M198 howitzer
1969 mobile 155 mm howitzer by Rock Island Arsenal
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.
The M198 was replaced in US and Australian service by the M777 howitzer.
Description
The M198 155 mm howitzer weighs less than 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg), allowing it to be dropped by parachute or transported by a CH-53E Super Stallion or CH-47 Chinook. The M198 is towed by a 5-short-ton (4.5 t; 4.5-long-ton) truck that is used to carry the nine person crew with supplies and ammunition; it is transported tail first. The gun tube can be rotated over the howitzer's trail legs to reduce its length, though this requires removal of the muzzle brake, or left in the firing position for faster deployment. When firing, the weapon is lowered onto its baseplate rather than anchored to the ground, allowing for rapid emplacement. The breech is operated manually via a screw type mechanism that rests low in an ergonomic position.
The public source identifies “M198 howitzer” as 1969 mobile 155 mm howitzer by Rock Island Arsenal. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around M198, howitzer and mobile.
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This entry incorporates text from “M198 howitzer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.