M1 American 240mm Towed Howitzer

M1

Towed Gun

Spotted an error? Sign in to suggest an edit.

M1 American 240mm Towed Howitzer (A)TRADOC ODIN WEG

Basic Information

Name

M1 American 240mm Towed Howitzer

Designation

Alternate Designation

M1; "Black Dragon"

Equipment Type

Towed Gun

Manufacturer

—

Date of Introduction

1950

Description

The M1 American 240mm Towed Howitzer popularly nicknamed the "Black Dragon", was a towed howitzer used by the United States Army. The 240 mm M1 was designed to replace the World War I era 240 mm howitzer M1918, which was based on a 1911 French design and was outdated by World War II. The weapon addressed the requirement for super-heavy field artillery capable of attacking heavily reinforced targets, like those likely to be found along Germany's Siegfried Line. The 240 mm howitzer M1 is still in service with Taiwan, stationed in hardened bunkers of the frontline Kinmen and Matsu Islands.

Ground Specifications

Crew 14

System

Alternate Designation M1; "Black Dragon"

Type Towed Howitzer

Caliber 240 mm

Manufacturer INA

Crew 14 ea

Transport A pair of three-axle, six-wheeled transport wagons were developed – one for the cannon tube, and one for the carriage. These transport wagons were also used with the 8-inch gun. These were standardized as the M2 and M3. The M2 wagon carried the carriage and the M3 wagon carried the barrel and recoil system. This separate configuration required the use of the 20-ton M2 truck-mounted crane for setup. The crane also included a clam-shell bucket that was transported on a trailer and used to dig the recoil pit for the gun. It took about two hours to emplace the gun.

Self-Propelled Mount The 240 mm howitzer M1 was broken down into two loads for travel (the barrel and recoil mechanism and the carriage), each towed on a six-wheeled wagon by a Mack NO 7½-ton 6x6 truck or another heavy prime mover such as the M33 or M35. A truck-mounted crane was required to assemble and disassemble the weapon. Due to the problems with moving such a large, heavy weapon, a self-propelled version was made by mounting it on a stretched Heavy Tank T26E3 chassis that featured an extra bogie wheel per side, as the T92 Howitzer Motor Carriage, While 115 were planned, only five were built and the war ended before they could be used and they were later scrapped.

Breech Interrupted screw

Carriage Split trail with 2 transport wagons

Recoil Hydro-pneumatic

Elevation +15° to +65°

Traverse 22.5° right and left

Rate of Fire 1 round per minute (maximum) 30 rounds per hour (sustained)

Muzzle Velocity 701 m/s

Maximum Firing Range 23.1 km

Note The 240 mm howitzer M1 is still in service with Taiwan, stationed in hardened bunkers of the frontline Kinmen and Matsu Islands.

Dimensions

Length INA

Barrel Length 8.38 m

Width 2.79 m

Weight, Combat 29,300 kg

Ammunition

Shell 160 kg separate loading, bagged charge

Caliber 240 mm

Image Sources

Notes https://www.discoveryuk.com/building-big/the-biggest-gun-in-the-world/; https://www.quora.com/What-gun-would-do-the-most-damage-to-the-brain; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:240mmHowitzerM1FortSillLeftSide2005.jpg;

Details

Country of Origin United States

Category Towed Gun/Howitzer Artillery Systems

Land > Artillery > Towed Gun/Howitzer Artillery Systems

Classification

Domain

Ground

Equipment Status

Active

Dimensions

Length

—

Width

2.79 m

Height

—

Weight

29300 kg

Operators (1)

Taiwan

Something went wrong. Please reload the page. Reload