The French/German 1870/1871 war experience, particularly the Paris siege, demonstrated the importance of having some equipment to attack air objectives, such as airships. The ballistic properties of the famous French 75mm filedgun allowed it to be the base of a good anti-aircraft weapon, as far as a solution was found to give it much higher elevation angles.

The French engineers solved that problem by mounting that modern tube on a older 120mm Mle 1882 gun carriage. The resulting 'Canon de 75 Mle 1897 DCA' was normally mounted on a circular rails platform that allowed the gun to change the aiming direction fast enough.

Main specifications :

• Weight in firing position : 3050 kg
• Calibre : 75 mm
• Tube length : 36 calibres
• Projectile weight : 7.3 kg
• Initial velocity : 577 m/s
• Maximum range : 5500 m altitude