From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The M115 203 mm howitzer, also known as the M115 8 inch howitzer, was a towed howitzer used by the United States Army. Originally designated the 8 inch Howitzer M1, it was designed during the buildup to World War II as a counterpart to the German 17 cm K18 gun. The M115 could be towed by the M35 Prime Mover gun tractor or a large truck.
The M115 owes some of its origins to the British BL 8 inch Howitzer of the First World War, using the same Welin screw for the breech. The carriage was the same as used for the US 155 mm gun, and was also adopted by the British for their 7.2 inch Mark 6 howitzer
The M115 saw service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In NATO service, its main purpose was to fire nuclear rounds, which have since been discontinued. The M115 was removed from service due to its short range, because the nuclear round yield exceeded the range of the weapon.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Self-propelling mounts
- The howitzer was mounted on a modified M4 medium tank chassis, in mount M17. The resulting vehicle was initially designated 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T89 and eventually standardized as 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage M43. A total of 48 units were built.[1]
- 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T80 - based on T23 Medium Tank chassis, never advenced past proposal stage.[2]
- 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T84 - based on T26 Medium Tank chassis, a single pilot was built in 1945.[3]
- The howitzer was mounted on a purpose built tracked chassis to become the 8 inch Self-Propelled Howitzer M110. Notably accuracy and rate of fire suffered from having to lower the weapon to use the track mounted auto loader.
[edit] Ammunition
The howitzer fired separate loading, bagged charge ammunition, with seven different propelling charges, from 1 (the smallest) to 7 (the largest).
| Projectiles.[4] |
| Type |
Model |
Weight, kg |
Filler |
Muzzle velocity, m/s |
Range, m |
| HE |
HE M106 Shell (charge M2) |
90.7 |
|
594 |
16,926 |
| HE |
HE Mk 1A1 Shell (charge M1) |
90.7 |
|
408 |
10,214 |
| Dummy |
Dummy Mk 1 Projectile |
|
- |
- |
- |
-
| Propelling charges.[5] |
| Model |
Weight, complete, kg |
Components |
| M1 ("green bag") |
6.3 |
Five incremental charges (for charges 1 to 5) |
| M2 ("white bag") |
13.56 |
Base charge and two incremental charges (for charges 5 to 7) |
| M4 (dummy) |
13.04 |
Base charge and two incremental charges |
-
| Concrete penetration, mm[6] |
| Ammunition \ Distance, m |
2,743 |
4,572 |
9,144 |
13,716 |
| HE M106 Shell (meet angle 0°) |
1,432 |
1,219 |
975 |
945 |
| Different methods of measurement were used in different countries / periods. Therefore, direct comparison is often impossible. |
- ^ Hunnicutt - Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank, p 353-355, 571.
- ^ Hunnicutt - Pershing, A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series, p 158.
- ^ Hunnicutt - Pershing, A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series, p 159.
- ^ Technical Manual TM 9-1901, Artillery Ammunition, p 203-205.
- ^ Technical Manual TM 9-1901, Artillery Ammunition, p 301, 311.
- ^ Hunnicutt - Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank, p 571.
[edit] References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
- Hunnicutt, R. P. (1994). Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank. Presidio Press. ISBN 0-89141-080-5.
- Hunnicutt, R. P. (1996). Pershing, A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series. Feist Publications. ISBN 1-112-95450-3.
- Technical Manual TM 9-1901, Artillery Ammunition. War Department, 1944.
- M115 8 in (203 mm) howitzer. FAS Military Analysis Network. Retrieved on May 31, 2005.
- Missing Lynx
United States
Republic of China
Turkey Currently deployed to the Iraqi border against Kurdish militants
Pakistan
Republic of Korea many on DMZ
