Does anone know much about the M40 with the 8 inch gun?WWII

and please don't call it a 203 mm gun..

It was a US Navy gun barrel and as such is referred to as being eight inches, like the USS Iwoa has 16 inch guns.. We don't want to mess with 'Swabbie' traditions now do we..

Similar to the M40 155 SP

Wiki

8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage M43 - 8 in (203 mm) HMC, standardized August 1945, 48 built

 

The 203mm or 8 inch (as i've not been a swabbie and never will be.... i really don't care but 203mm is much clearer for me :roll: )

Shouldn't that just be the M43 (24 were T83 (M40) conversions!) ?

T89, M43 8" Howitzer Motor Carriage

Pressed Steel Car built 48 units between June and September 1945. 24 of the units were T83 (M40) conversions. The M43 was built too late to see service during WW2, though 2 pilot models were sent to Germany during the closing days of the war and tested against the enemy. The 8" cannon had a muzzle velocity of 1950fps and a range of 10.5 miles. The shell weighed 240lbs and was loaded seperate from the powder charge. The vehicle weighed 82,500lbs, of which, 10,000lbs was the cannon alone. The M43 could carry 12 rounds onboard.

from:
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/Unit ... dguns.html




http://www.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_ph ... witzer.php
http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/m43.htm

btw Swabbie means sailor right?

 

Sure ...

 

The only thing to add is that is was originally designated the T89 HMC, and the design was standardised as the M43 HMC in August 1945 (all from Camberlain & Ellis).

HMC = Howitzer Motor Carriage

 

The M40 HMC with 155mm howitzer was deployed during the Korean War.
My Dad was in First Cav-Field Artillery, and he recalled a number of crew being injured when the gun(s) recoiled back into them.
Some component was weak or failed, and the gun breach recoiled MUCH farther back than it should have. The result was a number of artillery crewmen being injured or killed.

Tim