Russo-Ukrainian War: The M114A1 155mm Howitzer

Source: Anatolii Stepanov (Reuters)

     Artillery units of the Ukrainian Army are fielding two artillery pieces whose service debut occured during World War Two. The first is the M101A1 105mm howitzer which first entered service with the U.S. Army in 1941. Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia have provided Ukraine with a combined total of 43 M101A1 howitzers between 2022 and 2024. The second is shown in action here in service with the 152nd. Jäger Brigade, the M114A1 155mm howitzer. The M114A1 first saw service with the U.S. Army in 1942 and despite the age, 21 countries still use the M114A1 with Turkey and Greece maintaining the largest stocks. In fact, the M114A1 shown in the photograph is a former Hellenic Army weapon. In early 2024, Greece and the Czech Republic entered into an agreement where the Czech Republic would purchase 70 M114A1 howitzers which were surplus to the Hellenic Army's needs. Upon completion of the sale, Greece will deliver the M114A1s to Ukraine. From appearances, this sale has completed but how many of the purchase have been delivered to date is not known.

     Captured by the cameraman in full recoil, the M114A1's barrel is 12.5 feet long and it uses a slow-cone, interrupted screw breech. This means that it takes two actions on the part of the gunner to open the breech rather then one action for a steep-cone type. The combat weight of the M114A1 is 5.6 tons and requires a crew of 11 men though operating the howitzer can be done with less crew if necessary. The M1A2 carriage is a split trail style and the gun mount permits a maximum barrel elevation of 63 degrees and in the right conditions, a maximum gun depression of 2 degrees. Traverse is limited to 25 degrees to the left and right of center. Elevation, depression, and traverse is all affected manually using cranks. Any additional traverse requires the entire howitzer to be repositioned. The only recoil reduction comes from the hydro-pneumatic mechanism as the M114A1 does not use a muzzle brake. The crew is provided with a minimal gun shield that offers a limited defense against some small arms fire and shell fragments.

     Despite the breech type, a trained crew can run 4 rounds through the M114A1 during burst firing. A sustained fire rate is 1 round every minute but not exceeding 40 rounds per hour. As a comparison, the M777 155mm howitzer, which entered U.S. Army service in 2005 and is in use by some Ukrainian artillery units, can maintain a sustained fire rate of between 2 to 4 rounds every minute and a burst fire of no more than 16 rounds in 2 minutes. Sighting is done using a M12 panoramic telescope.

     It is not known if the Ukrainian M114A1 howitzers will be firing RAP (Rocket Assisted Projectiles) munitions (on the assumption the venerable howitzer is not designed to withstand the breech pressures) and it certainly is not compatible with the M982 Excalibur guided projectile. It is unlikely that extended-range projectiles using base-bleed would be fired from the M114A1 and instead, would be reserved for more modern systems such as the M777. This, then, leaves the M107 HE (High-Explosive) projectile as the most likely ammunition to be issued to and used by M114A1 crews. The M107 has a weight of 90 pounds of which 15 pounds is composed of TNT. The ammunition is two-part, consisting of the M107 projectile and the propelling charge. The maximum charge, the M4A1, contains a base charge and four incremental charges. This collection of propellent powder weighs just under 14 pounds. Using the M4A1 charge, the M114A1 can fire the M107 shell out to a maximum range of 9.2 miles. As another comparison, the M777 can fire the same M107 shell to a maximum range of 13 miles. Against hard targets, a M107 shell fired from the M114A1 can penetrate a maximum of 488mm of concrete at a meet angle of 0 degrees at a range of 2.8 miles.

     To date, no Ukrainian M114A1 has been lost in action. The photograph was taken on October 15, 2025, the crew firing on Russian positions near Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast.

