View source for 90 mm gun M1/M2/M3

{{short description|Type of anti-aircraft gun and anti-tank gun (M1, M2) and tank gun (M3)}}
{{for|the French 90mm field gun of 1877 used in World War I|De Bange 90 mm cannon}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = 90 mm M1/M2
| image              = 90mm M1 AAgun CFB Borden.jpg
| image_size         = 350
| caption            = A 90 mm M1 at [[CFB Borden]]
| type               = * [[Anti-aircraft gun]]
| origin             = {{flag|United States}}
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          = yes
| is_artillery       = yes
| is_UK              = yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1938–1960<ref>[http://fr.rcamuseum.com/notre-collection/90mm-m1a2-us CANON ANTIAÉRIEN M1A1 DE 90MM]</ref>
| used_by            = *United States
**[[United States Army]]
*Canada
*France<ref>[http://basart.artillerie.asso.fr/article.php3?id_article=1182 FTA- Le canon US de 90mm antiaérien]</ref>
* [[Turkey]]
| wars               = *[[World War II]]
*[[Korean War]]
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = 
| design_date        = 
| manufacturer       = 
| production_date    = 1940 -
| number             = 133,833 (M1,M2) (1940–1945)<br/>6,648 (M1A1)
| variants           = {{plainlist|
* T2
* M1
* M1A1
* M2
}}
<!-- General specifications -->
| mass               = * M1A1: {{cvt|19000|lb}} 
* M2: {{cvt|32300|lb}}
| length             = M1A1: {{cvt|29.6|ft}}
| part_length        = {{cvt|200|in}} L/55 (55 [[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|caliber]])
| width              = M1A1: {{cvt|13.6|ft}}
| height             = M1A1: {{cvt|10.1|ft}}
| crew               = * M1: 8 (1× gunner 7× loader)
* M2: 8 (1× gunner 7× loader)
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> 
| cartridge          = 90 x 600-615mmR
* M3 HE: {{cvt|3.5|×|37.44|in|-1}} (M71 complete round)
* M3 APC: {{cvt|3.5|×|38.24|in|-1}} (M82 complete round)
* M3 AP: {{cvt|3.5|×|32.75|in|-1}} (M77 complete round)
| cartridge_weight   = * M71 HE: {{cvt|23.29|lb}} projectile, {{cvt|41.93|lb}} complete
* M82 APC: {{cvt|24.11|lb}} projectile, {{cvt|42.75|lb}} complete
* M77 AP: {{cvt|23.40|lb}} projectile, {{cvt|42.04|lb}} complete
| caliber            = {{cvt|90|mm}}
| rate               = 10 rpm
| velocity           = * M3 HE and AP: {{cvt|2700|ft/s}}
* M3 APC: {{cvt|2670|ft/s}}
| range              = 
| max_range          = * '''Maximum horizontal: '''
* M1A1: {{cvt|62474|ft}}
* '''Maximum ceiling: '''
* M1A1: {{cvt|43500|ft}}
| sights             = 
<!-- Artillery specifications -->
| breech             = 
| recoil             = 
| carriage           = 
| elevation          = * M1:  -10° to +90°
* M2:  -10° to +90°
| traverse           = 360°
<!-- Explosive specifications --> 
| filling            = 
| filling_weight     = 
| detonation         = 
| yield              = 
}}

The '''90&nbsp;mm gun M1/M2/M3''' was an American heavy [[anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] and [[anti-tank]] gun, playing a role similar to the German [[8.8cm Flak 18]]. It had a {{cvt|3.5|in|-1}} diameter bore, and a 50 [[Caliber (artillery)|caliber]] barrel, giving it a length of {{cvt|15|ft}}. It was capable of firing a {{cvt|3.5|×|23.6|in|-1}} shell {{cvt|62474|ft}} horizontally, or a maximum altitude of {{cvt|43500|ft}}.

