XM104
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Howitzer, self-propelled, 105 mm, XM104 prototype at the U.S. Army Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. |
The XM104 was a U.S.-developed self-propelled amphibious/air-droppable/heliborne 105 mm howitzer. Pilot models of the howitzer were built by the U.S. Army Ordnance Tank Automotive Command's Experimental Division at the Detroit Tank Arsenal shops, Warren, Mich.
Mobility[]
The vehicle represented a new concept of self-propelled artillery, it could be stripped for air delivery by helicopter, parachute drop or ground-landing by the Army's DHC-4 Caribou and Air Force C-130 Hercules. Brig. Gen. J. Frederick Thorlin, Commanding General of OTAC, said the full-tracked vehicle, designated the XM104, was developed in answer to the Army's urgent request for a "heavyweight puncher with featherweight mobility."
Characteristics[]
XM104 had a 4-man crew, was to travel at 35 miles per hour, negotiate swamps and desert sand, cross rivers and lakes. Combat weight of the vehicle was around 6,400 pounds.
Capabilities[]
The XM104 was designed to provide ground troops with a "scatback" artillery piece which could travel anywhere in the world with airborne combat troops. Once on line, it could follow right behind infantry or armour units.
References[]
- OTAC Developing Self-Propelled Howitzer, XM-104. // Army Research and Development, June 1962, v. 3, no. 6, p. 15. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Abandoned military projects of the United States
- 105 mm artillery
- Self-propelled howitzers of the United States
- Tracked self-propelled howitzers
- Self-propelled artillery of the United States
- Cold War artillery of the United States
- Artillery stubs