No More Horses

240mm Howitzer, Model of 1918

The 240mm Howitzer, Model of 1918, was of French design and American manufacture. The weights of the various loads made transportation by horse traction a practical impossibility. The advent of mechanical traction, not tied to railroads, made moving the larger artillery weapons more practical.

The platform was sunk into a pit and required considerable labor to install it. The weight of the entire unit was 41,296 lbs (18,771 kilos). The weights of each load ranged from 12,545 lbs to 16,320. The recoil system was hydro-pneumatic and its action was described as that of taking a railroad locomotive traveling at 105 miles per hour, stopping it in 36 inches and returning it to its point of origin without damage. Impressive in any era.

Maximum elevation is 60 degrees (1066 mils) and traverse is 10 degrees (178 mils) left or right of center. There is a lot of that bad boy in the ground.

Range was 16,000 yards or 14,770 meters.