The importance of the M110A2 self-propelled artillery, the main force of the Taiwan army's anti-landing operations, on the battlefield is self-evident. This kind of artillery not only has a large caliber, a long firing range, and a good lethal effect, but also has strong mobility, and has become a key part of the artillery sequence of the Taiwan army. The strength of this antique-level gun is extraordinary. Speaking of the M110A2 self-propelled gun, it is impossible not to mention its caliber. The 155 mm caliber of this gun, as the main artillery of the US Army in the 50s of the last century, has always attracted attention. Its light weight and high mobility make it an important representative of the US military's family of heavy self-propelled howitzers that turned to a universal hull. The design of the M110A2 self-propelled gun can be described as well-thought-out. In 1956, the American Pacific Automobile & Casting Company submitted a design plan for a new heavy self-propelled howitzer and undertook the tasks of design, trial production and production. After years of development and refinement, at the beginning of 1963, the first batch of M110 was officially equipped with self-propelled howitzer battalions of the US Army. The specifications of the M110A2 self-propelled gun are also very impressive. It's 7467 meters, the width of the car 315 meters, the height of the car is 293 meters, the combat weight of the whole vehicle is 26534 tons.
The body is made of aluminum alloy armor all-welded structure, the cab is located in the left front part of the body, the driver has 3 periscopes, the gearbox is located on the right side of the front part of the body, and behind it is the engine. The rear of the hull was a gun carriage and a gun, and there was no turret. The rear left side of the hull is equipped with a loader, and a large cannone is mounted under the rear of the hull, which is lowered when firing to absorb the recoil energy when firing. In the artillery sequence of Taiwan, the M110A2 self-propelled gun has always been an important component. Its outstanding performance has made it the main force of the anti-landing operation of the field artillery of the Taiwan Army. Moreover, with the development of technology, the performance of the M110A2 self-propelled gun is constantly improving to meet the needs of modern warfare. The 203-mm self-propelled gun M110 is known as the "M110 type 203-mm self-propelled gun mount", because it does not have a turret, so it also has this name. This artillery has a simple structure, the disadvantage is the absence of armor protection in the combat part. It carried 2 shells, the rest of which were loaded on the accompanying M548 ammunition carrier, with a crew of 13 people. The firing range of the gun was up to 168 km, when firing a grenade is able to form a kill zone of 72 18 meters.
The M110 was widely used in the Vietnam War, and despite its large caliber, it was maneuverable and capable of being transported by air on large transport aircraft. The gun of the M110 adopted 25M2A2 barrel with 3 times diameter, screw bolt, M35 firing mechanism, liquid-pneumatic variable recoil anti-recoil device, pneumatic balancing machine and M158 gun carriage for towed 8-inch howitzer. The direction runner of the tooth arc direction machine rotates for a week, and the corresponding direction change amount is 5 dense positions, and the high and low runner of the high and low machine rotates for a week, and the corresponding change in the firing angle is 25 Secret Position. The direction and height of the gun are powered by a hydraulic system, which can be operated manually in case of emergency, with a directional firing range of 30 ° and a pitch angle of -2 ° +65 °. The loading system of the M110 consists of an ammunition loading and unloading device and a bomb carrier, which is operated with power. The ammunition loading and unloading is equipped with two feeding arms, which can vertically lift the projectile placed on the ground on the left or right side of the gun and place it on the ammunition delivery plate, and the ammunition supply machine moves along the deck slide to the gun tail loading position. When the angle of the cartridge plate coincides with the loading angle of the gun, the ejector lever pushes the projectile into the chamber. The propellant charge requires manual reloading.
