M107 (projectile) on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The M107 155 mm projectile was the standard 155 mm
M107 155mm Projectile
{{DEFAULTSORT:M107 Projectile 155 mm artillery 155mm artillery shells Cold War artillery of the United States
The M107 155 mm projectile was the standard 155 mm high explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
(HE) projectile
A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found in ...
for 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 ...
s of the US 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 ...
and US Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
. A bursting round with fragmentation and blast effects, the M107 is being superseded in the US military by the M795
The M795 155mm projectile is the US Army and US Marine Corps' standard 155mm High Explosive (HE) projectile for howitzers. It is a bursting round with fragmentation and blast effects.
The M795 is designed to be a more lethal and have a longer ra ...
.
Development
The M107 is a development of the M102 155 mm shell that was developed in the 1930s from the French Schneider 155 mm projectile for the Model 1917 Howitzer. The M107 differs from the M102 mainly in having a wider rotating ordriving band Russian 122 mm shrapnel shell, which has been fired, showing rifling marks on the copper driving band around its base and the steel bourrelet nearer the front
A driving band or rotating band is a band of soft metal near the base of an artillery ...
.
Description
The body consists of a hollowsteel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
shell containing high explosive (either TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
or Composition B
Composition B, colloquially Comp B, is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades and various other munitions. It was also use ...
) painted olive drab with yellow markings. A fuze
In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze d ...
adapter is screwed into the body and brazed in place. An eyebolt lifting plug is screwed into the fuze well to assist in transportation. The plug is removed and replaced with a fuze for firing. The complete projectile weighs 43.2 kg, is 800 mm long and contains 15.8% explosive by weight. It is a separate-loading projectile—propellant
A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
bags or MACS charges are loaded separately.
The M107 can be fired more than 13 miles and on detonation it produces approximately 1,950 fragments.
The M107 was approved for use in 1958 and issued to the army from 1959. Its intended replacement is the M795, manufacture of which began in 1999.
The M114 howitzer
The M114 is a towed howitzer developed and used by the United States Army. It was first produced in 1942 as a medium artillery piece under the designation of 155 mm Howitzer M1. It saw service with the US Army during World War II, the Korean ...
can fire an M107 up to 18.5 km using M4A2 "White Bag" propellant. Modified M107 rounds with base bleed
Base bleed is a system used on some artillery shells to increase range, typically by about 20–35%. It expels gas into the low pressure area behind the shell to reduce base drag (it does not produce thrust).
Since base bleed extends the ran ...
and new aerodynamics can extend this range to around 32 km.
Despite relatively lackluster performance (Jane's describes it as having "an indifferent charge to weight ratio", "unsophisticated aerodynamic shape", "erratic fragmentation") compared to more modern high explosive rounds, it continues to be used by many countries, in particular in training exercises because of its low cost, high availability and smaller danger area than more modern designs. Its limited effectiveness also make it a useful option in peace support operations.
The M107 is manufactured by several nations, sometimes with variations in the fill and or filling method, or other details, and is given a national designation. For example, those produced to UK requirements are designated L21, not M107; German examples were designated DM21.
By the 1970s, the M107 was an out-of-date design, and some European armies started replacing their war stocks with modern designs such as L15. However, the M107 was retained for training purposes, because it was cheap and, being less lethal, had a smaller peacetime safety area, an important consideration given the small European training areas.
Specifications
* Maximum range : ** Fired from M1/M1A1 cannon on M114/M114A1 towed howitzers with Charge 7 ** Fired from M126/M126A1 cannon on M109 self-propelled howitzers with Charge 7 *** 14,600 m ** Fired from M185 cannon on M109A1 - M109A4 howitzers with Charge 8 ** Fired from M119 cannon on M198 towed howitzers with Charge 8 *** 18,100 m ** Fired from M284 cannon on M109A5 and M109A6 howitzers with Charge 8S *** 24,000 m * Weight as fired: * Explosive content: TNT * Length (excluding fuze): 605.3 mm * Body diameter: 154.71 mm * Driving band diameter: 157.98 mm *Fuze
In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze d ...
s (with supplemental charge):
** PD M51A5, M728 family, M557, M572, M739, M564, M577, M582, M732
* Fuze
In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze d ...
s (without supplemental charge):
** M728
* Manufacturer: American Ordnance LLC & Scranton Army Ammunition Plant
See also
*List of artillery
Artillery has been one of primary weapons of war since before the Napoleonic Era. Several countries have developed and built artillery systems, while artillery itself has been continually improved and redesigned to meet the evolving needs of the b ...
*List of crew served weapons of the US Armed Forces
This list contains weapons that are classified as crew-served, as the term is used in the United States military.
While the general understanding is that crew-served weapons require more than one person to operate them, there are important except ...
References
* ''Jane's Ammunition Handbook 2003–2004''External links
M107 155mm Projectile
{{DEFAULTSORT:M107 Projectile 155 mm artillery 155mm artillery shells Cold War artillery of the United States