The 90&nbsp;mm gun was the US Army's primary heavy anti-aircraft gun from just prior to the opening of World War II into 1946, complemented by small numbers of the much larger [[120 mm M1 gun]]. Both were widely deployed in the United States postwar as the [[Cold War]] presented a perceived threat from Soviet bombers. The anti-aircraft guns were phased out in the middle 1950s as their role was taken over by [[surface-to-air missile]]s such as the [[MIM-3 Nike Ajax]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ed-thelen.org/gunsitesusa.html |title=US Army AAA Gun Site Program 1951-59 at ed-thelen.org |access-date=2020-07-10 |archive-date=2020-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916005013/http://ed-thelen.org/gunsitesusa.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As a [[tank gun]] it was the main weapon of the [[M36 tank destroyer]] and [[M26 Pershing]] tank, as well as a number of post-war tanks like the [[M56 Scorpion]]. It was also briefly deployed from 1943–1946 as a [[coastal defense and fortification|coast defense]] weapon with the [[United States Army Coast Artillery Corps]]. Each gun cost roughly $50,000 to make in 1940 and utilized up to 30 separate contractors to manufacture.<ref>The Ordnance Department: Procurement and Supply</ref>

==History==
Prior to [[World War II]], the primary US anti-aircraft guns were the [[3-inch M1918 gun]] (76.2&nbsp;mm L/40) and its modernized successor, the [[3-inch anti-aircraft gun M3]] (76.2&nbsp;mm L/50); 3 inches or 76.2&nbsp;mm was a widely-used caliber for this class of weapon at the time, and similar weapons were in British, [[USSR|Soviet]] and other arsenals. There had been several upgrades to the weapon over its history, including the experimental T8 and T9 versions developed in the early 1930s, that were intended to enter service later in that decade.

However, the US Army became interested in a much more capable weapon instead, and on 9 June 1938, it issued a development contract calling for two new guns, one of 90&nbsp;mm caliber, which it felt had the largest possible projectiles that were capable of being manually loaded when the gun was at high elevations, and another (using mechanically-assisted loading) of {{cvt|120|mm}} caliber. On 18 August 1938 the development of the Mount T1 was approved as well. The new design seemed so much better than developments of the older three-inch that work on the three-inch T9 was canceled in 1938, just as it became production-ready. On 21 March 1940, the second development of the 90&nbsp;mm design, the T2, was standardized as the ''90&nbsp;mm M1'', while its larger cousin became the [[120 mm M1 gun]].

A few hundred M1s were completed when several improvements were added to produce the ''90&nbsp;mm M1A1'', which entered production in late 1940, and was accepted as standard on 22 May 1941. Since national arsenals had limited capacity, production of the first 300 gun mounts was contracted to [[Allis-Chalmers]] in November 1940, with the first unit shipped to the Army in September 1941.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hJfxcMIabwcC&pg=PA2074 | title=Hearings, March 5-13, 1947 and appendix | year=1947 }}</ref> The M1A1 included an improved mount and spring-rammer on the breech, with the result that firing rates went up to 20 rounds per minute. Several thousand were available when the US entered the war, and the M1A1 was the standard anti-aircraft gun for the rest of the conflict. Production rates continued to improve, topping out in a few thousand per month.{{when?|date=June 2023}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! 1941 !! 1942 !! 1943 !! 1944 !! 1945 !! Total
|-
!Production<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgAuFAAHRu8C&pg=RA3-PA45 | title=The United States Army in World War II: Statistics | year=1953 }}</ref>
| 171 || 3286 || 4074 || 300 || 0 || '''7831'''
|}
Like the German [[8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41]] and the British [[QF 3.7 inch AA gun]], the M1A1 was used against tanks in combat but, unlike the others, the original mount design could not be depressed low enough to allow fire against them. On 11 September 1942, the Army issued specifications for a new mount to allow it to be used in this role, which resulted in the ''90&nbsp;mm M2'', introducing a new mount that could be depressed to 10 degrees below the horizontal and featured a new electrically-assisted rammer. It became the standard weapon from 13 May 1943.

