Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP

Fighter ace René Fonck was one pilot known to have used the SPAD S.XII, which was designed around a variant of the 37mm Puteaux gun firing though the propeller spinner.

• Name — Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP • Origin — France • Type — Infantry support gun Aircraft artillery • Is Ranged — yes • Is Artillery — yes • Used By — France United States Commonwealth of the Philippines Italy Poland North Vietnam • Wars — World War I World War II First Indochina War • Designer — Atelier de Construction de Puteaux • Production Date — 1916 • Weight — Combat: 108 kg (238 lbs) Travel: 160.5 kg (354 lbs) • Part Length — 74 cm • Cartridge — 37 x 94mm.R • Caliber — 37mm (1.45 in) • Rate — Sustained: 25 rpm • Velocity — 367 m/s • Range — 1500 m • Max Range — 2400 m • Elevation — -8° to 17° • Traverse — 35°

• Illustration — 37 mm TRP Mle 1916 at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, Brussels During the First World War, the guns saw widespread use with both French and United States forces and were designated the 37mm M1916 in U.S. service. In combat they were found to be wanting, and it was found their intended task of destroying gun emplacements was better done by mortars. As well as infantry use, the guns were also fitted to the M1917 light tank, the first mass-produced tank made in the U.S. These tanks (Americanized copies of the Renault FT) entered service too late for World War I, and none ever saw action. • Illustration — 37-mm M1916 in action with U.S. forces, 1918. This gun does not have the flash suppressor • Illustration — 37-mm M1916 gun mount in the M1917 light tank, showing its eccentric breech block During the interwar years the U.S. Army organized its infantry regiments with "howitzer companies," armed, with among other heavy infantry weapons for want of actual infantry support howitzers, 37 mm M1916 guns. The Regular Army could not afford to maintain full companies (instead using platoons), but the National Guard could. The Army adopted a.22 caliber sub-caliber device as an economic measure that allowed training with the guns on indoor ranges. By 1941, the howitzer companies of regiments were disbanded and converted to antitank platoons; the Army put most of the M1916 guns into storage, scrapped them, or converted their mechanisms for use as sub-caliber training devices for heavy guns. Some were used in the Philippines campaign in 1941-42 as antitank weapons due to shortages of the 37 mm gun M3. The Japanese Type 11 37 mm infantry gun was based on this design. The French Army still had the cannon in service in 1940 as a substitute for the 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun, which was in short supply. After the defeat of France by Germany, the Wehrmacht began using the TRP under the designation 3.7 cm IG 152(f). Some were used by the Việt Minh at the beginning of the First Indochina War. • Illustration — A geared-output shaft HS.8C engine for a SPAD S.XII, showing the elevated intake manifold to clear the 37mm cannon mounted in the "vee" between the cylinder banks

The gun was fitted on some aircraft, firing through the propeller's spinner to avoid hitting the blades. It was used in combat on the 1917 French SPAD S.XII. The prototype 1917 British Beardmore W.B.V shipborne fighter was fitted with a 37mm for use against airships, but the gun was considered dangerous and removed.