Mle 1885 De Bange. After some dithering by French authorities 18 howitzers were ordered in 1913. Delivery of the howitzers to Russia and France was delayed by the general mobilisation of 1914 which disrupted industrial production. During the war 126 howitzers were delivered to the French Army and 26 to Russia as the 280 mm Schneider Mortar Model 1914/15 before the 1917 revolutions. In addition another 25 barrels were installed post-WW1 on the Saint-Chamond heavy self-propelled gun chassis as the Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond.

Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914W
Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914

The Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 was a French railway gun and siege gun used by the French Army during World War I and World War II.

Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 FillouxW
Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux

The Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux (MLE) is a siege mortar. It was designed before the First world war and was used during the First world war.

Obusier de 370 modèle 1915W
Obusier de 370 modèle 1915

The Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau was a French Railroad Gun that saw action during the First World War and Second World Wars.

Puteaux SA 18W
Puteaux SA 18

The Puteaux SA 18 was a French single-shot, breech-loading cannon, used in World War I through World War II, primarily mounted on combat vehicles.

Reibel machine gunW
Reibel machine gun

The MAC mle 1931 machine gun, was a machine gun used in French tanks of the World War II era, as well as in fortifications such as the Maginot line. It is also sometimes known as the JM Reibel, from Jumelage de mitrailleuses, or Reibel twin-mounted guns and really refers to the specialized twin-mounting frame used in JM cloche cupolas on the Maginot Line fortifications, while MAC mle 1931 refers specifically to the gun. The JM twin-mounts were the standard emplacement for the mle 1931 in fixed fortifications, while tanks and other AFVs received single guns.

VDP clocheW
VDP cloche

The VDP cloche was an element of the Maginot Line fortifications. A cloche (bell) was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant. By comparison, turrets could be rotated and sometimes lowered so that only the top shell was exposed. VDP cloches were used for observation of the surrounding area for artillery direction. VDP is an acronym for Vision Directe et Périscopique. By comparison with the GFM cloche, the VDP cloche had narrower ports and was consequently lower in profile.