Projectile, 155 mm howitzer, M110/A1/A2 | |
---|---|
Type | Artillery shell |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1940s–present |
Used by | United States |
Wars | World War II Korean War Operation Powerpack Vietnam War Invasion of Grenada Invasion of Panama Gulf War War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) Iraq War Operation Inherent Resolve |
Production history | |
Produced | 1940s–present |
Specifications | |
Overall length | 26.8 inches (68.1 cm) [1] |
Filling | Distilled sulfur mustard (HD) White phosphorus (WP) [2] |
Filling weight | 9.7 lb (4.4 kg) (HD) 14.6 lb (6.6 kg) (WP, M110 and M110A1) [3] 15.6 lb (7.1 kg) (WP, M110A2) [4] |
Detonation mechanism | Timed Fuze |
The M110 155 mm projectile is an artillery shell used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. The M110 was originally designed as a chemical artillery round to deliver blister agents via howitzer as a replacement for the World War I-era 75 mm chemical projectiles. [5] The design was later repurposed as a white phosphorus smoke round for marking, signaling, and screening purposes. The white phosphorus variants of the shell also have a secondary, incendiary effect. [6]
Officially designated projectile, 155 mm howitzer, M110, the original round was a 26.8-inch (68.1 cm) steel shell with a rotating band near its base and a burster rod down its center. [7] The original shell typically contained 9.7 pounds (4.4 kg) of sulfur mustard (H) or distilled sulfur mustard (HD), which would fill the hollow space in the shell. [8] As early as the 1960s, a white phosphorus version was created under the same designation with 14.6 pounds (6.6 kg) of white phosphorus filler. Both versions were designed for employment by the M114 howitzer and the M44 Self-Propelled Howitzer for use as terrain denial (in the case of the mustard-filled versions), target-marking, and obscuration (in the case of the white phosphorus versions. [9] )
The original version of the shell came in two variations, one filled with mustard (HD) (projectile, gas, persistent, HD, 155 mm howitzer, M110) and one filled with white phosphorus (WP) (projectile, smoke, WP, 155 mm gun, M110). To distinguish between the two, the HD versions were gray marked with two, horizontal, green bands, like most other chemical artillery shells. The WP versions were gray with a single, horizontal, yellow band, as is standard for military smoke munitions. [10]
Both versions are now considered obsolete, with the WP version seeing updated versions in later incarnations of the shell.
The HD version has not been produced since the 1960s and was never used in combat. Remaining stockpiles of the HD version are in the process of being destroyed in accordance with the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. [11]
The first upgrade to the M110 shell is only slightly modified from the original, maintaining the 14.6 pounds (6.6 kg) white phosphorus filler weight of the original with slight modifications to the release mechanisms to make the shell more reliable. It is primarily used for signaling and small-scale screening missions. [12] The M110A1 is gray with a single, yellow, horizontal band, which is standard for military smoke munitions. [13]
The second upgrade to the M110 shell is more dramatically modified from the other two variants, with thinner casing to increase the amount of filler that can be placed in the shell. The M110A2 contains 15.6 pounds (7.1 kg) of white phosphorus, which increases the duration of the smoke it produces. This change makes the M110A2 ideal for target marking and large-scale obscuration missions. [14] The M110A2 is gray with a single, yellow, horizontal band, which is standard for military smoke munitions. [15]
The M198 is a medium-sized, towed 155 mm artillery piece, developed for service with the United States Army and Marine Corps. It was commissioned to be a replacement for the World War II-era M114 155 mm howitzer. It was designed and prototyped at the Rock Island Arsenal in 1969 with firing tests beginning in 1970 and went into full production there in 1978. It entered service in 1979 and since then 1,600 units have been produced.
Nuclear artillery is a subset of limited-yield tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets. Nuclear artillery is commonly associated with shells delivered by a cannon, but in a technical sense short-range artillery rockets or tactical ballistic missiles are also included.
A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell can hold a tracer.
The M687 was an American 155 mm binary sarin chemical artillery shell. The design was standardized in 1976 and production began on December 16, 1987 at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Production was halted three years later, following the 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord between the United States and the USSR, and the dismantling of existing stocks began in November 1997 at Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada. America's remaining stocks were stored at the Deseret Chemical Depot, Utah, and the Umatilla Chemical Depot.
