469:. There was also a fifth large load for the erection of the frame and other items needed to assemble the four main cannon components from their specialized transport wagons. The total weight of the five loads was 21.5 tons and was limited to a road speed of only 5 miles per hour. The first load was the 16-1/2 foot cannon barrel, the second load was the recoil mechanism, the third load was the carriage-aiming mount and the fourth the ground base. After a site was chosen, installation began with the handheld-tool digging of a large recoil pit, and then assembly of an iron beam erection structure over the emplacement pit. Under the best conditions, installation required four to six hours.
31:
250:
281:. However, the U.S. Army wanted the design in 240 mm caliber. The Schneider 280 mm piece predated World War I and was originally designed and produced under a contract from the Imperial Russian Army. As requested by the U.S. government, Schneider scaled down the piece and sent drawings and technicians to the U.S. to set up production as the
273:, the U.S. Army had no modern heavy artillery that could be moved by roads. To speed the process of filling this shortcoming, the U.S. Army decided to adopt a foreign design from its Allies for manufacturing in the U.S., and set up a commission for this purpose. The decision was to adopt a 280 mm howitzer produced by the French armament firm
305:
with no personnel until ordered into active military service and organized. Only one of the regiments was ordered into active military service during World War II as a segregated 8-inch howitzer unit; it was thereafter broken up into battalions. The other regiments were disbanded without seeing active service.
288:
The first howitzer was not ready for proof testing until 1918, after the war had ended. When firing its first proof shot, it exploded, and production was halted while the U.S. Army and
Schneider investigated the reason behind the failure and redesigned the weapon. It was not until the mid-1920s that
304:
as an
Inactive unit. The personnel of the Organized Reserve, consisting nearly entirely of officers, were ordered to active duty individually before and during World War II, with the result being that Organized Reserve units did not see active service organized as such, and remained "paper" units
455:
went into effect, prohibiting additional fortifications in the
Pacific. The ship was ordered to deliver the weapons to Hawaii instead. Thus, at least 12 of these weapons were present on fixed mountings on Oahu during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is unknown whether any M1918s saw combat service
464:
The M1918 was similar to most mobile siege cannons of World War I. With the exception of the caliber and a few minor details, it was an exact copy of the French 280 mm howitzer. It was moved in four large sections by heavy tracked
555:
Prepared 240 mm
Howitzer Positions in Hawaii: 12 positions for 240mm howitzers on modified mobile M1918 carriages were prepared in 1920. Eight more positions were added during 1938-1945, although there only 12 of these weapons were on
293:, was introduced in 1943. Although significant work was done by U.S. Army engineers on the M1918 design, it never was considered suitable, but for lack of funding from Congress, they had to make do with the design.
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production restarted, with 330 M1918s being produced. The M1918 became the heaviest mobile artillery piece in the U.S. Army until its replacement, the
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Ordered into active military service 15 July 1942 as a segregated 8-inch howitzer unit; broken up 23 February 1943
185:
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article which compared the 240 mm howitzer M1918 to the cannon that replaced it, the 240 mm M1 howitzer
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The U.S. Army
Reserve's 579th Field Artillery Battalion (inactive as of 2001) traced its lineage to this unit
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575:
666:
613:
601:
200:
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U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919-1941, Volume 2. The Arms: Cavalry, Field
Artillery, and Coast Artillery
300:. In 1933, one was disbanded and another was withdrawn from the Organized Reserve and allotted to the
456:
during World War II, but it is unlikely due to its range and vulnerability to counter battery fire.
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was an
American heavy howitzer system manufactured in the U.S. to specifications of the U.S. Army.
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30:
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669:
US Army
Ordnance Document 2033, published 1920, pages 300 to 320, highly detailed document
296:
After World War I, eleven 240 mm howitzer battalions were activated in the U.S. Army
230:
703:
466:
220:
419:
Inactivated by relief of personnel about
December 1927; disbanded 26 January 1943
342:
Inactivated by relief of personnel about August 1929; disbanded 26 January 1943
270:
515:. Fort Leavenworth: U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute Press. pp. 913–922.
