Trumpeter 61602 1/16 US 155mm M198 Towed Howitzer Buy Cheap Popular

Trumpeter 61602 1/16 US 155mm M198 Towed Howitzer

The development of the M198 155mm towed howitzer began in 1968 when a lightweight replacement was sought for the WWII era M114 155mm howitzer. A testbed prototype was developed and constructed at the Army’s Rock Island arsenal in 1969 and firing tests began in 1970. Following initial firing tests, two prototype M198 howitzers were delivered to the Army in 1972, and following additional testing, the M198 howitzer entered full time production in 1978. The first Army M198 unit became operational in April of 1979.

Since entering production, over 1,600 units have been manufactured, with the final units coming out of Rock Island in 1992.

The M198 is a modern American 155 mm towed field howitzer. Its first prototypes were made in 1968, and serial production began in 1978 and lasted until 1992, ending with the production of over 1,600 examples of this weapon. Rock Island Arsenal was responsible for their production. The initial velocity of the high-impact shell fired from this gun is up to 684 m / s, and the maximum range of the gun is about 22,000 meters when firing traditional ammunition. The maximum rate of fire is 4 shots per minute.

The M198 was put into service to supplement and later replace the M114 howitzer of the same caliber used since World War II. Compared to its predecessor, the M198 has a much better range and requires less maintenance. Despite its greater weight, the M198 can also be transported by the CH-47 Chinnok helicopter. It is also adapted to parachute landing. The M198 howitzer is suitable for firing a wide range of missiles: from high-explosive ammunition, through high-explosive and cluster ammunition, to precision ammunition (the M712 Copperhead missile). Nuclear missiles (W48) also remained in service until 1992. The M198s were used in combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991. They are currently being replaced by the US military by M777 howitzers. The operators of the M198 howitzers, apart from the USA, were several countries, including: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Pakistan and Australia. The M198 is still in service in the latter country’s army.