C&R · IV · 232
3-inch Field Gun M1902
Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 88 ↗
United States Field Gun, Model 1902, cal. 3-inch, produced prior to 1916.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade 1915 or earlier (ATF’s dates)ATF: “produced prior to 1916”
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United StatesBasis: the ATF wording - Manufacturer
- Watervliet Arsenal; Bethlehem Steel; Rock Island Arsenal (carriages)Basis: outside reference ¹²
- Type
- CannonBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- OtherBasis: outside reference ³
- Caliber
- 3-inchBasis: outside reference ⁴
- Made
- Before 1916Basis: outside reference ⁵
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 88 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. livinghistoryregistry.com ↗, maker: Living History Registry: 3in Field Gun M1902 No. 427 built at Watervliet Arsenal, carriage by Rock Island Arsenal (1912), recoil mechanism by Bethlehem Steel
- 2. livinghistoryregistry.com ↗, maker: Living History Registry: M1902 gun s/n 118 built by Bethlehem Steel Co., carriage s/n 532 by Rock Island Arsenal (1915); Wikipedia: designer Watervliet Arsenal
- 3. Wikipedia, “3-inch M1902 field gun” ↗, action: breech-loading field gun with interrupted-screw (De Bange) breech (recorded as Other)
- 4. Wikipedia, “3-inch M1902 field gun” ↗, calibers: infobox caliber 3 in (76.2 mm)
- 5. Wikipedia, “3-inch M1902 field gun” ↗, years
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- 1 change · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passMaker: Bethlehem Steel; Rock Island Arsenal & others → Watervliet Arsenal; Bethlehem Steel; Rock Island Arsenal (carriages). Registry records show guns built at Watervliet and Bethlehem on Rock Island carriages
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “M1905HowitzerB&W.jpg” by Sf46 (talk), Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “3-inch M1902 field gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The 3-inch Gun, Model of 1902 was the U.S. Army’s first nickel steel, quick-firing field gun with a recoil mechanism. Like its predecessor, the 3.2-inch gun M1897, it was a rifled breechloader.