World War II Database

Country of Origin	United States
Type	Field Gun
Caliber	105.000 mm
Length	3.940 m
Barrel Length	1.680 m
Weight	1130.000 kg
Rate of Fire	2 rounds/min
Range	7.600 km
Muzzle Velocity	311 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe 105 mm Howitzer M3 light howitzers were designed specifically for airborne operations in mind. The design merged a shortened barrel of a 105 mm Howitzer M2 and the recoil system and carriage of the 75 mm field pack howitzer. The first prototype was fired at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, United States in Mar 1942. They were used by some airborne troops in Normandy, France in Jun 1944, and they were officially adopted as the standard light howitzers of airborne divisions in Europe in Jan 1945. Within the US Army, in addition to airborne troops, some cannon companies of infantry regiments also received them. A small number of 105 mm Howitzer M3 light howitzers were exported to friendly forces: 94 were sold to the Free French, 2 to the British, and 18 to various Latin American countries.

105 mm Howitzer M3 light howitzers fired the same semi-fixed ammunition as their M2 predecessors, but they used faster-burning powder because the M3 barrels were shorter. In emergency situations, high explosive rounds prepared for the M2 could also be used by the 105 mm Howitzer M3 light howitzers, again with different powder.

Production lasted from Feb 1943 to May 1944, and then again between Apr and Jun 1945. Overall, 2,580 units were built.

	1943	1944	1945	Total
105 mm Howitzer M3 Production	1,965	410	205	2,580

Source: Wikipedia. ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Nov 2008

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