4.7 Inch Gun M1906, City Park - Fort Collins, CO - Static Artillery Displays on Waymarking.com

The plate reads:

No. 1479
4.7 Inch Gun Carriage
Rock Island Arsenal
1918

"The design was orthodox for its time with a box trail and hydro spring recoil system. When the United States entered World War I 60 had been produced and issued to the army. Once the US entered WWI the US Army came under pressure to adopt French artillery systems and the 4.7in Field Gun was rechambered to fire French 120mm ammunition. The switch to French 120mm ammunition eased logistical problems due to the availability of French ammunition. However the decision to change ammunition upset production and only 16 new pieces were finished before the end of the war.

Ammunition included a base-fuzed common steel shell containing 3.36 pounds (1.52 kg) of TNT, and a shrapnel shell containing 711 230-grain (15 g) balls with a 31-second combination fuze and optional tracer." (from (visit link) )


"You know, Fort Collins didn’t just plop a cannon in the middle of the playground at City Park. It was the other way around. The playground was west of there, and migrated to the cannon.

In a way, it didn’t matter because kids in the 1950s climbed all over the cannon and considered it an extension of the playground, Norm says.

In another way, it mattered very much because over the years many residents thought it inappropriate to keep the artillery where the children play.

The story of how the cannon came to City Park, and how hawks and doves resolved their differences, is interesting. But it’s too long for me to tell now.

But that’s not the most interesting thing about the cannon to me anyway. I think the most interesting thing is the kids’ initials carved in the hard rubber wheels. Norm says he remembers kids carving those glyphs going back to when he was a kid in the 1940s." from (visit link) )

What type of artillery is this?: 4.7 Inch Gun M1906 Where is this artillery located?: Park What military of the world used this device?: USA (probably) Cost?: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Artillery is no longer operational: yes Still may work: no Are there any geocaches at this location?: GC1B5H9; GC1JD5H; GC1N68P; GC3YKF0 Date artillery was in use: Not listed Date artillery was placed on display: Not listed Parking location to view this Waymark: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Two pictures are required for this Waymark. Please take a close up picture of the artillery. Take a second with the artillery in the distance and capture as much of the surroundings as possible. Name the Waymark with first the name of the area and second what the artillery is. An example would be if it were a cannon in front of the Montgomery Armory you would name the Waymark: Montgomery Armory Cannon.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   12/17/2014 Spooty visited it