The M114 is a towed

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, ...

. 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, 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 ...

, before being replaced by the M198 howitzer. The gun was also used by the armed forces of many nations. The M114A1 remains in service in some countries.

Development

A new carriage was under development for much of the 1930s for the existing

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

-era M-1918 155 mm howitzer, which was a license-built French

Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider The Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider, often abbreviated as the ''C17S'', was a French howitzer designed by Schneider. It was essentially the ''Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Schneider'' fitted with a different breech to use bagged propellant r ...

until 1939 when it was realized that it did not seem logical to put a new carriage underneath an obsolete howitzer. So development began anew with a carriage designed to be used for either the 155 mm howitzer or the gun. This was completed by 15 May 1941 when the Howitzer M1 on the Carriage M1 was standardized. The howitzer itself differed from the older model by a lengthened barrel of 20 calibers and a new breech mechanism. Uniquely it was the sole 'slow-cone' interrupted screw mechanism to enter US service after 1920.Hogg - ''Allied Artillery of World War II'', p 68. This meant that two separate movements were necessary to open the breech, versus the single movement of the 'steep cone' mechanism that simultaneously rotated and withdrew the breech. The M1A1 was redesignated as the M114A1 in 1962.

Carriage variants

The carriage was also used by the 4.5 inch Gun M-1. It went through a number of minor changes over time. The original Warner electric brakes were replaced by Westinghouse air brakes on the M1A1. Both the M1 and M1A1 carriages used a mid-axle firing pedestal that was extended by a ratchet mechanism. The M1A2 replaced the ratchet with a screw-jack system and also modified the traveling lock. The M1A1E1 carriage was intended for use in jungle and muddy terrain and replaced the wheels of the M1A1 with a free-wheeling tracked suspension, but the project was terminated after V-J day without having reached production. The T-9 and T-10 carriages were projects using low-grade steel alloys that were canceled when no longer needed. The T-16 was a light-weight carriage using high-grade steel that was estimated to save some ; work began in July 1945 and continued after the war, although nothing seems to have come from it. A mid-1960s variant was the 155mm XM123 & M123A1 auxiliary-propelled howitzers. The XM123 was produced by American Machine and Foundry and outfitted with two 20 horsepower air-cooled engines produced by Consolidated Diesel Corporation, driver's seat, steering wheel, and guide wheel on the left trail, allowing it to be more rapidly emplaced when detached from the prime mover, while the XM123A1 provided a single 20 horsepower motor with electric steering. The extra weight on the left trail displaced the howitzer after each round was fired, requiring it to be realigned, and the project was abandoned. The concept was copied from the Soviet 85mm SD-44 auxiliary-propelled antitank gun developed in 1954 and used by airborne forces. XM123 Medium Auxiliary Propelled 155mm Howitzer

XM123 Medium Auxiliary Propelled 155mm Howitzer

Self-propelled mounts

The howitzer was experimentally mounted on a lengthened chassis of the

M5 light tank The M3 Stuart/Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. in ...

. The resulting vehicle received the designation 155 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage T64. A single prototype was built before the T64 project was abandoned in favor of T64E1, based on the

M24 Chaffee The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the Firs ...

light tank chassis. This was eventually adopted as the

M41 Howitzer Motor Carriage The 155 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M41 (also known as the M41 Gorilla) was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a lengthened M24 Chaffee tank chassis that was introduced at the end of the Second World War. Out of a planned r ...

and saw action in the

.Hunnicutt, p 337–339, 502. Towards the end of the Korean War the US Army replaced the M41 self-propelled howitzer with the M44 self-propelled howitzer.

Ammunition

The gun fires separate-loading, bagged charge ammunition, with up to seven different propelling charges, from 1 (the smallest) to 7 (the largest). Muzzle velocity, range and penetration in the tables below are for maximum charge in form of complete M4A1 propelling charge. 155HowRightRear

: :

Operators

Current operators

* : 24 * : 6 * : 95 in the Army and 8 with the Marines * : 12 * : 6 * : 70 * : 18 * : 12 * : 18 * : donated by Turkey in 2020 * * : 20 * : 100 in service * : 144 in service with the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

. * : 36 * : 12 as of 2022 * : 24 * : 50 * : 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 since Sep 1951, and 294 M1s were in service at the end of the

. Later produced locally as KM114 in 1970s. * : 12 *

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian oppo ...

: donated by Turkey in 2020 * : 750 * : 48 , In reserve * : 12 * : 517 * : 8 * : 12 *

Former operators

* * * * * * * * : 271 total, withdrawn in 2012 * * * * * * * * * (passed on to successor states)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * *

External links

The M114 155mm howitzer

M114
* {{DEFAULTSORT:M114 155 Mm Howitzer 155 mm artillery Cold War artillery of the United States World War II artillery of the United States World War II howitzers Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942