155mm howitzer
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thumbnail picture to view a larger version)
Cannon gets a new home
On 6 April 2005, the first artifact
arrived at our park. It is a M114A2, medium towed Howitzer. This
weapon was first produced in 1942 as medium artillery. This weapon
uses NATO standard 155mm ammunition with a range of about 14,000
meters. It was used during World War II, in Korea and Vietnam.
Until recently, they were in service with the National Guard.
 The
155 Howitzer was considered obsolete by the time it was deployed to
Vietnam. It was no match for the 155mm self propelled weapon
supporting conventional operations against a highly mobile, heavily
armored enemy.
The Vietnam War, however, was not
conventional warfare and this Howitzer which was thought by
many to be obsolete and out of date; proved to be invaluable.
It was designed to be towed behind another vehicle, this usually
being a 2 ½ ton truck, and needing up to three support vehicles to
carry ammo and powder bags. The Howitzer was light weight
enough to be displaced by a helicopter and could provide medium
artillery support to infantry forces hidden deep in the jungle and
where roads were non-existent. Warfare had taken on a new look
and the towed Howitzer had another war to fight.
Our 155 Howitzer had to be
de-milled and made incapable of firing when it arrived at veteran’s
memorial park. Commission member Dick Herbon did the welding
by securing various parts of the Howitzer. The Rock Island
arsenal agreed to inspect and certify the De-mill procedure and
their team of experts performed an invaluable service for our park.
After the certification; the Howitzer was badly in need of
sandblasting and fresh paint. The Park commission decided on
painting it a desert-tan camo scheme. You can see this by
clicking on the pictures at the bottom of the page.
Howitzer Photo Gallery
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thumbnail picture to view a larger version)
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