M109A3 Self Propelled Medium Howitzer

The M109A3 Self Propelled Medium Howitzer is a 155mm self-propelled gun manufactured by BAE Systems, weighing 55,000 pounds or 27.5 tons, armed with an M185 155mm howitzer and a machine gun or grenade launcher, with a rate of fire of 3 to 6 rounds per minute, a range of 11 miles, a Detroit Deisel 8V71T engine, a maximum speed of 35 mph, an operational range of 216 miles, and a crew of 6 including a commander, driver, gunner and assistant, and loaders. More than 7,700 were built. The M109 series was introduced in 1963 as the principle self-propelled artillery support for US Army divisions, and continual upgrades made it the most widely used self-propelled howitzer outside the Soviet Union. The M109 served with the U.S. Army in the Vietnam and Gulf Wars and in the Iraq War from 2003 to 2011. This model began production in 1976 and is the precursor to the M109A5+ "Paladins" still in service. M109s were used by the Louisiana National Guard 141st Field Artillery when it activated for Desert Storm in 1990 and again when deployed to Iraq in 2004.

Arabi, Louisiana · United States