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M44 SPH

1954 COLD WAR SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY

History

The M44 self-propelled howitzer was adopted by the US Army to replace the obsolete stock of M41 howitzer motor mounts. Both used some sort of 155mm howitzer, and while the previous M41 was based on the WWII-era M24 Chaffee light tank, the new M44 is based on components from the M41 Walker Bulldog light tank.

The M44 was not entirely successful and faces major rebuilding plans before its term ends.

The T99E1 was used as a production test vehicle in an attempt to retain as many of the essential features of the M41 as possible. The five roadwheels of the M41 became six roadwheels in the M44, the chain idler was removed, and the sixth pair of roadwheels did this. The drive sprocket is kept forward along with the offset engine compartment, which allows a solid, fully enclosed armored superstructure to be mounted aft. Four track idlers are used for the track wheel arrangement.

The five crew members included the driver in the fuselage structure as well as the commander, gunner and two ammunition operators. Armor protection reaches a thickness of 12 mm.

The vehicle is equipped with a vehicle version of the 155mm M114 land howitzer (eg T97E1). Introduced in 1942, more than 10,000 of this weapon had been produced by 1953. The weapon employs a slow-tapered, interrupted helical breech design with a hydropneumatic recoil system. The recoil mechanism was slightly modified to fit its new mount.

It can fire a 155mm projectile to 16,000 yards at a muzzle velocity of 1,850 feet per second. To accommodate the M44 fuselage layout, the barrel proved to be short, as no fuselage overhang was seen.

Defense is provided by a .50 caliber M2 Browning heavy machine gun and all personal weapons carried by the crew.

The M44 also retains the 500hp Continental AOS-895-3 series 6-cylinder petrol engine seen in the M41 fuel tank. It also uses a torsion bar suspension system. Road speeds reach 35 mph and travel less than 100 miles.

Interestingly, the US Army chose to start production even before the T99E1 had completed testing. It was subsequently discovered that the closed design of the fuselage structure contained noxious gases during combustion, along with other problems.

At this point, 250 units had been completed, which led to further production stops.

Engineers then tried to solve the main problem and adopt an outdoor hull structure. This also provides better workspace for the crew as well as the introduction of natural light. However, it also exposes them to the elements and dangers of the battlefield.

The howitzer was also replaced by the T186E1 development series of the same caliber. With the changes made, the vehicle was reborn under the new name T194 Self-Propelled Howitzer. A conversion program was then passed to bring the existing 250 T99E1-based cars to T194 standard.

After official adoption, the system was known as the M44 SPH. Another change came to the range when the M41 Walker Bulldog received the upgraded AOS-895-5 engine - the M44 fleet followed and was upgraded to the M44A1 accordingly.

The M44 arrived too late to serve in the Korean War (1950-1953). It was only exported to the allied country, Italy.