M110 maximum rate of fire 15 rounds per minute, continuous firing is one round per minute, the types of ammunition used include: grenades, chemical shells, nuclear shells, training shells, etc., the weight of the projectile is about 100 kg. The M110 carried 2 shells on board, and the rest of the shells were all loaded on the accompanying M548 ammunition carrier, with a crew of 13 people, the driver, commander and 3 gunners on the vehicle during the march, and the other 8 gunners in the ammunition truck. This layout allows the M110 to have good tactical adaptability, allowing it to quickly enter combat and continuously output firepower. Overall, the M110 203-mm self-propelled gun showed excellent performance on the battlefield, especially in the Vietnam War, which verified its reliability and practicality as a heavy artillery. Although the M110 self-propelled howitzer of the Taiwan army does not have specialized personnel anti-personnel shells, it can use standard high-explosive shells and install mechanical timing fuses to allow the shells to fire at a range of 200 to 1000 meters and about 9 from the groundWithin 14 meters**. This timed high-explosive shell is very effective against unprotected enemy soldiers. In 1969, the United States began a new R&D program to increase the range of the M110.
They adopted the 37-fold diameter M201 8-inch howitzer, the barrel of which was 3090 mm larger than that of the M110, while increasing the volume of the chamber, strengthening the rifling section, and developing a new projectile and a new M188 launch charge (No. 8). The new self-propelled gun is also equipped with an M139 direct-aim elbow-telescopic sight. In terms of reliability, usability and maintainability, the new gun has improved the engine cooling system, electrical equipment, hydraulic system, loading and unloading system, and stationing hoe. On March 29, 1976, the U.S. military officially finalized it as the M110A1 203mm self-propelled howitzer, and entered service with the U.S. military in 1977. However, the M110A1 was only a transitional model, and production was limited and was soon further improved into the M110A2 self-propelled howitzer. The M110A2 was finalized in February 1978 and began equipping the U.S. Army in 1980. Its combat weight has been increased to 2835 tons, but the power plant was not changed, which led to a slight decrease in the maximum speed of the gun carriage to 547 km/h, the maximum distance is also reduced to 523 km. The Taiwan Army's M110A2 self-propelled artillery, with powerful firepower and long range, has participated in many Xi exercises, and is the right-hand man of the Taiwan Army.
The M110A2 has a variety of ammunition types, including grenades, extended-range bombs, submunitions and chemical bombs, etc., and its maximum range of high-explosive shells can reach 213 km, and with rocket-booster bombs, the range can reach 291 km. Since 1981, the Taiwan military has successively imported M110A2 from the United States, purchasing a total of 75 vehicles and distributing them to different units and locations. These M110A2 self-propelled guns were stationed in Taoyuan Danan, Zhongli Longgang, Hsinchu Hukou, Taichung Dali, Nantou City, Tainan Baihe, Kaohsiung Gangshan, and Renwu, adding a lot of confidence to the strength and combat capability of the Taiwan army. With the adjustment of the combat needs and force structure of the Taiwan army, the M110A2 self-propelled artillery is also constantly adjusting in line with the force structure. The personnel of the 8-inch artillery battery and 24 guns, originally scattered in six separate armoured brigades, were transferred to the four artillery battalions of the artillery command department, and the numbers of each battalion were changed. In addition, after the "Jingjin Case" in 2005, the number of the M110A2 self-propelled artillery was adjusted again to better meet the actual needs of the Taiwan military. The powerful firepower and long-range range of the M110A2 self-propelled gun make it play an important role in the actual combat Xi of the Taiwan Army.
For example, in the Han Kuang military exercise, the M110A2 self-propelled artillery used to cooperate with the adjustment of the force structure, and concentrated the formation of corps artillery units to carry out general support tasks. In the same year, the 64th Independent Brigade also sent four M110 self-propelled guns of the 3rd Artillery Company to Penghu to participate in exercises and Xi mobile operations. The introduction and application of the M110A2 self-propelled gun has made a positive contribution to the improvement of the modern equipment and combat capability of the Taiwan army. In the future, with the continuous development and modernization process of the Taiwan military, it is believed that the M110A2 self-propelled artillery will continue to play an important role and become a strong support and guarantee for the Taiwan army.