Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

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a turret providing all-around traverse, and aluminum armor to protect the crew. 10
Improvements on the 155-mm. howitzer continued and later included an on-board
fire control system, navigation system, additional ballistic protection, a new cannon
and mount, and secure communications. The upgraded 155-mm. M109A6 howitzer,
known as Paladin, which began fielding in the early 1990s, weighed 32 tons, had
a cruising range of 186 miles (299.3 kilometers), and fired at a maximum range of
30 kilometers (18.6 miles). 11
The towed 155-mm. howitzer in use in the 1970s was the M114A1, first fielded
in 1942, having a range of 9 miles (14.6 kilometers). Under devel op ment in the
United States since 1968, the M198 towed 155-mm. howitzer, which replaced the
older weapon, had a lower rate of fire; was two tons lighter, making helo-transport
easier; and had the new feature of an all-around traverse. Range varied, increasing
from 18.1 kilometers (11.2 miles) to 22.6 kilometers (14 miles) with improved
conventional munitions and climbing to more than 30 kilometers (18.6 miles)
with rocket-assisted projectiles. The first M198 howitzers were ordered in 1977,
but produc tion was delayed for a year pend ing studies on requirements for towed
weapons in nondivi sional artillery units. In May 1980, Army Chief of Staff General
Edward C. Meyer directed that the new light infantry divisions would use the M198
as their direct-sup port weapon based on its munitions and range versatility, even
though it proved more expensive and less mobile than the 105 model. 12 When the
units were organized in the 1980s, however, they were not equipped with suitable
prime movers for the M198s, which were still too heavy for many helicopters. The
Army then decided to have a new 155-mm. weapons system designed that would
weigh con sid erably less yet have the neces sary stability, and the light divisions
returned to using 105-mm. howitzers for direct support. 13
In 1978, the Army began replacing existing 8-inch howitzers and 175-mm. guns
with a new 8-inch model. The new howitzer had a maximum range of nearly 40 kilometers
(24.8 miles) with rocket-assisted pro jec tiles and 35 kilometers (21.8 miles)
10 “The M109 Medium Howitzer,” International Defense Review, no. 1/1968, pp. 48–49; “U.S.
Army Weaponry and Equipment in Mid-1980s,” Army, October 1985, pp. 405–06; “The Journal Interviews
. . . BG A. Bar-David,” Field Artillery Journal, May-June 1978, pp. 15–17, in which the Israeli
artillery chief stated that the first combat use of the M109A1 was in the Golan Heights in early 1974
and that the weapon proved to be excellent. The M109 series was authorized a nine-man crew.
11 Because the M109A6 howitzer was to be an interim weapon, development began on a new
155-mm. self-propelled howitzer (XM2001), named Crusader, which was to be fully digitized and
include a resupply vehicle. Ammunition handling, transfer, and loading were to be fully automated. It
was also to have a 25-percent increase in range from the older models. See Donald L. Barnett, “Crusader,”
Field Artillery, November-December 1999, pp. 14–18; Charles J. Emerson, Jr., “Crusader,”
ibid., March-April 2002, pp. 42–45.
12 “Army Weaponry,” p. 406, 407; William Whelihan, “The M198,” Field Artil lery Journal,
January-February 1978, p. 9; idem, “We’ve Got 30!” ibid., May-June 1979, pp. 9–12; “M198 Under
Heavy Field Test,” ibid., January-February 1979, p. 33; Walter B. Brown II, “The M198,” ibid., July-
August 1982, pp. 26–29; “New Howit zers Delivered,” Army Logis tician, November-December 1978,
p. 41; R. B. Pengelley, “The U.S. Army’s M198 Towed 155mm Howit zer,” International Defense
Review, no. 7/1979, pp. 1163–68.
13 Suzann W. Voigt, “Much Ado About Something,” Field Artillery Journal, July-August 1986,
pp. 28–30.