| Original caption: “Sergeant James B. Aets uses a quadrant to determine the elevation of the 155 millimeter Hawitzer [sic], while Corporal Charles J. Hines sights on the aiming stake.” United States Army Sergeant James B. Aets (???? – ????) and Corporal Charles J. Hines (???? – ????) operate a M1918 howitzer based on the Canon de 155 millimètre C modèle 1917 Schneider (“155 millimeter (6.1 inch) C model 1917 Schneider gun”) a French design. The United States purchased 1,503 examples of the Modelé 1917 from France and adopted it as the 155 millimeter Howitzer Carriage, Model of 1917 (Schneider), as the standard howitzer for the United States Army. The last American shot fired during World War I was fired by a Schneider howitzer called “Calamity Jane,” of the 11th Field Artillery Regiment, which is preserved in the West Point Museum. The United States bought the manufacturing rights to the howitzer. 626 were manufactured in America; this is 1 of them, because of the straight gun shield and pneumatic rubber tires. The M1918M1 carriage that had air brakes, new metal wheels, and pneumatic rubber tires for high-speed motor traction was developed beginning in 1934 and was standardized in 1936. 599 of 2,971 M1917 and M1918 howitzers in the United States Army inventory had been converted by 1940. The United States used this weapon in North Africa, Guadalcanal, the Pacific, Europe, until it wa replaced by the M1 155mm howitzer. Known by many different names “Canon de 155 millimètre C modèle 1917 Schneider” (France, Belgium), “155 millimeter 9PH 414(r)” (German Afrikakorps), “Model 1918 155 millimeter Schneider Howitzer” (United States) this powerful and robust howitzer served in the armies of many nations during World War I, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and beyond. The last military to use the Schneider was Finland, with a modified version serving in a training roll into the 1980s. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0800.jpg |
| Image Size | 907.56 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2928 x 2384 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1940 |
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| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-66290(4) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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