White phosphorus munitions are weapons that use one of the common allotropes of the chemical element phosphorus. White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination, and incendiary munitions, and is commonly the burning element of tracer ammunition. Other common names for white phosphorus munitions include WP and the slang terms Willie Pete and Willie Peter, which are derived from William Peter, the World War II phonetic alphabet rendering of the letters WP. White phosphorus is pyrophoric ; burns fiercely; and can ignite cloth, fuel, ammunition, and other combustibles.
The M777 howitzer is a towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the War in Afghanistan.
The M115 203 mm howitzer, also known as the M115 8-inch Howitzer, and originally the M1 8-inch Howitzer was a towed heavy howitzer developed by the United States Army and used during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Post-WWII it was also adopted by a number of other nations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
The FH70 is a towed howitzer used by several nations.
The Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility or TOCDF, is a U.S. Army facility located at Deseret Chemical Depot in Tooele County, Utah that was used for dismantling chemical weapons.
The Nora B-52 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Military Technical Institute and manufactured by Yugoimport SDPR in Velika Plana, Serbia.
The M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK), formerly XM1156, is a U.S. Army-designed precision guidance system to turn existing 155 mm artillery shells into smart weapons. The prime contractor was Alliant Techsystems – later merging with Orbital Sciences Corporation to form Orbital ATK, in turn being taken over by Northrop Grumman and renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems – and the industry team includes Interstate Electronics Corporation. By April 2018, more than 25,000 PGKs had been produced.
The 2K25 Krasnopol is a Soviet 152/155 mm cannon-launched, fin-stabilized, base bleed-assisted, semi-automatic laser-guided artillery weapon system. It automatically 'homes' on a point illuminated by a laser designator, typically operated by a drone or ground-based artillery observer. Krasnopol projectiles are fired mainly from Soviet self-propelled howitzers such as the 2S3 Akatsiya and 2S19 Msta-S and are intended to engage small ground targets such as tanks, other direct fire weapons, strong-points, or other significant point targets visible to the observer. It can be used against both stationary and moving targets.
The PLZ-45 or Type 88 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer designed by Su Zhezi of 674 Factory, and developed by Norinco, 123 Factory, 127 Factory, 674 Factory and the Beijing Institute of Technology in the early 1990s for the export market. It is based on Norinco's Type 89 (PLL-01) 155 mm/45-calibre towed gun-howitzer.
The M104 155 mm projectile is a chemical artillery shell designed for use by the U.S. Army. It was specifically designed to carry about 11.7 pounds (5.3 kg) of sulfur mustard (H) or (HD) blister agent. As early as the 1960s, the shell was also filled with white phosphorus to be used for obscuration and signaling.
The M121/A1 155 mm projectile was a chemical artillery shell designed for use by the U.S. Army. It was designed to be used with approximately 6.5 lb (2.9 kg) of GB or VX nerve agents.
The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP) is a United States Army Joint Munitions Command (JMC) facility that manufactures large-caliber metal projectiles and mortar projectiles for the Department of Defense.
The Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives is responsible for the safe and environmentally sound destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles previously stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, and the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado. In 1996, the United States Congress established the ACWA program to test and demonstrate alternative technologies to baseline incineration for the destruction of chemical weapons. The ACWA program oversaw the design and construction of the two chemical weapons destruction pilot plants – the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) in Colorado and the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) in Kentucky. As of July 7, 2023, PCAPP and BGCAPP have both concluded destruction of their respective stockpiles of chemical weapons. PEO ACWA will continue to oversee both plants through their closure phases, each estimated to take three to four years.
The Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) is a chemical weapons destruction facility built to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile formerly stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD) in southeastern Colorado. The stockpile originally contained 2,613 U.S. tons of mustard agent in 155mm projectiles, 105mm projectiles and 4.2-inch mortar rounds. The weapons had been stored at the 23,000-acre depot since the 1950s.
The HM-41 is an Iranian 155 mm howitzer based on the KH179, which was imported from South Korea during the Iran–Iraq War. It has a 155 mm/39 caliber barrel with a muzzle brake to lessen the recoil.
Munitions India Limited (MIL) is an Indian state-owned defence company, headquartered in Pune, India, established in 2021 as part of the restructuring and corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven different Public Sector Undertakings. Munitions India primarily manufactures ammunition, explosives, rockets and bombs for the use of the Indian Armed Forces, foreign militaries and domestic civilian use.