==Anti-aircraft operation==
[[File:M7 director.jpg|thumb|upright|left|M7 gun director, 1944]]
[[File:90mm-aa-gun-okinawa.gif|left|thumb|View of a 90 mm anti-aircraft gun emplacement, Okinawa, 1945]]

In anti-aircraft use, the guns were normally operated in groups of four, controlled by the M7 or [[M9 Gun Director|M9 gun director]] or [[Kerrison Predictor|Kerrison predictor]]s. Radar direction was common, starting with the [[SCR-268]] in 1941, which was not accurate enough to directly lay the guns, but provided accurate ranging throughout the engagement. For night-time use, a [[searchlight]] was slaved to the radar with a beam width set so that the target would be somewhere in the beam when it was turned on, at which point the engagement continued as in the day. In 1944, the system was upgraded with the addition of the [[SCR-584]] microwave radar, which was accurate to about 0.06 degrees (1 mil) and also provided automatic tracking. With the SCR-584, direction and range information was sent directly to the [[Bell Labs]] [[M3 Gun Data Computer|M3 gun data computer]], and M9 director, which could direct and lay the guns automatically, all the crews had to do was load the guns.
{{clear}}

==Main anti-tank developments==
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = 90 mm M3
| image              = File:Lešany - vojenské muzeum, Tankový den 2024, ukázky, M36 Jackson, obr03.jpg
| image_size         = 350
| caption            = M3 gun on M36 GMC, Tankfest 2024
| type               = [[Anti-tank gun]] (T8)<br/>[[Tank gun]] (M3)
| origin             = {{flag|United States}}
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          = yes
| is_artillery       = yes
| is_UK              = yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1938 – 1973
| used_by            = 
| wars               = [[World War II]]<br/>[[Korean War]]<br/>[[Vietnam War]]
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = [[United States Army Ordnance Corps|U.S. Army Ordnance Department]]
| design_date        = 
| manufacturer       = [[Rock Island Arsenal]] (U.S.)
| developed_from     =
| production_date    = 1940 – 1945
| number             = 
| variants           = See [[#Variants|variants]]
<!-- General specifications -->
| mass               = {{cvt|2260|lb|kg|abbr=on}} (gun only)
| length             = 
| part_length        = M3: {{cvt|186|in|m|abbr=on}} L/53 (53 caliber)
| width              = 
| height             = 
| crew               = 1× gunner; 1× loader
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> 
| cartridge          = 90 x 600-615mmR
* M3 HE: {{cvt|3.5|×|37.44|in|-1}} (M71 complete round)
* M3 APC: {{cvt|3.5|×|38.24|in|-1}} (M82 complete round)
* M3 AP: {{cvt|3.5|×|32.75|in|-1}} (M77 complete round)
| cartridge_weight   = * M71 HE: {{cvt|23.29|lb}} projectile, {{cvt|41.93|lb}} complete
* M82 APC: {{cvt|24.11|lb}} projectile, {{cvt|42.75|lb}} complete
* M77 AP: {{cvt|23.40|lb}} projectile, {{cvt|42.04|lb}} complete
| caliber            = {{cvt|90|mm}}
| rate               = 6 rpm
| velocity           = * M3 HE and AP: {{cvt|2700|ft/s}}
* M3 APC: {{cvt|2670|ft/s}}
| range              = 
| max_range          = 
| sights             = 
<!-- Artillery specifications -->
| breech             = 
| recoil             = 
| carriage           = 
| elevation          = M3:  -10° to +23°
| traverse           = 360°
}}