375:
Inactivated by relief of personnel about April 1928; disbanded 26 January 1943
364:
Inactivated by relief of personnel about April 1928; disbanded 26 January 1943
678:
one of the few World War II articles on the 240 mm M1918 with rare photos
637:, Vol 7, page 779, editor Bernard Fitzsimons, Purnell & Sons Ltd 1967/1969
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41:
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195:
steel carriage aiming box, which traverses on a ground emplacement base
158:
180:
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277:, which was in service with the French Army during the war as the
248:
635:
The
Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare
447:
In 1923, twelve of these weapons were on a ship bound for the
499:
Ordnance Department Document No. 2033 Handbook of Artillery
501:, p. 307, May 1920, Government Printing Office, Washington
526:
240 mm howitzer thread on Corregidor - Then and Now forum
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List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation
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576:240 mm howitzer positions on Oahu at CDSG website
309:U.S. Army interwar 240 mm howitzer units
643:American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide
614:US Army 1920 "Handbook of Artillery" page 311
602:US Army 1920 "Handbook of Artillery" page 305
8:
18:
16:1910s United States 240 mm field howitzer
307:
148:HE projectile: 345 lb (156 kg)
696:Pages 89–93 describe the 240mm howitzer
491:
117:Combat: 41,296 lb (18,732 kg)
7:
279:Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider
592:Popular Science, April 1942, p. 64
125:16 ft 6 in (5.03 m)
14:
29:
645:(Second ed.). CDSG Press.
269:When the United States entered
715:Artillery of the United States
676:, April 1942, Popular Science
590:, April 1942, Popular Science
435:579th Field Artillery Regiment
424:578th Field Artillery Regiment
413:576th Field Artillery Regiment
402:565th Field Artillery Regiment
391:560th Field Artillery Regiment
380:500th Field Artillery Regiment
369:499th Field Artillery Regiment
358:498th Field Artillery Regiment
347:497th Field Artillery Regiment
336:496th Field Artillery Regiment
325:495th Field Artillery Regiment
240:Maximum firing range
98:
1:
641:Berhow, Mark A., ed. (2004).
153:: 36.5 lb (16.6 kg)
630:GlobalSecurity.org 240 mm M1
566:Berhow, pp. 192-193, 220-221
331:Demobilized 1 October 1933
253:240 mm howitzer transported
736:
408:Disbanded 26 January 1943
397:Disbanded 26 January 1943
386:Disbanded 26 January 1943
353:Disbanded 26 January 1943
259:M1918 240 mm howitzer
163:240 mm (9.45 in)
604:shows recoil pit location
137:
48:Place of origin
28:
694:TM 9-2005, December 1942
511:Clay, Steven E. (2010).
667:"Handbook of Artillery"
453:Washington Naval Treaty
683:Biggest Guns On Wheels
254:
235:1,700 feet/s (518 m/s)
221:Rate of fire
23:M1918 240 mm howitzer
674:"Dynamite On Wheels"
588:"Dynamite On Wheels"
283:240 mm howitzer M1918
252:
616:shows erection frame
553:Site cdsg.org notes
383:1922-1936; 1937-1943
361:1923-1924; 1925-1928
231:Muzzle velocity
310:
308:
291:240 mm howitzer M1
255:
225:12 rounds/per hour
215:10° right or left.
77:Production history
720:Coastal artillery
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298:Organized Reserve
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243:9.3 miles (15 km)
174:Interrupted screw
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710:240 mm artillery
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186:Hydro-pneumatic
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61:In service
56:Service history
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546:. Retrieved
542:the original
538:"notes page"
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320:Inactivated
302:Regular Army
295:
287:
282:
268:
258:
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205:-10° to +60°
69:Used by
460:Description
449:Philippines
271:World War I
101: built
704:Categories
686:July 1945
624:References
548:2010-11-07
93:late 1920s
85:1917–1920s
64:1920s–1943
486:Footnotes
481:(SNL D-4)
451:when the
427:1922-1943
416:1922-1927
405:1926-1943
394:1924-1943
372:1923-1928
350:1923-1943
339:1922-1929
328:1922-1933
275:Schneider
201:Elevation
473:See also
211:Traverse
192:Carriage
90:Produced
82:Designed
42:Howitzer
265:History
159:Caliber
649:
438:1921-?
317:Active
181:Recoil
169:Breech
122:Length
556:hand.
144:Shell
647:ISBN
314:Unit
257:The
130:Crew
114:Mass
38:Type
104:330
99:No.
706::
285:.
133:12
655:.
551:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
