M43 Howitzer Motor Carriage

M43 Howitzer motor carriage
M43
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	United States
Specifications
Weight	83,000 Lbs
Length	289-inches
Width	124-inches
Height	129-inches
Crew	8
Shell	separate loading, bagged charge
Barrels	1
Rate of fire	Sustained:
Effective firing range	Conventional:
Feed system	hand
Sights	M13 or M6
Main armament	M115 howitzer
Engine	Continental R975-C4 400 HP
Suspension	HVSS (Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension)
Operational range	107 Mi.
Speed	24 MPH

The 203 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M43 was a United States self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a widened and lengthened Medium Tank M4A3 chassis, but with a Continental engine and HVSS that was introduced at the end of the Second World War.

History

Equipped with a 203 mm (8") Howitzer, it was designed to replace the earlier M12 Gun Motor Carriage. Its prototype designation was the T89, but this was changed to the M43 in March 1945.

Variants

• 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage M43 - 8 in (203 mm) HMC, standardized August 1945; 48 were built.
• The Army planned to use the same T38 chassis for a family of SP artillery.
• Cargo Carrier T30 - a few built before cancellation in December 1944 to make more chassis' available for GMCs.

Surviving vehicles

^[1]

• one at the Fort Sill museum, OK
• one in Wyoming, MI
• one in American Society of Military History Museum, South El Monte, CA

See also

• List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
• List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation

Notes

References

• TM 9-747
• SNL G232