===90 mm gun M3===
The M3 was also adapted as the main gun for various armored vehicles, starting with the experimental T7 which was accepted as the ''90&nbsp;mm M3''. The test firing of the M3 took place on an [[M10 tank destroyer]] in early 1943. The M3 gun was used on the [[M36 tank destroyer]], and the [[M26 Pershing|T26 (later, M26) Pershing]] tank.<ref name="GRE">Green, Michael, ''Tiger Tanks At War'', Zenith Press, {{ISBN|9780760331125}}, 076033112X (2008), pp. 118-122</ref>  The M3 fired an M82 APC shot with a muzzle velocity of {{cvt|2650|ft/s}}.<ref name="GRE" /> However, both the muzzle velocity of the standard M3 gun and the quality of the steel used in the M82 [[Armor-piercing capped|APC]] (armor-piercing capped) shot, while comparable to the [[8.8 cm KwK 36|8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56]] mounted on the Tiger I, were inferior to the [[Tiger II]]'s [[8.8 cm KwK 43|KwK 43 L/71 8.8 cm]] main gun firing its standard [[APCBC]] (armor-piercing capped ballistic cap) shot used by German forces, with the result that the former's penetration fell far short of the standard projectile fired by that German tank.<ref name="GRE" />  As a result, US ordnance provided some T26/M26 tank crews with the 90&nbsp;mm [[HVAP]] (high-velocity, armor-piercing) [[tungsten]] penetrator sub-caliber projectile with a muzzle velocity of {{cvt|3350|ft/s}}, or the T33 AP with a re-heat-treated projectile with ballistic windshield and a muzzle velocity of {{cvt|2800|ft/s}}.<ref name="GRE" /><ref name="ARM">''Armor-Piercing Ammunition for Gun, 90-mm, M3'', Washington, D.C., U.S. Army: Office of the Chief of Ordnance (January 1945)</ref> The HVAP could compete with the KwK 43's penetration performance when firing standard APCBC, but tungsten ammunition was always in short supply.

====Ammunition (M3 gun)====
* M71 HE – {{cvt|23.29|lb}} (projectile)
* M77 AP – {{cvt|23.40|lb}} (projectile)
* M82 APC – {{cvt|24.11|lb}} (projectile)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/pdfs/TM9-374.pdf|title=United States War Department TM 9-374 Technical Manual 90-MM Gun M3 Mounted in Combat Vehicles.|date=11 September 1944|pages=90–91|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref>

====Performance (M3 gun)====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|+Calculated penetration at range (90 degrees) using 50% success criteria.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bird |first1=Lorrin Rexford|last2=Livingston|first2=Robert D.|title=WWII Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery|date=2001|publisher=Overmatch Press|page=63}}</ref>
! style="width: 15%" rowspan="2"  | {{abbr|Ammo|Ammunition}}
! style="width: 10%" rowspan="2"  | Muzzle<br/>velocity<br>(m/s)
! colspan="11" | Penetration (mm)
|-
! 100 m
! 250 m
! 500 m
! 750 m
! 1,000 m
! 1,250 m
! 1,500 m
! 1,750 m
! 2,000 m
! 2,500 m
! 3,000 m
|-
| style="text-align:center" |M77 AP<br/>versus [[Case-hardening|FHA]]
| style="text-align:center" |{{convert|823|m/s|abbr=on}}
| 168
| 159
| 146
| 134
| 122
| 112
| 102
| 94
| 86
| 72
| 60
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center" |M77 AP<br/>versus [[Rolled homogeneous armor|RHA]]
| style="text-align:center" |{{convert|823|m/s|abbr=on}}
| 188
| 179
| 163
| 150
| 137
| 125
| 115
| 105
| 96
| 81
| 68
|-
| style="text-align:center" |M82 APC<br/>versus FHA
| style="text-align:center" |{{convert|808|m/s|abbr=on}}
| 151
| 150
| 147
| 144
| 140
| 135
| 131
| 127
| 123
| 115
| 107
|-
| style="text-align:center" |M82 APC<br/>versus RHA
| style="text-align:center" |{{convert|808|m/s|abbr=on}}
| 164
| 156
| 150
| 143
| 137
| 131
| 125
| 119
| 114
| 104
| 92
|-
| style="text-align:center" |Late M82 APC<br/>versus RHA
| style="text-align:center" |{{convert|853|m/s|abbr=on}}
| 169
| 168
| 164
| 157
| 151
| 144
| 140
| 136
| 132
| 123
| 116
|-
| style="text-align:center" |Late M82 APC<br/>versus FHA
| style="text-align:center" |{{convert|853|m/s|abbr=on}}
| 161
| 159
| 155
| 151
| 147
| 144
| 138
| 133
| 127
| 115
| 104
|-
| style="text-align:center" |T33 AP<br/>versus RHA
| style="text-align:center" |{{convert|853|m/s|abbr=on}}
| 206
| 201
| 193
| 185
| 178
| 170
| 164
| 157
| 150
| 139
| 128
|-
| style="text-align:center" |T30E16 HVAP
| style="text-align:center" |{{convert|1018|m/s|abbr=on}}
| 306
| 295
| 278
| 262
| 246
| 232
| 218
| 205
| 193
| 171
| 151
|}

