M119 howitzer
M119 howitzer | |
---|---|
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine | |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Joint Manufacturing Technology Center of Rock Island Arsenal |
Produced | 1989–2013[2] |
Variants | M119, M119A1, M119A2, M119A3 |
Specifications (M119A1) | |
Mass | With BII: 5,110 lb (2,320 kg) Without BII: 4,690 lb (2,130 kg) Cannon alone: 1,389 lb (630 kg) Combat: 4,268 lb (1,936 kg) |
Barrel length | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) L/30.48[3] |
Width | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Height | Combat: 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) Travel: 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m) |
Crew | 5 to 7 |
Shell | Semi-fixed 105 x 372 mm R |
Caliber | 105 mm (4.13 in) |
Elevation | -5.625° (−100 mils) to +69.975° (+1,244 mils) |
Traverse | 5.625° (100 mils) left or right |
Rate of fire | Maximum: 8 rpm for 3 minutes Sustained: 3 rpm for 30 minutes |
Maximum firing range | Charge 7: 17,500 m (10.9 mi) Charge 8 (with RAP): 19,500 m (12.1 mi) |
Sights | 3 × M90A2 telescope, M137A1 panoramic telescope |
The M119 howitzer is a lightweight 105 mm howitzer, used by the United States Army. It is the American licensed version of the British L119 light gun. The M119 is typically towed by the M1097 or M1152 High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), and can be easily airlifted by helicopter, or airdropped by parachute.
Development
The howitzer was designed and produced by the British
The L119 is the L118 reconfigured to fire NATO-standard 105 mm semi-fixed ammunition.
In 1987 an agreement was reached to produce the L119 under license by the US as the M119, to replace the M102 howitzer. It entered service with the 7th Infantry Division, Fort Ord, California, in December 1989. Some improvements were made to produce the M119A1, expanding upon its extreme low temperate envelope from −22 to −49 °F (−30 to −45 °C), therefore improving both maintainability and reliability. The Army renewed contracts for the M119 to be produced by the Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center (RIA-JMTC) at Rock Island, Illinois, into the year 2013. The M20A1 cannon assembly for the M119 was manufactured by US Army Watervliet Arsenal.[4]
The M119 is currently fielded with all
In April 2009, the M119A2 howitzer was being fielded by the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the
Alpha Battery of the
Project Manager for Towed Artillery Systems (PM TAS) has developed several upgrades for the M119A3 including digital fire control, increased low temperature capability from −25 to −51 °F (−32 to −46 °C), and the M20 breech. The recoil system is also being upgraded, as the legacy system had reliability issues with the recuperator, buffer, and variable recoil linkage (which sets recoil length based on elevation); it had a lot of moving parts needing constant maintenance and adjustment during operations with high replacement rates of spares that are complex to manufacture and require specialized tooling to assemble, increasing costs and causing availability problems. The redesigned system operates the same, but modifies and simplifies some components, including a new buffer and recuperator with a majority of the components removed, and adds the Suspension Lockout System (SLOS) that fixes recoil length at 25 in (64 cm), which removes variable-recoil hardware, reduces stress on the carriage, and lowers buffer rod forces; the new system reduces cost, the system consists of 124 parts and the redesign will reduce that number by 40 percent to 75 parts and reusing 47 parts will consist of 65 percent for the current system, therefore only needing to manufacturing 28 new parts with overall weight savings of 45 lb (20 kg).[6]
Ammunition
The M119 fires standard NATO semi-fixed ammunition:[7]
- with M67 propelling charges:[7]
- M1 (HE) – High Explosive projectile, range: 11.5 km (7.1 mi)
- M60 (WP) – White Phosphorus smoke generating projectile, range: 15.1 km (9.4 mi) (current variant: M60A2)
- M84 (HC) – Hexachloroethane smoke generating projectile, range: 11.5 km (7.1 mi) (current variant: 105 mm M84A1)
- M314 (VL) – Visible Light illuminating projectile, range: 19.5 km (12.1 mi) (current variant: M314A3)
- M444 (APICM) – Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (withdrawn from service), range: 11.5 km (7.1 mi)
- M916 (DPICM) – Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition(withdrawn from service), range: 11.5 km (7.1 mi)
- M927 (HERA) – High Explosive Rocket Assisted projectile, range: 16.5 km (10.3 mi)
- M1064 (IR) – Infrared illuminating projectile, range: 19.5 km (12.1 mi)
- M1130 (HE PFF BB) – High Explosive Pre-Formed Fragments Base Bleed projectile – range: 13.0 km (8.1 mi)
- with M176 propelling charges:[7]
- M548 (HERA) – High Explosive Rocket Assisted projectile, range: 15.1 km (9.4 mi)
- with M200 propelling charge:[7]
- M760 (HE) – High Explosive projectile, range: 14.0 km (8.7 mi)
- M915 (DPICM) – Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (withdrawn from service), range: 14.1 km (8.8 mi)
- with M219 propelling charge:[7]
- M913 (HERA) – High Explosive Rocket Assisted projectile, range: 19.5 km (12.1 mi)
- with M350 propelling charges:[7]
- M1130A1 (HE PFF BB) – High Explosive Pre-Formed Fragments Base Bleed projectile, range 17.0 km (10.6 mi)[8]
The M119 also fires the M395 blank cartridge, which is used for burials, retreat ceremonies, and VIP Salutes as well as to simulate battlefield noise used for training exercises.
Variants
- M119 – original copy of the L119
- M119A1 – minor improvements, including fire control and maintenance
- M119A2 – improved sight package consisting of telescope (M90A3) or panoramic telescope (M137A2)
- M119A3 – modernized version with digital fire control system and an inertial navigation system for self location; entered service in April 2013 with A Battery 3/319th Field Artillery at Fort Bragg, NC[9][10][11]
References
- ^ "Artillery: The Arabian Light". www.strategypage.com. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ "US Army Fact Files - Towed Howitzer (105mm) M119A1/A2 - Equipment Portfolio". www.army.mil. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ M119 American 105mm towed howitzer. M119 American 105mm Towed Howitzer - WEG MediaWiki. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://odin.tradoc.army.mil/mediawiki/index.php?title=M119_American_105mm_Towed_Howitzer&printable=yes
- ^ Snyder, John B. (1 September 2011). "Watervliet: We made it just before ... we made it better". U.S. Army. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ 'Top Guns' fire first M119A3 in Afghanistan - FortCampbellcourier.com, 22 May 2014
- ^ M119 howitzer still plays critical role for Army - Army.mil, 9 September 2015
- ^ a b c d e f "XM350 Propelling Charge for the 105 mm M1130E1" (PDF). 2012 NDIA Joint Armaments Conference. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ Calloway, Audra. "New ammunition combines four artillery cartridges into one". US Army Materiel Command. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Gun Devils first in Army to fire digital howitzer". army.mil. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ "Gun Devils first in Army to fire digital howitzer". dvidshub.net. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ Artillerymen at Fort Bragg first unit in U.S. Army to receive digitized towed howitzer M119A3 - Armyrecognition.com, May 18, 2013