The 37 mm gun M1 was an anti-aircraft autocannon developed in the United States. It was used by the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The gun was produced in a towed variant, or mounted along with two M2 machine guns on the M2/ M3

half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cro ...

, resulting in the T28/T28E1/M15/M15A1 series of multiple gun motor carriages. In early World War II, each Army Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Auto-Weapons battalion was authorized a total of thirty-two 37 mm guns in its four firing batteries, plus other weapons. During World War II the 37 mm gun M1 was deployed in coast defense anti- motor torpedo boat batteries (AMTB) alongside 90 mm guns, usually four 90 mm and two 37 mm guns per battery. Some AMTB batteries consisted of four 37 mm guns, but most sources have little information on these batteries. In the later part of the war the 37 mm gun was typically replaced by the

40 mm Bofors Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

gun M1.McGovern and Smith, p. 43

Components

Two gun units were coupled to the M5

gun director A director, also called an auxiliary predictor, is a mechanical or electronic computer that continuously calculates trigonometric firing solutions for use against a moving target, and transmits targeting data to direct the weapon firing crew. Na ...

using the M1 remote control system. The system was powered by the M5 generating unit. If the remote system was inoperative the M5 sighting system was used.

Ammunition

The M1 utilized fixed ammunition. Projectiles were fitted with a 37×223mmSR

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

case.

Variants

*The 37 mm M9 autocannon was a derivative of the M1A2 anti-aircraft gun. It had a barrel, weighed (the barrel alone weighing 120 pounds), had a muzzle velocity of , and had a rate of fire of 150 rounds per minute. It was used on

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...

s around 1944 in the Pacific theater during World War II, replacing the M4 autocannon.

Comparison of anti-aircraft guns

Notes

References

*Hogg, Ian. Twentieth-Century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000. Pg.106 * * * * TM 9-2300 standard artillery and fire control material. dated 1944 * TM 9-235 * TM 9-1235 * SNL A-29

External links

"US Army Gets A New Antiaircraft Gun", September 1940
'' Popular Science''
FM 4-112 Coast Artillery Field Manual: Antiaircraft Artillery gunnery, Fire Control, Position Finding, and Horizontal Fire, Antiaircraft Automatic Weapons (Case I Firing)

History of the Americanization of the Bofors 40mm Automatic Antiaircraft Gun
��some references to the 37mm

��Antiaircraft.org {{WWIIUSGuns 37 mm artillery Anti-aircraft guns of the United States World War II anti-aircraft guns World War II weapons of the United States Military equipment introduced in the 1930s