===90 mm gun T8===
An unsuccessful anti-tank variant was the T8 gun on the T5 carriage. The gun was an M1 with the recoil mechanism from the [[M101 howitzer|M2A1 105 mm howitzer]]. Eventually a version of the T8 with the T20E1 gun and T15 carriage was tested; this led to the [[105mm Gun T8|105 mm anti-tank gun T8]].<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Hogg | first1 = Ian V. | title = British and American Artillery of World War II | publisher = Stackpole Books | location = Mechanicsburg, PA | year = 2002 | pages = 90–92 | isbn = 1-85367-478-8}}</ref>
===90 mm gun T15===
Because the standard fifteen-and-a-half foot long M3 90&nbsp;mm main tank gun proved incapable of penetrating the heaviest frontal armor of the heaviest German tanks such as the Tiger II tank and the rarer [[Jagdtiger]] tank destroyer variant, a number of improved versions of the M3 were developed, including the T14 which included a standard [[muzzle brake]] and the T15 series.<ref name="GRE" />  The 90&nbsp;mm T15E1 L/73, with its {{cvt|21|ft}} long barrel, was designed and developed as an AT gun that could match or surpass the performance of the 8.8&nbsp;cm [[8.8 cm KwK 43|KwK43 L/71 cannon]], the famous long 88 on the Tiger II.

[[File:90 mm gun antitank 1.JPG|left|thumb|An experimental 90 mm T25 anti-tank gun]]
Two versions of the T15 were made: the T15E1 with single-piece ammunition and the T15E2 with two-piece ammunition.

By mid-March 1945, a T26E1 pilot was equipped with the 90 mm T15E1 and was sent to Europe in a <nowiki>''</nowiki>trial by combat<nowiki>''</nowiki>. It was given to the [[3rd Armored Division (United States)|3rd Armor Division]] where it was enhanced with additional armor plates. Its gun was fired in anger on only one occasion, on 4 April 1945, where it engaged and destroyed a German armored vehicle, probably a [[Tiger I]] or [[Panther tank|Panther]], at a range of {{cvt|4500|ft}} during the fighting along the [[Weser River]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=M26/M46 Pershing Tank 1943–53|last=Zaloga|first=Steven}}</ref>
According to the memoirs of John P. Irwin, it knocked out a King Tiger in [[Dessau]] as well as a [[Panzer IV]] and a Panther. However, the Tiger II claim is disputed by historians on the grounds that the nearest unit known to be equipped with Tiger IIs was 70 miles from Dessau on the date when the kill was claimed.

Near the end of World War II, more experimental versions of the 90&nbsp;mm gun were tested including the higher-velocity T18 and T19 main guns. The T19 was a T18 modified in an attempt to reduce barrel wear. Other versions included the T21, which was intended for wheeled vehicles, and the T22, which used the breech from the standard [[M101 howitzer|105 mm M2]] howitzer. The T21 and T22 were designed to use larger powder charges. None of these versions entered service.

In the post-World War II era, development of the T15 continued redesignated as the T54, which used a slightly shorter and fatter propellent casing than that of the T15E1.<ref name="HUN">Hunnicutt, R.P. ''Pershing: A History Of The Medium Tank T20 Series'', Presidio Press, {{ISBN|0891416935}}, 9780891416937 (1999)</ref> The T54 served as the main gun on the M26E1 Pershing.<ref name="HUN" />

==== Ammunition ====

The T15 90&nbsp;mm L/73 anti-tank gun utilized many types of armor piercing ammunition.

