M110 SPA

History

At the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), the U.S. Army needed to modernize to replace many weapons systems dating back to World War II. Finally, it is necessary to have an onboard artillery system with rails that can be transported over long distances to waiting army units. The U.S. Army's request turned into a self-propelled artillery platform, for which heavy industry focus Pacific Automotive and Foundry embarked on the development of several pilot vehicles, which ultimately led to many possibilities, and the Army then decided to move forward with two promising vehicle designs that would become the M107 and M110 self-propelled artillery platform.

The main difference between the two is the M107's 175mm gun and the M110's 203mm gun, although both use the same chassis and mounts for economical and logistical reasons. The first M110 vehicles were completed in 1962, and were subsequently formally incorporated into the U.S. Army and U.S.

Marine Corps inventories.

The M110 had a more or less traditional design, with the main gun mounts mounted on a tracked undercarriage and five large rubber tire wheels on one side. The drive sprocket is mounted on the front of the chain system, but interestingly no chain idler or idler is used.

The vehicle features a torsion bar suspension system and is powered by a Detroit Diesel/General Motors 8V71T Series liquid-cooled, supercharged, 8-cylinder diesel engine producing 405 hp at 2,300 rpm. The top speed is 34 mph and the range is 325 miles. Operating weight is approximately 31 tons.

It features a barrel that is 10.8 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 3 meters high.

The main armament of the M110 is its massive 203mm howitzer main gun, mounted aft in the top center of the fuselage (no real superstructure per se). The gun can be raised between +65 and -2 degrees and moved 30 degrees left or right. 360-degree rotation can only be achieved by rotating the entire vehicle in a new direction. No secondary weapons were installed on the vehicle, as the M110 was never intended to engage enemy forces on the front lines, but instead used its powerful cannon to drop grenades at targets or areas. Ammunition types provided to M110 crews include M14 "dummy" rounds, standard M106 HE rounds, M650 HE rounds for longer attack ranges, M404 ICM (Improved Conventional Munitions) to blast the area on target Some 180 artillery shells, chemical gas bombs and nuclear warheads were fired.

Only two large 203mm projectiles will be carried by M110 vehicles, with the remaining ammunition supply pulled by escort vehicles. A dozing shovel was installed at the rear of the hull to counteract the 203mm gun's inherently violent recoil when firing - the M110 was fired from a stationary position.

The power shovel is raised from the ground and stowed while driving.

Of the 13 crew members, only the pilot was seated in a relatively protective and comfortable position, his position in the front left of the fuselage. The rest of the crew five in real M110s and eight in support vehicles consisted of a pair of gunners and a pair of loaders. These personnel maintain their respective positions at the rear of the vehicle. Classified as a "self-propelled artillery" system, the M110 was never intended to operate as a line-of-sight combat vehicle, so its open artillery platform and armor protection did not exceed 13mm at its thickest point.

Instead, the crew can use the excellent range of the 203mm main gun to hit targets miles away.

The M110 is equipped with a support vehicle containing an additional crew and main supply of 203mm ammunition. In the US Army inventory, this role is filled by the M548 tracked vehicle, while in the British Royal Army inventory it becomes the six-wheeled FV623 "Stalwart" produced by Alvis. Eight of the 13 M110 crew members were transported in these vehicles.

In addition to the 203mm shells, the escort vehicle also carried the required charge and fuze for each round.

By the mid-1960s, the M110 with the original 203mm M2A2 series main gun was firmly established in the US Army inventory. It was not until 1977 that a revised form appeared, the newly standardized "M110A1". The M110A1 differs from the original production model by having a longer 203mm M201 series barrel for longer range (no muzzle brake).

Within a few years, the M110 was again modified to produce the "M110A2" designation, which was nothing more than an M110A1 with dual muzzle brakes and the ability to fire different types of projectiles instead of the standard HE and anti-personnel rounds. The M110A2 model also introduced the ability to fire M509 ICM projectiles, and some original M110s were also upgraded to support M110A2 numbers.

The M110 has proven to be a worldwide success in U.S. and allied use. The M110 was a welcome addition to the West, considering that NATO would be fighting the Red Army, which was heavily armed with large-caliber artillery.

Carriers outside the US include Belgium, Egypt, West Germany/Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey and the UK. For some machine operators, the M110 is still a viable gun on the battlefield, despite its "big gun" lineage dating back to the 1950s. However, this battlefield gun has become obsolete for many modern, evolving militaries, where the digital battlefield has replaced systems like the M110 with precision-guided munitions in the form of rockets and fired "smart" projectiles .

The M110 played an important role in the Vietnam War, the jungle environment generally precluded the large-scale use of tanks, but the indirect artillery system was valuable. The British Royal Army is another notable operator of the M110, still using it in the 1991 Gulf War (as did the Americans in that conflict).

At this point, the M110s in the U.S. inventory had been replaced by the Walter/Lockheed Martin M270 MLRS (Multiple Rocket Launch System), with the British following shortly after the Gulf War. During the conflict, the Americans relied on the M109 Paladin self-propelled family and its 155mm main gun for long-range artillery needs, while the M110 was used for heavy fire support. Most militaries have now abandoned their M110 vehicles.

Use in the United States ended in 1991.

By the way, when the US Army's M110s were about to be retired, their metal barrels were being rebuilt by manufacturers for penetrating bombs. Such "recycling" initiatives can be implemented more economically than completely scrapping outdated systems.

Essentially, the American M110 legacy lives on for a while. The M110 was never assigned anything other than "M110", which means that no nickname was associated with a vehicle type during its lifespan.

The use of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection is also prohibited in open crew areas, and only the driver has access to night vision equipment at their location.

Japan has obtained a manufacturing license to locally manufacture the M110 for its Self-Defense Forces. For countries still using the M110 today, these have been upgraded to the "updated" M110A2 standard, known for its dual-baffle muzzle brake.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

2 x 203 mm projectiles - HE, rocket-boosted, anti-personnel, chemical, gas, nuclear and training rounds.

Changes