History
In December 1942, work began on a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer based on the newly introduced M1 155 mm howitzer and the chassis of an M5 Stuart light tank. This resulted in the production of a single prototype designated the T64. [3] However, the approval of the superior M24 Chaffee light tank whose chassis was expected to be a standard used for other vehicles, such as self-propelled guns, and specialist vehicles (collectively known as the "Light Combat Team") [4] led to the scrapping of the T64 in favor of a new design - designated the T64E1 - using the Chaffee chassis. [3] [1]
Equipped with a M1 155 mm howitzer with a heavy recoil-absorption spade at the back, the T64E1 was intended to the supplement the earlier M12 Gun Motor Carriage. It had two 110 hp (82 kW) Cadillac V8 engines centrally mounted and a crew of five, including a driver in the hull and gunners mounted in an open-top compartment in the back in an arrangement similar to the 155mm M12 Gun Motor Carriage already in service in the war. The howitzer had limited side-to-side traverse and up to 45 degrees vertical traverse, and a total of 22 rounds could be stored in the vehicle. Additional ammunition was carried by M39 armored utility vehicles. The hull had only 13 mm of armor all around, sufficient to protect only against small arms, while the shielding around the gun compartment was only 6.5 mm thick. [5]
After the T64E1 underwent trials at Aberdeen Proving Ground in December 1944, minor modifications were made and production began by the Massey Harris agricultural equipment company in May 1945. The type was re-designated the M41 in June 1945. However, the M41 arrived too late to see action in World War II, and the initial order of 250 was reduced to 85. These M41s served in the peacetime army, where they received the appellation "Gorilla", and went on to serve in the Korean War before being retired. Some M41s were also passed on to the French Army, but they were soon replaced by other designs. [6]
Composition of the crew of an M41 in service order
The M 41 has a crew of 10 people in total to serve the piece. [7]
- The piece leader has, for the French army, a AN/GRC-9 or TRPP 8 radio.
- The pointer.
- The first artificer, screws and adjusts the fuses on the shells.
- Second artificer helping the first artificer.
- The driver whose main mission is to drive the tank to its destination.
- The car chief responsible for the equipment.
- The gunner whose mission is to insert the primer and activate the firing cord.
- The loader who prepares the charges according to the orders received from the piece leader.
- The assistant loader who helps load the shell onto the stretcher to insert it into the tube and also implements the double stakes.
- The supplier who supplies the shells which are stored in a so-called security zone.
Additional tasks are assigned to certain gunners
Operational service
M41s were used in action in the Korean War, where they were useful in providing support during the early mobile phase of the conflict. Once the war ground down to static engagements, the M41s employed their mobility to evade counter-battery fire. The 92nd Field Artillery Battalion and the 999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion were among units that employed M41s in Korea. [6]
Ambush in the Battle of Imjin River
Another unit equipped with the M41 in Korea, the African-American 999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, fought at the Battle of the Imjin River, where it provided artillery support for the 1st Republic of Korea Infantry Division. During the battle, Battery B was forced to evacuate its position after neighboring units withdrew. During the evacuation, it was ambushed by Chinese forces and consequently suffered seven crew killed and 31 wounded, with a loss of 2 M39s, and 2 M41s damaged. However, the unit soon routed the ambush, inflicting an estimated 100 casualties on the ambushing forces, and promptly resumed providing artillery support. [8]
Compared to the contemporary 155 mm M40 gun motor carriage, the M41 was lighter and faster, but had inferior range. Like other contemporary US Army self-propelled artillery, the open-topped gun compartment left the crew vulnerable to small arms fire and shrapnel, and the engines were sometimes criticized for being underpowered. Nonetheless, in a conflict in which enemy units frequently infiltrated or overran forward positions, the battlefield mobility, defensive firepower, and armor of the M41 was seen as being greatly preferable to that of towed artillery pieces, [10] and the performance of the 105 mm M7 howitzer motor carriage and M41 in the war influenced the U.S. Army to develop new self-propelled artillery in the 1960s, such as the M109 Paladin, that would almost entirely replace towed field howitzers. [11]
This page details tank production by the United States of America during World War II.
The M3 Stuart/light tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war. Afterwards, it was used by U.S. and Allied forces until the end of the war.