* ''T43 APBC:'' A solid shot, it was a modified T33 for use by the T15. It had a muzzle velocity of {{cvt|3200|ft/s}} and therefore increased penetration capabilities. It could punch through {{cvt|4|in}} of armor '''angled at 60°'''(from vertical) up to about {{cvt|1300|ft}}.
* ''T41 APCBC:'' Modified M82 projectile of the M3 cannon, fired at a much higher velocity of 3,200&nbsp;ft/s, than the normal 2,670&nbsp;ft/s. It could defeat up to {{cvt|8.5|in}} of vertical armor at {{cvt|30|ft}}.
* ''T44 HVAP:'' Modified M304(T30E16) for use out of the T15. Muzzle velocity of {{cvt|3750|ft/s}}. Maximum penetration of {{cvt|15|in}} of vertical armor at 30&nbsp;ft.
* ''T50 APCBC'': An M82 projectile with increased nose hardness and overall better design. Same muzzle velocity 3,200&nbsp;ft/s, but increased penetration, equal to the KwK43. {{cvt|9.1|–|9.3|in|0}} against vertical armor at point-blank range.<ref>Report ADA954868 Comparative Effectiveness of Armor Defeating Ammunition.</ref><ref>Report AD301343 An Analytical Study of Data on Armor Penetration by Tank-Fired Kinetic Energy Projectiles.</ref>

==== Performance ====
{| class="wikitable"
!Ammunition type
!Muzzle velocity (m/s)
!H.E. filler
!Penetration (mm)
PB (10yards)
!0°
1,000 yards
!0°
2,000 yards
|-
|T43 APBC
|975
|Solid shot
|
|
|
|-
|T41 APCBC(M82)
|975
|140g explosive D.
|216 mm
|190 mm
|175 mm
|-
|T50 APCBC
|975
|140 g explosive D.
|235 mm
|~205 mm
|~180 mm
|-
|T44 HVAP
|1,143
|Solid shot
|373 mm
|302 mm
|241 mm
|}

== Further developments ==
In 1948 an improved version of the M3A1, designated as the T119, was designed to be used on the [[T42 medium tank|T42]] (and later [[M47 Patton]]) and had a higher muzzle velocity using new ammunition loaded to produce higher chamber pressures. The new ammunition had a slightly longer shoulder to prevent accidental chambering in the older M3 variants. The T119 was backwards compatible with the ammunition used on the M3A1. Upon standardization of the M47 in 1951, the T119E1 version was redesignated as the 90&nbsp;mm gun M36.<ref name="HUN pat">{{Cite book |title=Patton|last=Hunnicutt, R. P. |date=1984|publisher=Presidio Press|isbn=0-89141-230-1|edition=1st |location=Novato, Calif.|oclc=11043006}}</ref>

The lightweight variant of the T119, designated as the T139 and standardized as the 90&nbsp;mm gun M41, equipped the [[M48 Patton]] tanks used in the Vietnam War.<ref name="HUN pat" /> The M41 with a modified recoil system was mounted as the 90&nbsp;mm gun M54 on the [[M56 Scorpion]] anti-tank vehicle. This gun was found to be inadequate and incapable of penetrating modern armor, requiring a stop gap of HEAT-FS shells to be utilized until the 105mm L7 derivative could become more prevalent. 

==Coast artillery==
[[File:Fort Monroe-0091, Battery Parrott (3931724572).jpg|left|thumb|90 mm M1 gun on T3/M3 seacoast mount at Battery Parrott, [[Fort Monroe]], Virginia]]

During World War II the [[United States Army Coast Artillery Corps|Coast Artillery Corps]] adopted the 90&nbsp;mm M1 to supplement or replace aging [[3-inch gun M1903|three-inch guns]] in harbor defense commands in [[CONUS]] and US territories. The guns were organized in anti-motor torpedo boat (AMTB) batteries, typically with four 90&nbsp;mm guns and two [[37 mm Gun M1|37 mm]] or [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm AA guns]] each. Typically two of the 90&nbsp;mm guns were on T3/M3 fixed mounts and two were on towed M1A1 or M2 mounts, with the 37 mm or 40 mm weapons on single towed mounts. The T3/M3 mount was designed for anti-surface or anti-aircraft fire. Emplacements for at least 90 batteries of two fixed guns each, plus mobile weapons, were constructed in CONUS, Panama, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere in 1943.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last1 = Berhow| editor-first1 = Mark A. | title = American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide |edition=Second | publisher = CDSG Press | year = 2004 | pages = 80–81, 200–223, 233, 249–251 | isbn = 0-9748167-0-1}}</ref>

