Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
The Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP (37mm mle.1916) was a French infantry support gun, first used during World War I. TRP stands for tir rapide, Puteaux ("fast-firing", designed by the Puteaux arsenal). The tactical purpose of this gun was the destruction of machine gun nests. It was also used on aircraft such as the Beardmore W.B.V and the Salmson-Moineau.
Also recorded as 37mm mle.1916
Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP

Public domain
- Name
- Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
- Field
- infantry gun.
- Region
- France.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
The Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP (37mm mle.1916) was a French infantry support gun, first used during World War I. TRP stands for tir rapide, Puteaux ("fast-firing", designed by the Puteaux arsenal). The tactical purpose of this gun was the destruction of machine gun nests. It was also used on aircraft such as the Beardmore W.B.V and the Salmson-Moineau.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q2580029 · wikipedia · Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
In this article
Overview
Overview
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.
Key facts
Key facts
• 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°
Service history
Service history
• 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
Aircraft use
Aircraft use
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.
Chronology
Dated record
Chronology
Explore 1916
The full dated record · 5 entries
1916
Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP is classified as an infantry gun.
1916
Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP is associated with France.
1916
Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP is recorded as a kind of infantry gun.
1916
Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP is also recorded as 37mm mle.1916.
1916
Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP is recorded as artillery model.
Description
• Illustration — A gun fitted with a gun shield, Flash suppressor and wheels, displayed at the United States Army Ordnance Museum, 2007 / transferred to U.S. Army Armor & Cavalry Collection, Fort Benning The modèle 1916 gun's 37mm caliber was the smallest allowed for explosive shells under the 1899 Hague Convention and hence was used by many nations for small guns. The guns were fitted to a tripod, to which wheels could be attached for transport. The guns could also be carried by four soldiers, after being broken down into two loads: the 104 lb gun and recoil mechanism, and the 84 lb trails, each of which could be carried by two soldiers. Some were equipped with a gun shield. The breech-block of the gun was essentially a smaller version of that fitted to the well-known French 75 gun. The guns could be crewed by two soldiers, a loader and an aimer, and had a maximum rate of fire of around 35 rounds per minute. They were equipped with a removable APX telescopic sight for direct fire, and a quadrant sight for indirect fire. In U.S. service, each gun was assigned an ammunition limber, which carried 14 boxes containing 16 rounds of ammunition each as well as tools and accessories. The gun and its limber were normally together towed by a single horse or mule, but were manhandled forward if contact with the enemy was expected. U.S. high explosive ammunition for the TRP was the Mark II HE shell with a projectile weighing 0.67 kg and a TNT bursting charge of 27.2 grams. The French Army used the Obus explosif Mle1916 HE round with a projectile weighing 0.555 kg and a bursting charge of 30 grams. Captured rounds of this type were designated Sprgr 147(f) by the German military in World War II.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
reference work
- “Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Partially resolvedreference work
“Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further readingWikipedia
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP is connected to 1 other published record in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
Within the Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Cannone-Mitragliera da 37/54Terminology
- Cañón 155 mm. L 45 CALA 30Terminology
- Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modele 1909 SchneiderTerminology
- Canon Court de 105 M(montagne) modèle 1919 SchneiderTerminology
- Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891Terminology
- Canon de 105 L mle 1936 SchneiderTerminology
- Canon de 12 de VallièreTerminology
- Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878Terminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.