Front-left View of M8 75mm Howitzer Motor Carriage |
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The 75mm Howitzer M1 was a development of the 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 which replaced the dismantleable carriage with a carriage capable of being towed at high speeds.
The 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 had been developed in the early 1920s for use as a mountain and pack gun. It could be dismantled into four parts, each of which could be carried by a single mule. Its ballistic performance was impressive – it could fire the same 151lb 75mm shell as the US Army’s 75mm field gun, to a range of 9,600 yards.
In the late 1920s the US Cavalry was impressed with the pack howitzer and asked for a new non-dismantleable carriage, capable of being towed at high speed, to be produced.
The resulting Carriage M3A1 replaced the trail of the pack howitzer with a heavier split trail, which was more stable. It had a firing jack to support the axle, twin balancing springs, and the pneumatic wheels could be raised to allow the carriage to sit on three fixed points – the two trails and a firing base at the front.
Although the resulting gun was a good design, it arrived just as the US Cavalry was starting to convert to tanks, with self propelled artillery, so production was relatively limited. Small numbers were built before it entered serial production in January 1941. Even then only 349 were built – 234 in 1941, 64 in 1942 and 51 in 1943.
A number of improvements were made. The carriage M3A2 had a gun shield. The carriage M3A3 had combat tires and divided rims. This was accepted as standard equipment, but only 51 examples were built, as the 75mm Field Howitzer M1A1 on Carriage M3A3, between April-May 1943.
The howitzer M1A1 was used on two self propelled mounts. The T30 75mm HMC carried the M1A1 on an M3 half-track and was used by mechanized cavalry units and as an assault gun in some light tank battalions and infantry cannon companies.
The M8 75mm HMC used the howitzer M1A1 carried in an open turret on the chassis from the M5 Light Tank. It was used by the reconnaissance squadrons in the mechanised cavalry as an assault gun, operating alongside the M8 Light Armoured Car.
Name |
75mm Field Howitzer M1 |
Calibre |
75mm |
Barrel Length |
L/15.9 |
Weight for transport |
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Weight in action |
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Elevation |
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Traverse |
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Shell Weight |
6.35kg (14lb) HE |
Muzzle Velocity |
381m/ sec (1,250 ft/ sec) |
Maximum Range |
8,787m (9,610 yards) |
Rate of Fire |
8 rounds in 30 seconds |