==Variants==
{{refimprove section|small|date=April 2025}}
[[File:ROK Artillery Taegu.jpg|right|thumb|90 mm guns M2, Korea]]

===M1===
*Towed anti-aircraft gun. Approved for service in 1940.
*Fixed on T3/M3 mount for [[coastal artillery]] service

===M1A1===
Towed anti-aircraft gun. Production began in 1940. It featured the M8A1 spring rammer. Its rate of fire was 20 rounds per minute.
[[File:US 90 mm gun 1.jpg|thumb|M2 in the [[United States Army Ordnance Museum]]]]

===M2===
A complete redesign to make the gun dual role, functioning as an anti-tank gun as well as an anti-aircraft gun. The ammunition feed was upgraded and an automatic fuze setter-rammer, the M20, was added. This enabled the rate of fire to reach up to 24 rounds per minute. Elevation was improved with the gun able to depress to &minus;10 degrees. To protect the crew, a large metal shield was added. The M2 was the standard weapon by 13 May 1943. From the march, it could fire from its wheels in three minutes and, from a fully emplaced position, in seven minutes. In 1944, the weapon was enhanced with the addition of [[proximity fuse]]d shells.

===M3===
A tank-mounted anti-tank version of the gun. It was used to equip the M36 tank destroyer and the M26 Pershing tank. It is also known as the ''90&nbsp;mm L/53''.
[[File:M36-GMC-Danbury.0004zx4t.jpg|thumb|right|An M36 tank destroyer with the 90 mm gun]]

====M3A1====
M3 gun with single baffle [[muzzle brake]] and bore evacuator, used on M46 Patton and early versions of the M48 Patton tanks and refurbished M36 tank destroyers during the Korean War.

