16-inch howitzer M1920
| 16-inch howitzer M1920 | |
|---|---|
 16-inch howitzer M1920 at Fort Story, Virginia | |
| Type | Coastal artillery |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1922–1947 |
| Used by | United States Army |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Watervliet Arsenal |
| Designed | 1918 |
| Manufacturer | Watervliet Arsenal |
| Produced | 1920 |
| No. built |
|
| Specifications | |
hydropneumatic[3] | |
| Carriage | barbette M1920[1] |
| Elevation | -7° to +65°[1] |
| Traverse | 360°[1] |
| Maximum firing range | 24,500 yards (22,400 m)[2] |
| Feed system | manual |
The 16-inch howitzer M1920 (406 mm) was a
History
Around the outbreak of
The combined effects of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and the signature of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, ending the "War to End All Wars", cut military budgets heavily. Although the new 16-inch weapons were produced and deployed, this occurred in very limited quantities. Only seven M1919 guns and four M1920 howitzers were deployed by 1923. All four of the M1920 howitzers were deployed at Fort Story, Virginia, in the Harbor Defenses of Chesapeake Bay.[7] The narrow entrance to the bay could be adequately covered by the short-ranged howitzers. They were initially in one battery, Battery Pennington, named for Colonel Alexander Cummings McWhorter Pennington Jr., who served in the Civil War and the Spanish–American War.[7] Their mountings were open, making them vulnerable to air attack, a possibility the Army did little to allow for until the late 1930s. A rail system supplied the guns with ammunition from magazines to the rear of the guns. A plotting room bunker was also behind the guns.[7]
In 1940 emplacements 3 and 4 were renamed Battery Walke, after Brigadier General Willoughby Walke.[7] In 1941 shields were provided for each gun to give the crews some protection, but the guns were never casemated, unlike most Army 16-inch gun installations.[1] After World War II ended it was soon determined that gun defenses were obsolete, and the battery was inactivated in 1947, with all guns and carriages scrapped soon after.[7]
Gallery
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Soldier with 16-inch howitzer in 1942; the muzzle markings can be read. -
16-inch howitzer in the final stages of mounting -
Practice loading of a 16-inch howitzer
See also
- Coastal artillery
- Seacoast defense in the United States
- United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
- 16-inch gun M1919
- 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun
- Coast Artillery fire control system
References
- Berhow, Mark A., ed. (2015). American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide (Third ed.). McLean, Virginia: CDSG Press. ISBN 978-0-9748167-3-9.
- Crowell, Benedict (1919). America's Munitions 1917-1918. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
- Lewis, Emanuel Raymond (1979). Seacoast Fortifications of the United States. Annapolis: Leeward Publications. ISBN 978-0-929521-11-4.
- Miller, H. W. (1921). Railway Artillery. Vol. I, II. Washington: US Government Printing Office. pp. 443–457.
- American Coast Artillery Materiel (PDF). Washington: Government Printing Office. 1922. pp. 266–274.
- FM 4-85, Service of the Piece, 16-inch gun and howitzer
External links
