The M1908 6-inch howitzer, officially the 6-inch Howitzer, Model of 1908, was the principal heavy howitzer piece of the U.S. Army prior to World War I.
History Forty of these weapons had been produced before 1917, and all were employed within the United States for training purposes during the war. Although this weapon appears in World War I-era tables of organization and equipment, for combat use in France the Canon de 155 C mle 1917 Schneider was purchased, and variants of this remained the standard weapon of this class until early World War II.Rinaldi, page 204 All surviving weapons were retired during the 1920s.Williford, pages 76-77
It is unusual among American-designed field artillery weapons in that it has the recoil cylinder situated above the barrel. The 4.7-inch howitzer M1908/M1912 shared this feature.Schreier Jr., Konrad F., "U.S. Army Field Artillery Weapons 1866-1917", Military Collector & Historian, 1968, pages 40-45 The 75 mm gun M1917 also had this, but was based on the British QF 18-pounder gun.
Ammunition was either common steel shell with a base fuze, or shrapnel with a combination time/percussion fuze.Handbook 1917, pages 22-23
See also 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze M 94 : approximate Austro-Hungarian equivalent BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer : approximate British equivalent Rimailho Model 1904TR : approximate French equivalent 152 mm howitzer M1910 : approximate French/Russian equivalent 15 cm sFH 02 : approximate German equivalent
References Citations
General sources
Further reading
External links
6-inch Howitzer M1908 at Landships II