- Yes
- No
General Info
The story of the M107 starts in the US during the 1950’s, the US had set up a new requirement for a set of self propelled artillery, due to the previous M55’s beginning to pose difficulties by keeping it in service. This was due to the weight, which meant it couldn’t be air transportable, and also due to the gasoline engines it had access to posing a significant toll on its overall range. It was also said to be an explosive hazard in combat, so therefore it had to go. The Pacific Car and Foundry (Paccar) company would then begin to develop a set of vehicles which would be lighter, so as to be transportable by air, which overall meant the vehicle would have a better range whilst also being ready to deployed at a moments notice. Paccar came out with 2 different designs, they were pretty much the same vehicle, the only difference being the caliber of their respective armaments, the M107 would be armed with a 175mm cannon, whilst the M110 would be armed with a 203mm cannon. In terms of Survivalbility, the vehicle only had 13mm of aluminum armor sufficient to block only small arms and a few shell splinters. It really wasn’t designed to be on the front lines,so dont expect too much from this vehicle. The M107 and its close brother, the M110 had a wide success in the export market, which had countries such as Israel use it in active combat, with wide success. Israel used it in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and managed to destroy a number of Syrian and Egyptian surface-to-air missile batteries and even at times shelling Damascus.The most famous use of this vehicle in combat would probably during the war in Vietnam, which was a great rival with other similar soviet made vehicles. Another great thing about the M107 is that since it used the same chassis as the M110, if needed, the cannons could be easily interchangeable. The US had also developed a specific set of ammunition for both vehicles, they’d be the M437 and M437A1, both HE. In terms of speed, the M107 had access to a General Motors 8V71T diesel engine, which allowed the vehicle to 56km and hour. In Italian service, the first M107’s came during the 1980’s, given to and used by artillery departments inside of the Italian army. Italian operators had mixed feelings on how it performed, mainly due to the unorthodox size of the cannon, which made movement very difficult and lastly the overall protection of the vehicle hindered its effectiveness, as this forced the vehicle to stay very far from the line of fire. The crew would be very vulnerabile to counter artillery fire, strafing runs and basically anything else that was close enough to engage it. However it cannot be denied that this vehicle served a vital role in not only rebuilding the Italian armed forces, but also giving them the important know-how to later on develop or improve their use of self propelled artillery. The vehicle would later undergo a series of modifications which did improve the overall vehicle and its effectiveness, but with more modern artillery pieces coming into play, it was only a matter of time before the M107, M110, and their upgrades would be put out of service in favor for more reliable, better protected, and overall much stronger vehicles.
Armament+Equipment
x1 175/60 cannon (Munitions include HE M437 and M437A1)
Specifications
Spoiler
Why it should be in game
I feel like the M107 would be a great fun vehicle in game, it would not be mobile nor very protected but the cannon it has access to would likely make short work of anything that it faced. Thankfully a bunch of other countries in game could also get access to this vehicle too so Gaijin may end up being inclined to give it to everyone at once. It has access to a very unique cannon It would not be OP, in every sense the M107 is a glass cannon, even artillery that falls near the vehicle would pose danger to the vehicle at its crew. Its size and speed would also hinder it, planes would easily pick it off with no problem. Secondly, the ammunition it would hold would be limited, although in real life it had 2 rounds on the vehicle, and would be paired up with a dedicated vehicle that held the ammunition for it, in game gaijin would have to do what they’ve already done with similar vehicles and add a box for ammunition as to allow it to actually make it useful for more than a minute. Despite this, i can still see players wanting to give it a try, and it would most likely end up being used for long range sniping.
Sources
Spoiler
Artillery of the World by Christopher F.Foss
Gli autoveicoli da combattimento dell’esercito italiano
M107/M110 FAMILY OF SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY
ARTIGLIERIA TERRESTRE Semovente M107 Brandeggio Cannone 175-60
27° RAPS: STORIA DEL 27°
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPCukpC_Xaw
M107 self-propelled gun - Wikipedia
M107 (semovente) - Wikipedia
M110A2
Esercito italiano nella Guerra Fredda... - Dati utili per wargamers
http://www.military-today.com/artillery/m107.htm
Army M107 Self-Propelled Howitzer Had Long Range but Short Life
Photos
