Weapons of War: Found in Kansas City, KS—A Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1917

By James Patton

Sitting today in Shawnee Park at 7th St. and Shawnee Ave. in Kansas City, Kansas, is an interesting artillery piece with a WWI history. This howitzer has a curved shield, which means that it was made in France and used by American gunners in 1918. It is a Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider, C-17S for short, which was manufactured by Schneider et Cie., also known as Schneider-Creusot, as their principal works were in the city of Le Creusot in France. 

Schneider was founded in 1836 by the Schneider brothers, Joseph Eugène (1805–1875) and Adolphe (1802–1845). Their business grew quickly, especially in the manufacture of steam engines and locomotives, and the firm diversified into artillery production in the 1880s. 

A Battery of AEF 155s Firing in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

During the First World War era the business was run by Adolphe’s grandson Jacques, who also established the popular Schneider Trophy air races, held between 1913 and 1931. In the postwar era he was vilified by the antiwar left in France as one of the "Merchants of Death" who promoted and prolonged the war for personal gain.

Due to the huge supply of war surplus guns, the Schneider artillery business became unprofitable in the interwar years and was discontinued altogether in 1935. Later, in the 1950s, Schneider divested all of its iron and steel operations to concentrate on electrical devices, which it continues to produce today. 

The C-17S was the third and last model in a series that began with an order from Russia in 1910. It differed from the earlier models primarily because it used bagged propellant rather than cased shells. Total wartime production was 3,020. 

Doughboy Gunners Manning a Schneider 155

In 1918, the U.S. Army purchased 1,503 C-17S guns from France, designating it as the 155 mm Howitzer Carriage, Model of 1917 (Schneider), to replace the M 1908 6-inch gun (there were only 42 on hand) as the standard howitzer.

Additionally, they paid $560,000 for non-exclusive rights to the design and working drawings, and 626 guns were manufactured in the U.S. These were designated as the M1918, and they differed somewhat from the French guns, having a straight shield rather than a curved one, rubber tires rather than steel-rimmed wooden wheels, a pivoting spade, and a different breach mechanism. All of the U.S. units in action in France in 1918 used the French-built C-17S guns. The first U.S. regiment equipped with U.S.-made M1918 guns was about to embark for France when the war ended.

Side View Details

All of the C-17S guns were brought to the United States and later retro-fitted to the M1918 standard. In the 1930s, many were modernized with air brakes, new metal wheels, and pneumatic tires to enable highway-speed towing by trucks, but the Shawnee Park gun wasn’t one of them. 

The M1918 was the standard American heavy howitzer until replaced by the 155 mm Howitzer M1 beginning in late 1942. In 1940, many were sent to the U.K. under Lend Lease. The Shawnee Park gun was declared surplus by the Army and given to the Wyandotte County Salvage Committee in 1947 to replace a Spanish-American War gun that was scrapped in 1942.  

The French had over 2,000 C-17S guns in service in 1940, which fell into German hands and were used by them throughout WWII, along with several hundred others captured from other countries. 

For the artillery buffs, here are some statistics on the gun:

Overall weight: 9,120 lbs

Overall length: 257 inches 

Projectile weight: 95 lbs

Maximum range: 12,500 yards

Max./Min. elevation: 42°/0°

Max. Sustained Rate of Fire: 1 round per minute

Sources: "Heavy Howitzers" at Jaegerplatoon.net. This article—in slightly different form—originally ran on KansasWW1 on February 2, 2017.