M2A2 Howitzer 105 mm - Cranbourne RSL, Victoria, Australia
S 38° 07.045 E 145° 17.236
55H E 349861 N 5779771
By the western side of the Cranbourne RSL building is a M2A2 Howitzer 105 mm
Waymark Code: WMX2WX
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date Posted: 11/19/2017
Views: 1
A plaque on the wall of the RSL building reads:
M2A2 Howitzer 105 mm (4.1")
"Super tough workhorse of the Vietnam war, the M2A2 could project force over an 11 km radius and was the main protection our soldiers had. The legendary 108 Fd Bty RAA fired over 11,000 rounds per gun from its six M2A2s in the year 1967-68 alone."
From the Australian War Memorial site: (
visit link) , "The M2A2 105 millimetre howitzer is a general purpose, towed, light field artillery weapon which consists of a barrel, recoil mechanism and carriage. The barrel consists of a tube assembly, breech ring, and locking ring. The barrel is mounted on a recoil sleigh assembly. The firing mechanism is a continuous pull (self cocking) type activated by pulling a lanyard. The cannon barrel is single-loaded, air-cooled and uses semi-fixed ammunition. The carriage is of the single axle and split trail type. The trails are divided during emplacement and are drawn together and locked during travel. A drawbar is provided for attachment to a prime mover. The carriage consists of an equilibrator, shield, elevating mechanism, cradle, gear, elevating arcs, traversing mechanism, top carriage, wheels, and trails. The recoil mechanism is a constant hydropneumatic type shock absorber system which is installed in the cradle of the carriage."
"The M2A2 105 millimetre howitzer was the standard artillery weapon used by most field regiments of the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA) during the Vietnam conflict."
Visited: 1430, Tuesday, 24 May, 2016