The job of artillerymen, from the 12th. century when cannons were first introduced to modern times, still comes with considerable risk. While counter-battery fire, aerial bombardment, and enemy ground attacks are known risks which have a measure of risk mitigation, a more frightening aspect of crewing and firing cannons is the barrel burst. This is graphically illustrated by this photograph of a U.S. Army 155mm M1A1 howitzer belonging to the 7th. Infantry Division.
The photograph was taken on Enubuj Island which U.S. military planners named Carlson in preparation for Operation Flintlock. This was the nine phase taking of the Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls from the Japanese. The invasion commenced on January 31, 1944 and the 7th. Infantry Division was tasked with taking the islands of Ennylabegan (Carlos), Gea (Carter), Ninni (Cecil), and Enubuj (Carlson). The mission was to sweep the islands of Japanese forces and set up artillery firing positions to support the landings which were to occur elsewhere on the atolls the following day. The four islands made up a portion of the Kwajalein Atoll. The islands were not wide, typically being only a half a mile in width. This made it impossible for the Japanese to defend in depth and so the Japanese situated the bulk of their forces to repel an ocean-side landing. The landings on the four islands were swift and the men of the 7th. Infantry Division were able to quickly dislodge and eliminate what few Japanese defenders there were. However, the main island of Kwajalein held the majority of the Japanese defenders, 5,000 in all, which were drawn from the 1st. Amphibious Brigade and 2nd. Mobile Battalion. The U.S. had learned from earlier assaults against Japanese held islands and unleashed a massive bombardment of the islands prior to the launch of the assault forces. Ships from the U.S. Navy's Southern Attack Force moved closer to Japanese positions and utilized armor-piercing shells in order to penetrate heavily dug-in Japanese positions while Consolidated B-24 bombers flying out of Apamama Atoll added their bomb payloads to the artillery bombardment coming from Enubuj (Carlson) Island. The effect was devastating to the Japanese troops and the landings on Red 1 and Red 2 Beaches kicked off at 0930 on February 1, 1944 with the 7th. Infantry Division making significant progress, in part as the landings were made on the atoll side, not the ocean side as the LVTs and tanks were able to travel over the coral reefs. Despite repeated Japanese counterattacks, Kwajalein Island was declared fully secure on February 5, 1944 though the fighting was more or less over by February 3, 1944.
During the four days of combat, the 7th. Infantry Division lost 142 men, suffered 845 wounded, with 2 missing in action. Of the Japanese, 4,300 perished with only 166 being taken prisoner. Unfortunately, the gun crew for this M1A1 howitzer were counted in those 142 men killed. Burst barrels can be caused by metal fatigue in the gun but most often, the cause is a problem with the shell itself. Examination of the damage to the M1 indicates the latter to be the case. A problem with the shell such as poor construction, metallurgy variance, or some other production defect can cause the shell to explode within the barrel with dreadful effects, especially here as the shell burst just barely beyond the breech rather then further down the barrel. The shrapnel caused by the shredded metal of the gun created by the explosion only compounded to the tragedy.
As a side note, the M1 was redesignated as the M114 in 1962 and while it is no longer in service with the U.S. Army, the M114 is still used by a number of nations around the world. The largest users of the M114 include Greece, Brazil, Pakistan, and Turkey.
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