Place of origin United States | Length 10.8 m (35 ft 5 in) | |
 | ||
Type Self-propelled artillery Wars Vietnam War
Iran–Iraq War
1982 Lebanon War
Gulf War Manufacturer General Motors Corp. (transmission) Weight 28.3 metric tons (62,390 lb) | ||
The 8 inch (203 mm) M110 self-propelled howitzer was the largest available self-propelled howitzer in the United States Army's inventory. Consisting of a M115 203 mm howitzer installed on a purpose built chassis, it was deployed in division artillery in general support battalions and in separate corps- and army-level battalions. Missions include general support, counter-battery fire, and suppression of enemy air defense systems. The M110 was exported to a number of countries.
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General characteristics
According to the operator's manual, the M110's typical rate of fire was three rounds per two minutes when operated at maximum speed, and one round per two minutes with sustained fire. The M110 featured a hydraulically operated rammer to automatically chamber the 200+ pound projectile. These rammers were prone to breakdown and generally slowed operation of the gun, because the rammers required crews to completely lower the massive barrel before using it. Highly trained and motivated U.S. Army crews could achieve two to four rounds per minute by using the hand-operated manual rammer, which was essentially a heavy steel pole with a hard rubber pad on one end. Using the manual rammer was physically demanding, but crews were not required to lower the barrels nearly as much as with the hydraulic rammer.
The M110's range varied from 16,800 meters to approximately 25,000 meters when firing standard projectiles, and up to 30,000 meters when firing rocket-assisted projectiles.
History
The heritage of the M110 goes back to the British 8 inch (203 mm) howitzer of World War I.
A number of these were used by the American forces and the design was used as the basis for their howitzer. The M110A2 is the latest version with a double muzzle brake, the earlier A1 version had a plain muzzle. It first entered service with the U.S. Army in 1963. It was used in the Vietnam War by the United States Army, and in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm by Romeo Battery 5th Battalion 10th Marines, and the British Army. The 2nd Battalion 18th Field Artillery and the 5th Battalion 18th Field Artillery served in Desert Storm with the M110A2 Howitzer. Most of the U.S. Army and USMC relied on the M109 series 155 millimeter gun systems during this conflict; sending remaining M110s to reserve or National Guard units. These units then took possession of M109s as they returned from service in the Gulf. M110s were still in service with the 3/92 FA (USAR) and running fire missions at Camp Atterbury as late as the summer of 1994.
The gun system has been retired from U.S. Army service; howitzers above 155 mm caliber are no longer effective as technology has closed the range and firepower gap, and heavier weapon systems require more resources to operate. Gun barrels from retired M110s were initially used as the outer casing in the manufacture of the GBU-28 bunker buster bomb.
The M110A2s were made from refitted M110s or M107 175 mm SP guns (Hunnicutt).
At the end of the Cold War under U.S. Division Plan 86, all armored and mechanized infantry divisions included a battalion of heavy artillery that included two batteries of M110A2 8" SP howitzers with six guns each for a total of 12 guns, plus one battery of nine MLRS rocket artillery.