120 mm gun M1

120 mm gun M1
120 mm gun M1
	A 120 mm M1 anti-aircraft gun at US Army Ordnance Museum.
Type	Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	U.S. Army
Wars	World War II and Korean War
Specifications
Mass	64,000 lb (29,000 kg)
Length	24½ feet (7.39 m)
Barrel length	23½ feet (7.16 m)
Crew	A gun commander, a gunner with an eight man squad, and an ammunition chief supervising two ammunition handlers - a total of thirteen men.
Shell	120×775 mm. R
Caliber	120 mm L/60
Barrels	1
Breech	Vertical sliding-wedge
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	towed
Elevation	80 Deg.
Traverse	360 Deg.
Rate of fire	12 rounds per Min.
Muzzle velocity	3,100 ft/s (945 m/s)
Maximum firing range	81,000 ft (24,700 m), 57,500 ft (17,500 m) maximum altitude

The 120 mm Gun M1 was the United States Army's standard super-heavy anti-aircraft gun during World War II and the Korean War, complementing the smaller and more mobile M2 90 mm gun in service. Its maximum altitude was about 60,000 ft (18,000 m), which earned it the nickname stratosphere gun.

The M1 gun was used by the Army for air defense from 1944 to 1960. The 120 served primarily in static defensive roles, although it had been designed to be mobile. It became obsolete with the development of anti-aircraft missiles and was phased out after 1954.

History

The Army first worked on a 120 mm gun after the end of World War I, with a prototype being presented in 1924. The system was considered far too heavy and expensive to be useful, and the project slowed down, although it was never canceled outright.

In 1938, the Army reviewed its needs for newer AA systems and decided to order new systems for both the heavy and super-heavy role. The former was filled by the new M1 90 mm gun, which replaced the earlier M3 3-inch gun then in use. For the super-heavy role, the 120 mm gun design was dusted off and mated to a new eight-wheel carriage, designated 4.7-inch M1 when it was accepted in 1940.

Like the 90 mm, the M1 gun was typically operated in a battery of four guns, initially with an associated searchlight, SCR-268 radar (replaced later by the much-improved SCR-584), M10 gun director, and M4 Gun Data Computer that automatically laid the guns. The M6 Tractor was used as the prime mover.

The M1 gun entered service late in World War II. One battalion of M1 guns, the 513th AAA Gun Battalion, was deployed in the Philippines in February 1945, but never fired on any hostile aircraft.

After World War II ended and the Cold War with the Soviet Union began, M1 guns were deployed in many locations in the U.S. and Canada. To defend against long range Soviet Tu-4 bomber attack, the Army Anti-Aircraft Command (ARAACOM) formed 44 active duty and 22 National Guard battalions equipped with M1 guns, divided into seven brigades and 20 anti-aircraft artillery groups. Two Canadian anti-aircraft battalions were also equipped with M1 guns for the joint defense of the Soo Locks. These guns were guided by the long range Lashup Radar Network equipped with AN/CPS-5. M1 guns were deployed for the protection of nuclear production facilities, major industrial centers, strategic air force bases, and select major population centers.

In 1954, the MIM-3 Nike Ajax surface-to-air missile became operational with ARAACOM. It substantially outranged the M1 gun, rendering it obsolete. ARAACOM began retiring the M1 gun from active-duty units and then from National Guard units. Then in 1957, the Soviet Union introduced the R7, its first ICBM, and the M1 gun became practically useless. By January 1960, all remaining National Guard units with M1 guns were converted to Nike missiles or deactivated.

Comparable weapons

12.8 cm FlaK 40 - Nazi Germany
130 mm air defense gun KS-30 - Soviet Union 1950
QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval gun - Britain 1938, see land use

References

TM 9-2300 Standard Artillery and Fire Control Materiel dated 1944
TM 9-380
SNL D-32

External links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCpI7MyB2U8 use of the gun in Alaskan national guard at 25:01 minutes

^[1]

^ 1954 US Army; The Big Picture TV-252

[1] 1954 US Army; The Big Picture TV-252

[1]

v t e United States artillery of World War II
Tank guns	37 mm gun M5/M6 75 mm gun M2/M3/M6 76 mm gun M1 3-inch gun M7 90 mm gun M3 90 mm gun T15 105 mm howitzer M4 105 mm gun T5 120 mm gun T53 155 mm gun T7
Anti-tank guns	37 mm M3 57 mm M1 75 mm field gun M1897 on M2 carriage 3 inch M5 90 mm T8 105mm T8
Field, medium and heavy guns	75 mm field gun M1897 on M2 carriage 75 mm howitzer M1 105 mm howitzer M2 105 mm howitzer M3 4.5 inch gun M1 155 mm howitzer M1918 155 mm howitzer M1 155 mm gun M1918MI 155 mm gun M1/M2 "Long Tom" 8 inch howitzer M1/M2 8-inch gun M1 240 mm howitzer M1
Mortars	60 mm mortar M2 81 mm mortar M1 4.2 inch mortar M2 Little David
Other vehicle-mounted	75 mm howitzer M2/M3 75 mm gun M1897 105 mm howitzer M2 155 mm gun M1917MI 155 mm gun M2 8 inch howitzer M1/M2
Anti-aircraft guns	37 mm M1 40 mm M1 3-inch gun M1917 3-inch gun M1918 3-inch anti-aircraft gun M3 90 mm M1 120 mm M1
Coast artillery guns	3-inch gun M1903 90 mm M1 6-inch gun M1903 155 mm gun M1918MI 7"/45 caliber gun 8-inch Mk. VI 8-inch gun M1888 10-inch gun M1895 12-inch coast defense mortar 12-inch gun M1895 14-inch gun M1907 16-inch gun M1895 16-inch gun M1919 16-inch Marks 2 and 3 16-inch howitzer M1920
Railway artillery	8-inch Mk. VI 8-inch gun M1888 12-inch coast defense mortar 14-inch M1920

History

Comparable weapons

See also

References

External links