M2 105mm Howitzers
At the end of World War I, the US Army found itself with a large number of artillery pieces from various sources--American-built, French and British--and wanted to standardize on a handful of calibers. The standard medium artillery piece was to be the 105mm howitzer, but the massive cuts in the US military after the war and the Depression meant that the 105mm was not adopted until 1940. At that point, it was considered (by the US Army, at least) that American entry into World War II was inevitable, and President Roosevelt's expansion of the military meant that the Army could finally standardize its artillery. The M2 105mm howitzer was adopted in 1940 and entered production a year later.
The M2 was designed to be rugged, simple to use, and accurate. To reduce the size of the weapon and keep the gun stable, the hydraulic recoil mechanism was placed above and below the barrel, giving the M2 its distinctive look. It had a maximum range of seven miles, and despite the relatively heavy shell weight, a trained crew could fire ten rounds a minute. US Army artillery regiments would be equipped with three 105mm batteries and a single 155mm battery for longer-ranged fire, for a total of 48 guns.
In combat, the US Army's enemies found the 105mm to be one of the most feared weapons in the American arsenal. American batteries were usually linked to the front line by radio-equipped forward observers, and the sheer amount of artillery available usually meant that accurate and devastating fire could be called in quickly. The Army's use of "time on target" meant that regiments could rain shells within minutes in a concentrated area; German veterans remarked that American artillery fire was deadlier in a shorter time than the much larger and massive Soviet artillery barrages. When M2 crews were issued artillery shells equipped with radio proximity fuses, this only made the situation worse for the recipients: now the shells would explode above a certain height from the ground, throwing deadly shrapnel across a battlefield along with blast and shock effects.
In the Pacific, the Japanese fared no better from Marine and Army units equipped with M2s. Though island assaults could call in offshore naval fire support with even more devastating effects, the 105mm was often utilized because it could be brought ashore in a DUKW or a LVT. Against Japanese bunkers, the M2 was occasionally used in the direct fire role.
8500 M2s were produced during the war, and the US military liked it so much it remained in production. When production ended in 1952, over 10,000 had been built. Because of its ease of maintenance, plentiful spare parts, and the fact that, by 1955, it could be lifted by helicopters, the M2 remained the Army's standard artillery piece well into the 1980s. In 1962, it was redesignated the M101. A more modern version, the M102, entered service in 1964, but never completely replaced the M2/M101 series. Both were retired in the 1990s in favor of the British-designed M119. In foreign service, however, the M2/M101 is still in widespread service, and a number are used by ski areas for avalanche control in the United States or as saluting guns.
These two M2s (I assume they are M2s, due to the gun shield) are on display at Junction City, Kansas as part of their war memorial, flanking a beautiful Civil War memorial arch. My friend and I made a stop there for dinner before pushing on to Hutchinson. Both of these guns likely served with the 1st Infantry Division ("Big Red One") based at nearby Fort Riley.
M2 105mm Howitzers
At the end of World War I, the US Army found itself with a large number of artillery pieces from various sources--American-built, French and British--and wanted to standardize on a handful of calibers. The standard medium artillery piece was to be the 105mm howitzer, but the massive cuts in the US military after the war and the Depression meant that the 105mm was not adopted until 1940. At that point, it was considered (by the US Army, at least) that American entry into World War II was inevitable, and President Roosevelt's expansion of the military meant that the Army could finally standardize its artillery. The M2 105mm howitzer was adopted in 1940 and entered production a year later.
The M2 was designed to be rugged, simple to use, and accurate. To reduce the size of the weapon and keep the gun stable, the hydraulic recoil mechanism was placed above and below the barrel, giving the M2 its distinctive look. It had a maximum range of seven miles, and despite the relatively heavy shell weight, a trained crew could fire ten rounds a minute. US Army artillery regiments would be equipped with three 105mm batteries and a single 155mm battery for longer-ranged fire, for a total of 48 guns.
In combat, the US Army's enemies found the 105mm to be one of the most feared weapons in the American arsenal. American batteries were usually linked to the front line by radio-equipped forward observers, and the sheer amount of artillery available usually meant that accurate and devastating fire could be called in quickly. The Army's use of "time on target" meant that regiments could rain shells within minutes in a concentrated area; German veterans remarked that American artillery fire was deadlier in a shorter time than the much larger and massive Soviet artillery barrages. When M2 crews were issued artillery shells equipped with radio proximity fuses, this only made the situation worse for the recipients: now the shells would explode above a certain height from the ground, throwing deadly shrapnel across a battlefield along with blast and shock effects.
In the Pacific, the Japanese fared no better from Marine and Army units equipped with M2s. Though island assaults could call in offshore naval fire support with even more devastating effects, the 105mm was often utilized because it could be brought ashore in a DUKW or a LVT. Against Japanese bunkers, the M2 was occasionally used in the direct fire role.
8500 M2s were produced during the war, and the US military liked it so much it remained in production. When production ended in 1952, over 10,000 had been built. Because of its ease of maintenance, plentiful spare parts, and the fact that, by 1955, it could be lifted by helicopters, the M2 remained the Army's standard artillery piece well into the 1980s. In 1962, it was redesignated the M101. A more modern version, the M102, entered service in 1964, but never completely replaced the M2/M101 series. Both were retired in the 1990s in favor of the British-designed M119. In foreign service, however, the M2/M101 is still in widespread service, and a number are used by ski areas for avalanche control in the United States or as saluting guns.
These two M2s (I assume they are M2s, due to the gun shield) are on display at Junction City, Kansas as part of their war memorial, flanking a beautiful Civil War memorial arch. My friend and I made a stop there for dinner before pushing on to Hutchinson. Both of these guns likely served with the 1st Infantry Division ("Big Red One") based at nearby Fort Riley.