7” Tracked Gun Mk. 2: Impressive for the Time

     When the U.S. Army and later, the U.S. Marines, arrived in Europe to take part in World War One, they did so without their own artillery. This was due to the U.S. M1902 light field gun firing a 3-inch (76.2mm) shell and so the U.S. Army elected to leave their M1902 guns behind and adopt the French Canon de 75 Modèle 1897 as the M1897 75mm gun. Because of this, the Marines also left their artillery back in the United States and so while in Europe, they were mostly dependent on the U.S. Army for artillery support. So, while the U.S. Army also adopted the French heavy Canon de 155 C Modèle 1917 Schneider as the M1917 155mm gun, the Marines had nothing comparable. This prompted the Marines to consider a heavy gun of their own. Back in the United States, the Marines found that the U.S. Navy had a surplus of 7"/45 caliber guns Mark 2. These guns had been developed back in 1900 and were deployed onboard Connecticut-class and Mississippi-class pre-dreadnought battleships as secondary guns beginning in 1906. However, prior to World War One, most of these guns had been removed from Navy warships. So, early in 1918, the Marines designed a wheeled carriage to mount the guns on but the result was completely unsuited for the battlefield due to its immense 32 ton weight and 6.6 foot diameter wheels. Such a carriage would have sunk into the mire that was seemingly ever present in France. Returning to the drawing board, the Marines went to the U.S. Navy to seek their assistance and what the naval engineers at the Bureau of Ordnance came up with was to mount two slightly modified Holt tractor track assemblies to the gun carriage. The track assemblies were already, more or less, in production by the Holt Manufacturing Company which sped up development and eased construction. In addition, the tracks spread the weight of the gun across more area and thus lightened the ground pressure. By consequence, cross-country mobility was improved. Another benefit was the gun did not need any special preparation to fire. This same concept was seen again in World War Two with the Russian 203mm M1931 howitzer.

     On May 15, 1918, the 7” Tracked Gun Mk. 2 prototype was completed by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and soon after, the Marines ordered 20 of the guns and the U.S. Army ordered 36 examples. By the early winter of 1918, the majority of the order for the Marines had been completed and 18 guns, along with Holt tractors to pull the guns, were assigned to the 10th. Marine Artillery Regiment. The regiment took the guns to Lower Station, located in Dahlgen, Virginia and on October 16, 1918, the first shots were fired from the guns. World War One, however, ended on November 11, 1918 and so the Marines canceled the remaining two guns and the U.S. Army saw 20 guns delivered before the rest of the purchase was cancelled as the need for the guns had past. In time, the Marines began to fill out their artillery forces with the M1897 and M1917 guns and so the 7” Tracked Guns Mk. 2 of both the Marines and the Army were retired from service and put into reserve. The advent of World War Two saw the guns taken out of mothballs and returned to duty as coastal defense guns with the majority under the control of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps. Most of the guns were deployed to Hawaii with 16 guns positioned around the islands with 2 guns located at Fort Rosecrans in San Diego, California. Another 8 guns were situated at Bora Bora, French Polynesia and 4 guns were part of the inventory of the U.S. Marine 6th. Defense Battalion on Midway Island. The end of World War Two also spelled the end of the road for the 7”/45 caliber gun.

     The performance of the 7”/45 (178mm) caliber gun was impressive. A good crew could fire four 152lb. armor-piercing shells every minute. The carriage permitted a maximum elevation of 40 degrees and at that elevation, the muzzle velocity of 2,700 feet per second gave the gun a range of 13.7 miles. In 1920, the U.S. Army stated it was the most powerful gun it had ever taken into service. By comparison, the M1917 was only capable of a range of 7 miles firing a 100lb. shell. Today, only a single example of the 7” Tracked Gun Mk. 2 exists today and it is located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren in Dahlgren, Virginia.

Sergeant Stanley Martin Lieber: 1st. Motion Picture Unit

     Because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, early in 1942, Stanley Martin Lieber enlisted in the U.S. Army and entered the Signal Corps as a lineman. Posted stateside, Lieber maintained and serviced communication equipment and effected repairs to damaged telegraph/telephone lines and poles. Later, Lieber would transfer to the 18th. Army Air Forces Base Unit, better known as the 1st. Motion Picture Unit (FMPU) which was housed in Culver City, California. 

     The FMPU’s mission was to produce propaganda films, create training films and documentation, and also serve as the sole training provider for combat photographers and cameramen who would be deployed to the frontlines. Training, to include regular infantry combat instruction, for these men was conducted at Page Military Academy which was in nearby Los Angeles, California. Lieber was tasked with the writing of military manuals, scripting for training films, and illustrating. Lieber received the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) of 288 (Playwright) though other sources list his MOS as 286 (Motion Picture Production Technician). Lieber would be discharged from the Army in late 1945 and with the war over, the FMPU was disbanded in December 1945. By the time of his discharge, Lieber had achieved the rank of sergeant and was decorated with the World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal. He also earned the right to wear the Honorable Service Lapel Button which was given to honorably discharged servicemen. It was better known as the “Ruptured Duck” due to the appearance of the oft said poorly rendered eagle which made up the button or pin. 

     Because of his service and significant post-war contributions, Lieber was inducted into the Signal Corps Regimental Association and made an honorary member of the 2nd. Battalion, 3rd. Infantry Regiment in June 2017. The 3rd. Regiment, nicknamed the “Old Guard”, is the oldest active duty unit in the Army, having been formed in 1784. Lieber would pass away in November 2018. 

     Stanley Lieber is much better known to us as comic creator Stan Lee.