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Concept
Obusier de 15 cm TR Schneider-Canet-du-Bocage
Summary
The Obusier de 15 cm Tir Rapide Schneider-Canet-du-Bocage was a self-contained motorized howitzer system built by the French arms company Schneider-Creusot before the First World War for Portugal. The Schneider-Canet-du-Bocage howitzers are believed to be the first purpose-built motorized artillery system in the world.
Although the majority of combatants had heavy field artillery before the outbreak of the First World War, none had adequate numbers of heavy guns in service, nor had they foreseen the growing importance of heavy artillery once the Western Front stagnated and trench warfare set in. Since aircraft of the period were not yet capable of carrying large-diameter bombs the burden of delivering heavy firepower fell on the artillery.
Large-caliber field guns often required extensive site preparation because the guns had to be broken down into multiple loads light enough to be towed by a horse team (max 8, ideally even 6) or the few traction engines of the time and then reassembled before use. Building a new gun could address the problem of disassembling, transporting, and reassembling a large gun, but it didn't necessarily address how to convert existing heavy weapons to make them more mobile. While rail transport proved to be the most efficient solution to moving large guns and their supplies road transport would be more flexible and able to operate in areas without fixed defenses or unsuitable for rail lines. Motorized road transport was a practical solution because the problems of heavy weight, lack of mobility, and reduced setup time were addressed.
In 1897 to increase their market share the Establishments Schneider du Creusot acquired the Ateliers d'Artillerie du Havre. As part of that purchase the engineer, Gustave Canet was added to Schneider-Creusot's design team. Canet had by that time already designed many artillery systems and the guns from his Le Havre workshops were referred to as 'Schneider-Canet' guns for years after.
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