The M1902, a.k.a. M1905 3-inch gun (76.2mm) was the U.S. Army’s first steel, rifled, breech loading, quick-firing field gun.
The features of rifling, breech loading and springs to absorb the gun's recoil and quickly return it to the firing position combined to improve the range, accuracy, and rate of fire of the gun, allowing it to be used more effectively in operations with infantry. These new capabilities allowed the gun to provide accurate indirect fire on targets not in a direct line of sight, which provided crucial firepower for infantry attacks. It was also one of the first artillery guns to have an armored shield to protect the crew from small arms fire.
General Pershing brought several of the guns with him during the Mexican Punitive Expedition in 1916-17 but they were not fired in combat.
The M1902/5 was used from 1905-1917. During World War I, the Army used the French 75s instead of the M1902s, which were mostly kept in the United States for training. Very few of the M1902s were used in combat in Europe. They were phased out of active service in the 1920s.
The gun fired 3 inches (76 mm) Shrapnel or Explosive Shells that weighed 15 Pounds. It had a muzzle velocity of 1,700 ft/s (520 m/s) with an effective range of 6,500 yards (5,900 m), and a maximum range of 8,500 yards (7,800 m). The maximum rate of fire was 15 rounds per minute.