6-inch howitzer M1908

The 6 inch Howitzer, Model of 1908 was the standard American heavy howitzer before World War I. Forty-two of these weapons had been produced before 1917 and all were employed within the US for training in that war. Although this weapon appears in World War I-era tables of organization and equipment, for combat use in France the Canon de 155 C mle 1917 Schneider was purchased, and remained the standard weapon of this class until early World War II.[1] All surviving weapons were retired during the 1920s.[2]

6 inch Howitzer, Model of 1908
M1908 at the U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum, Ft. Sill, OK
Type	Heavy howitzer
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1910-1920
Used by	United States
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Bethlehem Steel
Designed	1906-1909
Manufacturer	Gun: Watervliet Arsenal Carriage: Rock Island Arsenal, Bethlehem Steel
Produced	1910-1916
No. built	42
Specifications
Mass	7,354 lb (3,336 kg)
Barrel length	81.5 in (207 cm) bore (13.6 calibers)
Crew	9
Shell	Separate loading cased charge
Shell weight	120 lb (54 kg) common or shrapnel
Calibre	6 in (152.4 mm)
Breech	Interrupted screw
Recoil	Hydro-spring
Elevation	-5° to 40°
Traverse	6°
Muzzle velocity	900 ft/s (270 m/s)
Maximum firing range	6,700 yards (6,125 m) (40° max elevation)

It is unusual among American-designed field artillery weapons in that it has the recoil cylinder situated above the barrel. The 4.7-inch howitzer M1908/M1912 shared this feature.[3][4] The 75 mm Gun M1917 also had this, but was based on the British Ordnance QF 18-pounder.

Ammunition was either common steel shell with a base fuze, or shrapnel with a combination time/percussion fuze.[5][2]

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

• 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze M 94 : approximate Austro-Hungarian equivalent
• BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer : approximate British equivalent
• Rimailho Model 1904TR : approximate French equivalent
• 152 mm howitzer M1910 : approximate French/Russian equivalent
• 15 cm sFH 02 : approximate German equivalent

Gallery

• 
  In Ft. Bliss, TX in 1910s
• 
  In travelling position

References

1. Rinaldi, p. 204
2. Williford, pp. 76-77
3. Photos of 4.7-inch howitzer M1912 preserved in Algoma, Wisconsin
4. Schreier Jr., Konrad F., "U.S. Army Field Artillery Weapons 1866-1917", Military Collector & Historian, 1968, pp. 40-45
5. Handbook 1917, pp. 22-23

• Ordnance Corps, United States Army (1917). Handbook of the 6-inch Howitzer Materiel, Model of 1908 and 1908MI. Washington: Government Printing Office.
• 108th Field Artillery (1918). Field Artilleryman's Guide, 3 inch Gun, 4.7 and 6 inch Howitzer, Second Edition. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co.
• Rinaldi, Richard A. (2004). The U. S. Army in World War I: Orders of Battle. General Data LLC. ISBN 0-9720296-4-8.
• Williford, Glen M. (2016). American Breechloading Mobile Artillery, 1875-1953. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-5049-8.

External links

• 6-inch Howitzer M1908 at Landships.info