Description
TM 9-3003 - 155mm M45/T186E1 Howitzer, M44/T194 Self-Propelled Howitzer and M80/T167 Mount - August 1955
Item Overview
Add an early Cold War reference to your artillery library with TM 9-3003, dated August 1955. This technical manual concerns the 155mm M45/T186E1 howitzer, the M44/T194 self-propelled howitzer, and the M80/T167 howitzer mount. It connects three equipment designations central to the M44 artillery system.
Identification and Features
Key publication details identify the manual and its related equipment:
- Publication number: TM 9-3003
- Publication date: August 1955
- Howitzer: 155mm M45, formerly designated T186E1
- Self-propelled vehicle: 155mm M44, formerly designated T194
- Howitzer mount: M80, formerly designated T167
- Historical period: Early Cold War
Function and Contents
The publication brings the cannon, mount, and self-propelled installation together as related subjects. The M45 supplied artillery firepower, while the M80 supported the gun and recoil equipment. Elevation moved the barrel up and down; traverse moved it from side to side within the mount's limits. The tracked M44 carried this installation between firing positions.
Publication History
The August 1955 issue dates to the M44's early service years. Later Army documentation covered the same howitzer and mount in TM 9-1025-203-34, issued in August 1960. These dated publications help researchers follow the technical record of this artillery equipment through the 1950s and into the next decade.
Documented Applications
Army illustrations in TM 9-7004, titled Self-Propelled 155-mm Howitzer T194, document the cannon and mount installed in the vehicle. They connect the earlier T-series names with the standardized M-series designations. This link helps researchers match period documents to equipment markings and surviving M44 components.
Equipment History
The M45 howitzer and M80 mount formed the armament group developed for the M44 program. Their production history survives in preserved hardware. During an M44 restoration for the National Museum of Military Vehicles, BAIV recorded a Watervliet Arsenal howitzer breech assembly dated 1956. That component provides a physical example from the equipment era represented by this manual.
Weapon-System Background
The M44 grew from a U.S. Army effort to modernize field artillery after World War II. It shared automotive components with the M41 Walker Bulldog light tank. Earlier enclosed prototypes trapped firing gases, leading to an open fighting compartment in the revised T194 design. The resulting vehicle combined tracked mobility with heavy artillery support for mobile ground forces.
History of Use
The M44 entered service in 1954, too late for combat in the Korean War. It served U.S. and allied artillery forces during the Cold War, including armies in West Germany, Italy, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. British service called it the Cardinal. The M109 replaced the M44 in U.S. service during the 1960s, while overseas service continued longer.
Ideal For
This manual adds period documentation to a collection focused on American self-propelled artillery. It also supports historical research, restoration archives, and museum interpretation. Its early publication date makes it especially relevant to studies of the M44's introduction and the equipment names used during that period.
- Military technical manual collectors
- M44 vehicle historians and restorers
- M45 howitzer and M80 mount researchers
- Cold War artillery museum collections
- Military model builders seeking period references
Approx length 6", Approx width 9", Approx height .5", Approx weight 1lbs.
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