==Surviving examples==
{{no sources section|small|date=April 2025}}
* One AAA at [[Fort Irwin]] NTC, California, post museum
* One, possibly M1, [[Travis AFB]], Fairfield, California, near the entrance to the skeet range
* One AAA at [[CFB Borden]], Ontario, Canada
* One AAA at [[Labelle, Quebec]], Canada
* One AAA at [[Sangudo]], Alberta, Canada. 
* One AAA at [[Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia]], Canada.
* Two AAA at [[CFB Shilo]], Manitoba, Canada, [[Royal Canadian Artillery Museum|RCA Museum]]
* One AAA at [[Shilo, Manitoba]], Canada (private collection)
* One AAA at [[Lemberg, Saskatchewan]], Canada (private collection)
* One AAA at [[Colwood, British Columbia]], Canada, [[Fort Rodd Hill]]
* One at [[Savannah, Georgia]], National Guard Fairgrounds
* One at [[Arundel, Quebec]], Canada, Legion Hall
* One AAA at [[Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario]], Canada
* One AAA M2 at [[Fort Sill]], Oklahoma, US Army Air Defense Artillery Museum.
* One AAA M1A1 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, US Army Air Defense Artillery Museum.
* One AAA M2A2 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, US Army Air Defense Artillery Museum
* One AAA M1A1 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 31st ADA Brigade
* One AAA M1A1 at US Veterans Memorial Museum, Huntsville, AL
* One AAA at [[Broadalbin (town), New York|Broadalbin, New York]].
* One AAA at [[Roswell, New Mexico]]
* One AAA at [[Greenville, South Carolina]]
* One AAA at [[Anderson, South Carolina]], VFW post
* One AAA at [[Deming, New Mexico]], [[Deming Luna Mimbres Museum]]
* One AAA at [[Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Manche]], [[France]], [[Utah Beach]] D-Day Museum. This gun belonged to the 116th AAA Gun Battalion and was lost in the Channel 6 June 1944. The gun was recovered by locals after the war.
* One AAA M1A3 (built 1954) at [[Raton, New Mexico]]
* One AAA M1A1 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Royal Artillery Park
* One AAA M1A1 at [[Fort Bliss]], Texas, Fort Bliss Museum
* One AAA M1A1 at [[Linthicum, Maryland]], [[National Electronics Museum]]
* Two Anti/Tank T-8 at [[U.S. Army Armor & Cavalry Collection]], [[Fort Moore]], Georgia.
* One M1A3 at [[Reidsville, Georgia]], National Guard Armory
* One M1A3 at [[Campinas]], São Paulo, Brazil, located at an open museum which belongs to the 11ª Brigade of the Brazilian Army
* One seacoast M1 (No. 6931 Chevrolet) on [[barbette]], carriage Model T3, at Battery Parrott, [[Fort Monroe]], Virginia
* One seacoast M1 on barbette, carriage Model T3 (shield scrapped), [[Eareckson Air Station]] (formerly Shemya AFB), [[Shemya]], Alaska, outside Bldg 600 
* One seacoast on barbette, carriage Model T3, at [[San Pedro, Los Angeles|San Pedro, California]], [[Fort MacArthur]] Military Museum, (the museum has several barrels and was restoring at least one weapon as of October 2014)
* Two AAA M1A1s in [[Moscow]], Russia, [[Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow|Museum of the Great Patriotic War]], supplied as [[Lend-Lease]] during WWII
* One 90&nbsp;mm M2A1 at [[Tucson]], Arizona, [[Pima Air & Space Museum]]
* One M1A3 at [[Historical Military Museum of Cartagena (Spain)]]
* One at the [[Kalmthoutse Heide]], [[Belgium]]
* One at Ft Miles Artillery Museum, Delaware
* One at Mémorial du Débarquement et de la Libération en Provence, [[Toulon]], [[France]]

==See also==
* [[184th AAA Battalion (United States)]]
* [[Fire-control system]]
* [[List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation]]
* [[Rangekeeper]]
* [[Seacoast defense in the United States]]

===Weapons of comparable role, performance and era===
* [[8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41]]: contemporary German anti-aircraft gun
* [[8.8 cm KwK 36]]: contemporary German tank gun, mounted on Tiger I Tanks
* [[Cannone da 90/53]]: contemporary Italian anti-aircraft gun
* [[QF 3.7-inch AA gun]]: contemporary British anti-aircraft gun, firing a {{convert|28|lb|kg}} shell
* [[85 mm air defense gun M1939 (52-K)]]: contemporary Soviet anti-aircraft gun

==References==
{{reflist}}
* TM 9-2300 standard artillery and fire control material. dated 1944
* TM 9-370
* TM 9-1370
* SNL D-28

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/pdfs/TM9-374.pdf United States War Department TM 9-374 Technical Manual 90-MM Gun M3 Mounted in Combat Vehicles. 11 September 1944]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100117182005/http://gva.freeweb.hu/weapons/usa_guns7.html M3 armor penetration table]
* [http://cdsg.org/fort-and-battery-list/ List of all US coastal forts and batteries] at the Coastal Defense Study Group, Inc. website
* [http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Wiki FortWiki, lists all CONUS and Canadian forts]
* {{cite web
  |url= https://www.quartermastersection.com/american/artillery/229/90mmM1A1
  |title= 90mm M1A1 & M2 ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS
  |access-date= 12 July 2017
  }}

{{WWIIUSGuns}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:90 Mm Gun M1 M2 M3}}
[[Category:World War II anti-aircraft guns]]
[[Category:World War II anti-tank guns]]
[[Category:World War II tank guns]]
[[Category:Anti-aircraft guns of the United States]]
[[Category:Anti-tank guns of the United States]]
[[Category:Tank guns of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II artillery of the United States]]
[[Category:Coastal artillery]]
[[Category:90 mm artillery]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1930s]]