by Susan Couso
Visitors to Susanville’s Memorial Park are greeted with a WWI relic in the form of a 155MM 1917A1 artillery piece. This howitzer was part of a plan by the U. S. government to donate outdated and unused military equipment to local governments for display.
The ‘Susanville Cannon’ became part of the memorial to veterans at the formal dedication of Memorial Park on July 3rd, 1949.
According to people who pretend to know about these things, a howitzer is actually a type of cannon. It all depends on the type of ammunition and the arch of the trajectory, velocities, etc. So, I feel comfortable with the description, ‘cannon’ or ‘howitzer.’
Some of these artillery pieces were so tall that soldiers needed to use long ladders to reach the firing mechanism, but the 155MM 1917A1 had the advantage of a mechanism within normal reach.
The gun was designed by Lt. Colonel Louis Filloux, a French military officer. Filloux was credited with several important innovations in war machines. World War I inspired the greatest number of new French designs in weaponry, and in 1917, the 155MM 1917A1 cannon was built by the Puteaux Arsenal in France.
The massive cannon weighed 23,700 pounds, and had a range of 17, 717 yards, firing a 95-pound shell!
It soon became obvious that the 1917A1 was far superior to the U. S. made weapons. As the U. S. moved into France near the end of WWI, the ‘Yanks’ took over the Puteaux manufacturing plant and began producing this superior artillery for their own use. They paid the French $560,000 for non-exclusive rights to the design, and production began in the U. S. also.
The first U. S. 155MM 1917A1 guns were ready to leave for France, when the war ended, and 1,503 cannons, purchased from the French, were brought to the U. S. in 1919. So, there were a lot of howitzers with no place to go.
After World War I ended the huge guns were moved into storage, but as World War II erupted, they were once again revived for duty. Alterations were made to accommodate ‘modern’ needs, and most were equipped with airbrakes and new metal wheels with pneumatic tires. But by 1942, models like the new M3 were introduced, and the old 115MM 1917A1 models were slowly set aside.
The Susanville Cannon has been sealed and altered to prevent firing, and to protect all of those curious people who might stick their fingers into dangerous orifices. But these safety measures cannot thwart the adventurous who wish to climb to the tip of the massive barrel.
A long-ago nod to our veterans has now become a rather unique emblem for Susanville’s Memorial Park.