The M24 Chaffee was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the First Indochina War. In British service it was given the service name Chaffee after the United States Army general, Adna R. Chaffee Jr., who helped develop the use of tanks in the United States armed forces. Although the M41 Walker Bulldog was developed as a replacement, M24s were not mostly removed from U.S. and NATO armies until the 1960s and remained in service with some Third World countries.
The 105 mm howitzer motor carriage M7 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle produced during World War II. It was given the service name 105 mm self propelled, Priest by the British Army, due to the pulpit-like machine gun ring, and following on from the Bishop and the contemporary Deacon self-propelled guns.
The M114 is a towed howitzer developed and used by the United States Army. It was first produced in 1942 as a medium artillery piece under the designation of 155 mm Howitzer M1. It saw service with the US Army during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, before being replaced by the M198 howitzer.
The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm gun tank M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replacement for its aging fleet of World War II-vintage M24 Chaffee tanks. Although engineered as a reconnaissance vehicle, the M41's weight and armament also made it effective in the close infantry support role and for rapid airborne deployments. Upon entering US service, all M41s received the designation Little Bulldog and subsequently, Walker Bulldog after the late General Walton Walker, who was killed in a Jeep accident in 1950. The M41 was the first postwar American light tank to see worldwide service, and was exported in considerable numbers by the United States, particularly to Asia.
The 155 mm gun motor carriage M12 was a U.S. self-propelled gun developed during the Second World War. It mounted a 155 mm gun derived from the French Canon de 155 mm GPF field gun.
The 155 mm gun motor carriage M40 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a widened and lengthened medium tank M4A3 chassis, but with a Continental engine and with HVSS, which was introduced at the end of the Second World War.
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 75mm pack howitzer M1 was a pack howitzer artillery piece used by the United States. Designed to be moved across difficult terrain, gun and carriage could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by pack animals.
The PLZ-05 or the Type 05 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by the People's Liberation Army of China to replace the Type 59-1 130 mm towed gun and Type 83 152 mm self-propelled gun. The PLZ-05 was officially unveiled at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution to mark the 80th anniversary of the PLA in July 2007, and first entered service with the PLA in 2008.
The 155 mm self-propelled gun Mk F3, or the Canon de 155 mm Mle F3 Automoteur (Cn-155-F3-Am), was developed in the early 1950s by the French Army to replace their American M41 Gorilla 155 mm self-propelled guns. The Mk F3 is the smallest and lightest 155 mm motorized gun carriage ever produced, and because of its size and low cost it has found considerable success on the export market. Constructed on a modified AMX-13 light tank chassis, the Mk F3 is novel in incorporating room inside for only two of the eight required crewmen. This allows the 155 mm gun to be placed on a smaller chassis than that employed by other armies, but exposes the outside crew members to enemy fire and other hazards.
The Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, which was developed as the successor to the Type 75 155 mm self-propelled howitzer.
The M39 armored utility vehicle (T41) is an American armored vehicle designed during the Second World War, which saw service in that conflict and in the Korean War. Like a number of vehicles of this type, it was built using an existing chassis, that of the M18 Hellcat.
The M44 was an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer based on the M41 Walker Bulldog tank chassis, first introduced in the early 1950s. Flaws in its design prevented it from seeing action in the Korean War, but the type went on to serve in the armies of the United States, West Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom into the late Cold War period, and even longer in Turkish service.
The 203 mm howitzer motor carriage M43 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a widened and lengthened medium tank M4A3 chassis, but with a Continental engine and HVSS that was introduced at the end of World War II. The M43 shared the same chassis as the more widely produced M40 gun motor carriage, which instead mounted a 155 mm gun, and were designed by the Pressed Steel Car Company. A production run of 576 was planned originally, but in the end only 24 were produced and another 24 were converted from M40 hulls. The M43 went on to serve in the Korean War, and was retired after its conclusion.
The M19 multiple gun motor carriage (MGMC) was a World War II United States Army self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon on the M24 light tank chassis. It was equipped with two Bofors 40 mm guns. It was produced by Cadillac and Massey Ferguson of Canada near the end of 1944.
The M37 105 mm howitzer motor carriage is a 105 mm howitzer self propelled gun developed by the United States. It saw combat in the Korean War and remained part of the U.S. military until being replaced in the late 1950s. Approximately 316 were built.
