Help guys!
I got a old kit off of ebay of a M1 155mm Artillery piece made by Testors/Italeri and want to pose it with its prime mover. All the photos that Ihave found have been of the gun set up in firing positions, nothing of them being towed. Any one know what the prime mover was and know of any photos? Also would the radio be mounted on the gun while traveling, like in the instructions or would that have been carried in the truck?
Thanks all for any replies!

CH-47 Chinook

The prime mover for towed howitzers for this time period would have most likely been the M-35 series 2 1/2 ton truck, or perhaps an earlier version. Some units may also have used an M-54 5 ton as well.

As far as the radio goes, I wouldn't even use one with this piece. When set up in firing positions, these pieces were linked together with the Fire Direction Center by wire and field telephones. Radio communication was between the forward observer, with the supported infantry/armor unit, back to the Fire Direction Center. The FDC converted the FO's call for fire into Fire Commands to the guns which were relayed over the wire.

In VERY rare situations I suppose you could have moved a single gun forward, but you still would have had to have someone other than the gun crew talking to the observer and converting his target data into firing data for the guns. That would be such an unlikely event, I wouldn't depict it.

Bottom line, I don't know of any Table of Organization and Equipment which would have had any radio down at the gun section level.

Tom

Sorry to disagree Tom, but it would have been an M54 5 ton truck. The M114 Howitzer (mislabeled by Italeri as an M1) was too heavy for the M35 series to safely tow.

Should have checked the weight first!!! The only time I every actually fired the M114, they were already out in the field and I really wasn't paying attention. Given that the M35s were used for the smaller M101 105mm, it makes sense that a 5 Ton would be needed for the 155mm.

Looks like a conversion is in order to make one!!!

Tom