The M115 203 mm howitzer, also known as the M115 8-inch Howitzer, and originally the M1 8-inch Howitzer was a towed heavy

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

developed and used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

History

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, licensed production of the British 8-inch howitzer Mark VI was undertaken by the Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company, located in the Nicetown neighborhood of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Both American and British-manufactured weapons were used by the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

in France. In 1940, the United States still had 475 Mark VII and Mark VIII 1/2 howitzers in storage, but there are no reports of the Mark VI or other marks being used during World War II. The original design of the M1 8-inch howitzer started in 1919, and resulted in the M1920 howitzer, but the program lapsed until resurrected in 1927. The T2 and T3 howitzers were prototypes of a partner piece for a new 155 mm gun. The first publicity photographs of the M1-type 8-inch howitzer on its redesigned carriage appeared in 1931, but development was slowed by the Great Depression. The T3 was standardized as the 8 inch Howitzer M1 in 1940. Like the British 8-inch howitzer of the First World War (and most other large artillery), the M1 uses a

Welin screw The Welin breech block was a revolutionary stepped, interrupted thread design for locking artillery breeches, invented by Axel Welin in 1889 or 1890. Shortly after, Vickers acquired the British patents. Welin breech blocks provide obturation for ...

for its breech. The carriage was the same as used for the US 155 mm gun and was also adopted by the British for their

BL 7.2-inch howitzer The BL 7.2-inch howitzer was a heavy artillery piece used by the British Army throughout the World War II, Second World War. History In 1940 the British Army concluded that the only heavy howitzer available to it, the World War I, First World ...

. It consists of a split trail with equilibrator assemblies, elevating and traversing mechanisms, a two-axle bogie with eight tires, and a single-axle, single-wheel limber for towing. Four spades, carried on the trails, were used to emplace the weapon. The M1 saw U.S. service in World War II, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. During World War II, the M1 was towed by the Mack 7⅓ ton 6×6 truck or the

M4 tractor The M4 High-Speed Tractor for World War II was an artillery tractor used by the US Army from 1943. Design and development The M4 High Speed Tractor used M4 Sherman tracks, roadwheels and drive sprocket. One variant was designed to tow the 90 mm ...

. 59 battalions were raised during the war, of which 39 saw combat service in Northwest Europe or Italy and three in the Pacific. In the late 1950s, it was adopted in small numbers by several

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

armies, to fire the W33 (M422/M422A1 shell) and later the

W79 The W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile (AFAP), also known as the XM753 (Atomic RA) was an American nuclear artillery shell, capable of being fired from any NATO howitzer e.g. the M115 and M110 howitzer. Produced in two models, the enhanced ...

nuclear artillery Nuclear artillery is a subset of limited- yield tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets. Nuclear artillery is commonly associated with shells delivered by a cannon, but in ...

shell, under the NATO

nuclear sharing Nuclear sharing is a concept in NATO's policy of nuclear deterrence, which allows member countries without nuclear weapons of their own to participate in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO. In particular, it provides for the arm ...

concept, a role which ended when the smallest types of

tactical nuclear weapon A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territo ...

s were removed from service and eliminated. It was also adopted as a field weapon by a number of nations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and saw service in the

Second Taiwan Strait Crisis The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). In this conflict, the PRC shelled the islands of Kinme ...

and the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

. In 1962, the M1 was redesignated the M115 Howitzer.

Operators

* : former operator * : former operator, 14 systems in 1983 * : former operator, 24 systems * : former operator 1953–1996, 12 systems * : former operator * : former operator * : * : 20 * * : 4 in store * : former operator * : The

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

acquired right after the

in 1953. Began replacing in the late 2000s with the K9 Thunder. * * : 28 * : 8 in store * : former operator * : in Turkey, 60 systems * : 70 * : 162

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 the 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage M43. A total of 48 units were built.Hunnicutt - ''Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank'', pp. 353–355, 571. * 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T80 – based on T23 Medium Tank chassis, never advanced past proposal stage.Hunnicutt - ''Pershing, A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series'', p. 158. * 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T84 – based on T26 Medium Tank chassis, a single pilot was built in 1945.Hunnicutt - ''Pershing, A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series'', p. 159. * 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 depress the cannon tube to loading elevation for each round in order to use the track-mounted auto loader, But the later M110A2 version had improved accuracy and ranges.

Ammunition

The howitzer fired separate loading, bagged charge ammunition, with seven different propelling charges, from 1 (the smallest) to 7 (the largest).

Notes

References

* * * * *
Missing Lynx
* TM 9-2300 Standard Artillery and fire Control Material (dated Feb. 1944) * TM 9-335 * TM 9-1350

External links

* {{WWIIUSGuns 203 mm artillery Cold War artillery of the United States World War II artillery of the United States World War II field artillery World War II howitzers Military equipment introduced in the 1930s