Description
TM 9-2300 Standard Artillery and Fire Control Materiel Technical Manual – February 1944
Item Overview
This World War II U.S. War Department technical manual provides an illustrated reference to standard Army artillery and fire-control materiel. Issued on February 7, 1944, TM 9-2300 brings together information about guns, carriages, combat vehicles, optical instruments, directors, rangefinders, and related equipment in one period military publication. This listing is for the technical manual only; no artillery or fire-control equipment is included.
Publication Details
This 392-page manual was prepared as a broad identification and technical-data reference for the expanding wartime Army.
- Manual number: TM 9-2300
- Official title: Standard Artillery and Fire Control Materiel
- Issuing authority: U.S. War Department
- Publication date: February 7, 1944
- Historical period: World War II
- Page count: 392 pages
- Subject: Standard U.S. Army artillery, vehicles, mounts, sights, and fire-control equipment
- Format: Illustrated technical reference manual
Publication History
The War Department issued this edition during the major expansion of American ground forces in World War II. The Army needed a single reference that could present standardized equipment drawn from several artillery and fire-control families. TM 9-2300 answered that need by recording materiel considered current in early 1944. A later edition appeared in May 1949 and added equipment developed or standardized during the closing years of the war and early postwar period.
Purpose and Contents
TM 9-2300 was designed to help military personnel identify standard artillery and understand its main features. The manual presents photographs or illustrations, equipment descriptions, specifications, dimensions, weights, and performance data for many types of ordnance materiel. Its broad coverage makes it different from a maintenance manual devoted to one weapon. It shows how individual guns, mounts, vehicles, and instruments fit within the Army’s larger artillery program.
Documented Materiel Applications
The manual covers artillery used in field, antitank, antiaircraft, armored, self-propelled, and heavy-gun roles. Its documented subjects include towed guns and howitzers, tank armament, artillery motor carriages, tank destroyer equipment, gun carriages, telescopes, periscopes, directors, rangefinders, and mechanical fire-control instruments. This wide scope made the publication useful to artillery units, armored forces, maintenance organizations, schools, supply personnel, and ordnance specialists.
Field Artillery Equipment History
American field artillery entered World War II with both improved older weapons and newly standardized designs. Light 75mm pack howitzers supported units that needed mobile weapons for difficult terrain, while the 105mm howitzer became a main source of divisional fire support. Larger 155mm howitzers and guns supplied heavier fire at longer ranges. These weapons were supported by specialized carriages, prime movers, ammunition vehicles, and sighting equipment that allowed batteries to move, deploy, and fire as coordinated units.
Antitank and Antiaircraft Equipment History
Wartime artillery also included weapons built to meet fast-moving threats. Antitank guns were designed for direct fire against armored vehicles, while antiaircraft guns defended troops, supply areas, cities, and important installations from hostile aircraft. Weapons such as the 40mm and 90mm antiaircraft guns depended on directors, range or height information, and trained crews to track moving targets. TM 9-2300 records this close relationship between the gun and its supporting fire-control equipment.
Tank and Self-Propelled Artillery History
The growth of armored warfare placed more artillery weapons on tracked vehicles. Tank guns gave armored crews direct-fire power, while self-propelled howitzers and gun motor carriages allowed artillery to keep pace with mobile formations. The equipment families represented in this manual include materiel associated with light and medium tanks, tank destroyers, armored cars, landing vehicles, and self-propelled artillery. Their inclusion shows how artillery design was moving beyond traditional towed weapons.
Heavy Artillery Equipment History
Heavy artillery provided long-range fire against fortified positions, transportation routes, troop concentrations, and other major targets. American forces used weapons such as the 155mm “Long Tom,” 8-inch guns and howitzers, and the 240mm howitzer for missions that required greater range or striking power. These large weapons needed heavy carriages, powerful tractors, lifting equipment, and carefully organized crews. Their scale made transportation and fire-control planning as important as the gun itself.
Fire-Control Equipment History
World War II fire control combined optical instruments, mechanical calculators, observation, communications, and trained judgment. Telescopes and periscopes helped crews aim or observe, while rangefinders and height finders supplied target information. Directors and data tables helped convert range, direction, speed, and altitude into useful firing commands. This manual documents the period when mechanical fire-control systems became essential to accurate field, tank, coastal, and antiaircraft gunnery.
History of Use
The artillery and fire-control materiel documented in this manual supported American operations during World War II. Related equipment served in North Africa, Italy, Western Europe, the Pacific, and defensive positions within the United States. Field artillery delivered indirect fire, antitank guns protected ground units, antiaircraft batteries defended against air attack, and vehicle-mounted weapons supported armored advances. Many of these designs also remained in service after 1945 or were supplied to allied nations.
Collector and Research Value
TM 9-2300 offers a detailed look at the equipment the U.S. Army considered standard during a key year of World War II. Its combination of technical data and period illustrations makes it useful for identifying military hardware, comparing related weapon families, and studying the development of American artillery. It is also a strong reference for matching surviving instruments, mounts, and vehicle components with their documented military applications.
Ideal For
This period technical manual is well suited to collectors and researchers seeking a broad reference on American World War II artillery and fire-control equipment.
- World War II military manual collectors
- U.S. Army artillery and ordnance researchers
- Military vehicle and tank historians
- Fire-control instrument collectors
- Museum and restoration reference libraries
- Reenactors and historical display planners
- Authors, archivists, and military educators
Approx length 6", Approx width 9", Approx height .75", Approx weight 1.5lbs.
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