8-inch Gun M1

8-inch Gun M1
8 inch Gun at the U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, OK
Type	Heavy gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States United Kingdom
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1940–1944
Produced	1944–?
Specifications
Weight	Combat: 69,300 lb (31,400 kg)
Barrel length	33 ft 4 in (10.16 m) L/50

Shell	separate-loading, bag charge
Caliber	203 mm (8.0 in)
Breech	interrupted screw
Recoil	hydropneumatic
Carriage	split trail
Elevation	+10° to +50°
Traverse	30° (initially), post-war 40°
Muzzle velocity	2,840 ft/s (870 m/s)
Effective firing range	12.5 mi (20.1 km) (minimum)
Maximum firing range	20.24 mi (32.57 km)

The 8 inch gun M1 was a 203 mm towed heavy gun developed in the United States. It was used by the US Army and the British Army in World War II.

Development

Serious development began in June 1940 of an 8-inch (203 mm) gun that would have a range of 33,500 yards (30,600 m), a road speed of 25 mph (40 km/h), be transported in 2 loads weighing no more than 44,000 lb (20,000 kg) and be suitable for rail movement. Use of the carriage of the 240 mm howitzer M1 eased development, but the gun was very troublesome and wasn't standardized until January 1944. The main problems were excessive bore wear and poor accuracy, but it was felt that nothing better could be produced in a timely manner. Thus it entered production at a low rate and in small numbers.
Like the 240 mm howitzer, it was mounted on a stretched Heavy Tank T26E3 chassis that had an extra bogie wheel per side as the 8in Gun Motor Carriage T93, but the war ended before they could be used and were later scrapped.

An 8-inch US Army field gun in action during the bombardment of Brest.

Transport

It also shared transport wagons with the 240 mm howitzer. One six-wheeled wagon carried the M2 carriage and the other carried the barrel as shown below: This separate configuration required the use of the M2 truck-mounted crane for set up.

Barrel of the M1 prepared for transportation, on display in the US Army Ordnance Museum

References

Hogg, Ian V. (1998). Allied Artillery of World War Two. Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-478-8.
Hogg, Ian V. The Guns, 1939-45. New York: Ballantine Books, 1970 ISBN 0019067100
TM 9-2300 Standard Artillery and fire Control Material. (dated February 1944)
TM 9-336

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 8in Gun M1.

British Artillery in World War II
United States. War Dept.. Service of the piece, 8-inch gun M1 and 240-MM howitzer M1.. Washington, D.C.. UNT Digital Library. Retrieved on 2012-08-17.

United States artillery of World War II

Tank guns	37 mm gun M5/M6 75 mm gun M2/M3/M6 76 mm gun M1 3 inch gun M7 90 mm gun M3 105 mm howitzer M4

Anti-tank guns	37 mm M3 57 mm M1 75 mm M1897 3 inch M5 90 mm T8 105mm T8

Field, medium and heavy guns	75 mm M1897 75 mm howitzer M1 105 mm howitzer M2 105 mm howitzer M3 4.5 inch gun M1 155 mm howitzer M1918 155 mm howitzer M1 155 mm gun M1918MI 155 mm gun M1/M2 "Long Tom" 8 inch howitzer M1/M2 8-inch gun M1 240 mm howitzer M1

Mortars	60 mm mortar M2 81 mm mortar M1 4.2 inch mortar M2 Little David

Other vehicle-mounted	75 mm howitzer M2/M3 75 mm gun M1897 105 mm howitzer M2 155 mm gun M1918MI 155 mm gun M2

Anti-aircraft guns	37 mm M1 40 mm M1 3-inch gun M1917 3 inch M3 90 mm M1 120 mm M1

Coast artillery guns	3-inch gun M1903 90 mm M1 6-inch gun M1903 155 mm gun M1918MI 8-inch Mk. VI 8-inch gun M1888 10-inch gun M1895 12-inch coast defense mortar 12-inch gun M1895 14-inch gun M1907 16-inch gun M1895 16-inch gun M1919 16-inch Marks 2 and 3 16-inch howitzer M1920

Railway artillery	8-inch Mk. VI 8-inch M1888 14-inch M1920

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8-inch Gun M1

Development

Transport

See also

References

External links