Introduction

The M2a1 105mm Howitzer was a Light Field Artillery piece and was normally deployed at Regimental level, usually (though not always) in support of Infantry. The gun evolved from the (Post) WWI M1920 and, was in U.S. service, in various designations, from 1941 until the 1960s. The M3 Howitzer, the second part of the study in this book, was developed from a demand for a lighter, air-transportable artillery piece which would have the characteristics of the M2a1 but much more lightweight for use with the new Airborne Units.

The Book - overview

6016 - U.S. WW II 105MM Howitzers M2A1 & M3 is a new book by the German Publishing House, Tankograd. The book contains 64 pages and close to 200 photos along with numerous detail drawings. Photos are in both color and black and white. As with the other books in this particular series, the images come from three distinct sources - Reproductions of images from the original U.S. Technical Manuals, Contemporary Photos from a number of different sources and Color images (contemporary and modern). The book is edited by Michael Franz.

About Tankograd's 6000 Series

The Internet has brought us access to many reference sources - one of those being the U.S. Technical Manuals being available for download. However, as I stated in my recent Review on the 2.5 Ton CCKW, the problem of the manuals is they frequently have TOO much information. Want to know the component parts of the rear tail-light on an M4a1? Not many modelers probably do, therefore there was a need, before this series began, for a 'distillation' of the Data into a manageable size. With many of the manuals having over 300 pages, it's sometimes a real chore wading thru what's there... Therefore, publications like this, are an absolute boon to the modeler. Tankograd's '6000 Series' begins with the Technical Manual(s) on a given subject, edits them down to what's necessary for the modeler (or vehicle enthusiast) and then adds in appropriate images of the System/Vehicle in the Field.

The Book in Detail

U.S. WW II 105MM Howitzers is clearly divided into two halves The first deals with the M2a1, the second part, with the lighter version - the M3.

Each gun carries its own brief technical overview. This covers such areas as weight, range and production numbers.
It's easier to seperate the book into two for review purposes, so...
The M2a1 Section: This is by far the largest part of the book and begins with some interesting drawings showing the different carriages and trails used on the M1, M2 & M2a1 - a brief illustrated guide to the 'evolution' of the gun. There then follows a number of pages of photos showing the gun (with different carriage-types) from a variety of perspectives with the labels attached showing the components. The next section is 10 pages of contemporay photos (2 per page) again with the M2a1 in a variety of settings.
Following on from these captioned images, the book then begins to go into real detail. Using, once again, the images from the Technical manuals, the M2a1 is broken-down into its respective areas. These are:

Tube & Breech
Recoil Mechanism & Cradle
Top Carriage
Bottom Carriage
Sighting Equipment & Ammunition

The next section (no doubt presented as a kind of 'homage' to Italeri's combo of DUKW with 105mm Gun) consists of three pages devoted to transporting the 105 by DUKW. This, for anyone wishing to do it as part of a Diorama is exteremely useful containg not only photos of the real thing, but also some useful illustrations of its placement in the cargo bay.

The final section, in the documentation of the M2a1, presents four images of the gun in service with the Bundeswehr.

The second part of the book, dealing with the M3 105mm Howitzer is briefer but no less detailed. Structure is more or less similar to its 'Heavier' cousin - reproductions of images from the Technical Manuals are complemented by a number of excellent contempory imges of the gun in-theater. The difference in ammunition is clearly demonstrated and shows the four principal types.
The book finishes with a useful bibliography listing all the relevant Technical Manuals.

Conclusions

The section on the M2a1 will be invaluable for those wishing to improve the rather old (but good) model from Italeri (Peerless, Max & Airfix) the second section, on the M3, will be of great value to those who wish to attempt a pretty intensive scratch-building project.
In summary an excellent book absolutely packed full of PRACTICAL information. The quality of the images is, once again, superlative.

VERY Highly Recommended