French Saint Chamond 194mm GPF Gun

The French Saint Chamond self-propelled 194mm GPF gun was introduced late in World War I. GPF, for Grand Puissance Filloux, means High-Power Filloux, and the vehicle was designed by Louis Filloux at the Schneider works. It consisted of two linked tracked units that moved together: the first carried the 194mm gun and its fire control, and the second carried 60 rounds of ammunition, 60 propelling charges, a gasoline engine, and an electrical generator. The gasoline engine powered the generator, which supplied electricity to two electric motors, one for each track, and those motors moved the vehicles. With a gross weight of more than 61 tons, the combined vehicle could reach only 5 mph. About 50 had been produced by 1939, when World War II began. A number entered German service as the 19.4cm Kanone 485 (f) auf Selbsfahrlafette. This gun was one of two given to the Italian Army in 1941; after the Italian surrender in September 1943, the Germans took it and used it for coast defence at Civitavecchia, a port town west of Rome. It was captured in 1944 and taken to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, came to the Artillery Museum in 2012, and is the sole surviving example of the 194mm gun.

Lawton, Oklahoma · United States