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M101 howitzer
The M101A1 (previously designated Howitzer M2A2 on Carriage M2A2) howitzer is an artillery piece developed and used by the United States. It was the standard U.S. light field howitzer in World War II and saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters and during the Korean War. Entering production in 1941, it quickly gained a reputation for accuracy and a powerful punch. The M101A1 fires 105 mm high explosive (HE) semi-fixed ammunition and has a range of 12,330 yards (11,270 m) or 7 miles, making it suitable for supporting infantry.
After World War I, the U.S. Army Ordnance Department studied various captured German 105 mm-caliber howitzers and developed the 105 mm Howitzer M1920 by using the Carriage M1920. A box trail carriage design (the M1925E carriage) and two other split trail designs (the T1 and T2) were also developed, but the original split trail design was found superior after testing. After being selected, the piece was standardized in December 1927 as the 105 mm howitzer M1 on carriage M1. The Army intended to replace all 75 mm guns in its divisional and non-divisional field artillery regiments with 105 mm pieces, but a lack of appropriations stalled the idea and eventually forced it to be completely abandoned by 1929; a limited plan developed in 1925 envisioned re-equipping three regiments, but by 1933, only 14 M1 howitzers had been manufactured.
A modified version of the M1, which was trialed in 1932, used semi-fixed ammunition instead of separate-loading ammunition. Since this development required a different breech block, the new piece was designated the 105 mm howitzer M2 on carriage M1. 48 pieces were manufactured in 1939. The original M1 carriage had been designed for towing using horses rather than trucks, and a new carriage, the T5 (M2), was developed in 1939 and standardized in February 1940. The breech ring of the howitzer M2 was modified in March 1940 before large-scale production began, creating the 105 mm howitzer M2A1 on carriage M2.
In 1939, the new howitzer cost $25,000, which was three times as much as the modernisation cost of a 75 mm field gun M1897 on M2 carriage, and its adoption required procurement of a colossal amount of new ammunition (War Department estimate of $26 million).
Small-scale production of the M2A1 began in April 1941, with 25 pieces, followed by 18 each in May and June. Production began to ramp up in August, and production for the year totaled 604 pieces.
3,325 pieces were built in 1942, 2,684 in 1943, 1,200 in 1944, and 730 up to and including August 1945. The gun was designed to be very durable and was therefore heavy for its caliber, but studies after 1943 found that, after prolonged firing, the muzzle end of the barrel was prone to cracking. To relieve stress in the barrel, new production M2A1 tubes were counterbored two inches from the muzzle starting in the late 1940s. By the end of World War II, 8,543 105 mm towed howitzers had been built.
Post-war production continued at Rock Island Arsenal until 1953, by which time 10,202 had been built. In 1953, the new howitzer M2A2 was standardized to further increase the life of the howitzer at the cost of some muzzle velocity. The M2A2's barrel had a higher strength breech ring, deeper rifling grooves, and shallower rifling taper than the M2A1's barrel, resulting in a 50 percent more effective full charge barrel life than the M2A1.
A further development, the M2A2E2, featuring a muzzle brake and with its maximal range increased along with the propelling charge, on carriage M2A2E2, featuring an increased maximal angle of fire, was designed and tested in 1958, but with the coming XM102 howitzer both were canceled in 1961.
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M101 howitzer AI simulator
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M101 howitzer
The M101A1 (previously designated Howitzer M2A2 on Carriage M2A2) howitzer is an artillery piece developed and used by the United States. It was the standard U.S. light field howitzer in World War II and saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters and during the Korean War. Entering production in 1941, it quickly gained a reputation for accuracy and a powerful punch. The M101A1 fires 105 mm high explosive (HE) semi-fixed ammunition and has a range of 12,330 yards (11,270 m) or 7 miles, making it suitable for supporting infantry.
After World War I, the U.S. Army Ordnance Department studied various captured German 105 mm-caliber howitzers and developed the 105 mm Howitzer M1920 by using the Carriage M1920. A box trail carriage design (the M1925E carriage) and two other split trail designs (the T1 and T2) were also developed, but the original split trail design was found superior after testing. After being selected, the piece was standardized in December 1927 as the 105 mm howitzer M1 on carriage M1. The Army intended to replace all 75 mm guns in its divisional and non-divisional field artillery regiments with 105 mm pieces, but a lack of appropriations stalled the idea and eventually forced it to be completely abandoned by 1929; a limited plan developed in 1925 envisioned re-equipping three regiments, but by 1933, only 14 M1 howitzers had been manufactured.
A modified version of the M1, which was trialed in 1932, used semi-fixed ammunition instead of separate-loading ammunition. Since this development required a different breech block, the new piece was designated the 105 mm howitzer M2 on carriage M1. 48 pieces were manufactured in 1939. The original M1 carriage had been designed for towing using horses rather than trucks, and a new carriage, the T5 (M2), was developed in 1939 and standardized in February 1940. The breech ring of the howitzer M2 was modified in March 1940 before large-scale production began, creating the 105 mm howitzer M2A1 on carriage M2.
In 1939, the new howitzer cost $25,000, which was three times as much as the modernisation cost of a 75 mm field gun M1897 on M2 carriage, and its adoption required procurement of a colossal amount of new ammunition (War Department estimate of $26 million).
Small-scale production of the M2A1 began in April 1941, with 25 pieces, followed by 18 each in May and June. Production began to ramp up in August, and production for the year totaled 604 pieces.
3,325 pieces were built in 1942, 2,684 in 1943, 1,200 in 1944, and 730 up to and including August 1945. The gun was designed to be very durable and was therefore heavy for its caliber, but studies after 1943 found that, after prolonged firing, the muzzle end of the barrel was prone to cracking. To relieve stress in the barrel, new production M2A1 tubes were counterbored two inches from the muzzle starting in the late 1940s. By the end of World War II, 8,543 105 mm towed howitzers had been built.
Post-war production continued at Rock Island Arsenal until 1953, by which time 10,202 had been built. In 1953, the new howitzer M2A2 was standardized to further increase the life of the howitzer at the cost of some muzzle velocity. The M2A2's barrel had a higher strength breech ring, deeper rifling grooves, and shallower rifling taper than the M2A1's barrel, resulting in a 50 percent more effective full charge barrel life than the M2A1.
A further development, the M2A2E2, featuring a muzzle brake and with its maximal range increased along with the propelling charge, on carriage M2A2E2, featuring an increased maximal angle of fire, was designed and tested in 1958, but with the coming XM102 howitzer both were canceled in 1961.