Puteaux_SA_18
Puteaux SA 18
Tank gun
The Puteaux SA 18 was a French single-shot, breech-loading cannon, used in World War I through World War II, primarily mounted on combat vehicles. It is closely related to the Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP, also produced by Puteaux.
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It was a simple, reliable weapon with a high rate of fire made possible by a semi-automatic breech system. It was primarily intended to be used against infantry and machine-gun nests because its low muzzle velocity made it unsuitable for anti-armour use. Although its armour penetration capabilities were poor, it was able to combat light armoured vehicles as late as 1939. The gun was operated by one soldier and was found easy to use, with a low incidence of jamming. It was sighted on target with a separate scope attached to the left side of the weapon.