The M110 203mm self-propelled howitzer, commonly known as the 8-inch, first entered service with the US Army in 1963. The M110A2 variant presently displayed included the longer M201 cannon tube of the M110A1 model and the double-baffled muzzle brake added in the A2 version. The M110A2 was the largest caliber self-propelled howitzer in the Army inventory and was designed to provide general support to ground maneuver forces, to include tactical nuclear ammunition. The M110A2 had an authorized crew of 12. The howitzer itself transported only two 200-pound projectiles and five men, while the rest of the ammunition and seven crewmen traveled aboard a tracked M548 ammunition carrier. The M110A2 weighed over 26 tons, had a top speed of 45mph, and could fire extremely accurately out to 20 miles. It was generally regarded as the most accurate artillery system ever in the Army inventory. Built by Bowen-McLauchlin-York of York, Pennsylvania, there were over 1,000 M110A2 howitzers in the Army inventory in the early 1990[s] before the weapon was phased out of service in favor of the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System. The first unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard to field the M110 howitzer was Battery D, 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery in Wilkes-Barre in April 1963. The 1st Battalion, 108th Field Artillery fired the last 8-inch
round in 1992.
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