Rock Island Arsenal M119

Towed 105mm Medium Howitzer [ 1989 ]

The M119 was nothing more than an Americanized license-production version of the British L118/L119 105mm howitzer.

Authored By: JR Potts, AUS 173d AB | Last Edited: 05/21/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

The 105mm M119 was originally designed, developed, and built by the Royal Ordnance Factories of Nottingham, England, as the L118/L119 British Light Gun. The United States Army saw the advantages of the British-designed gun against the US Army's M102 howitzers then in service. In 1987, the United States purchased license rights to produce the L118/L119 series locally and assigned the designation of "M119" to the system. Differences between the two were subtle to the uninitiated and include Americanized digital fire control systems, an increase to low-temperature capability (-50 from -25 degrees F), improved maintenance and repair features and other simplifications/improvements based on US Army operating criteria.

At its core, the M119 is a light-weight howitzer, primarily towed into position by a HUMMWV multipurpose utility vehicle or by way of air mobility systems such as a transport helicopter. Additionally, the M119 is cleared as an air droppable system from certain military aircraft - this including the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, the Boeing CH-47 Chinook twin-rotor helicopter and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane - its fall retarded by way of parachute. To handle the set up and firing of the M119, a standard crew of seven personnel is the norm.

The M119 was assigned to and tested with the 7th Infantry Division out of Fort Ord in Monterey Bay, California in1989. It was then adopted for service that year and has since been used by infantry units like the 173rd brigade, 101st & 82nd Airborne divisions, the 10th Mountain and the 25th Infantry divisions in the fire support role. The howitzer is currently seeing action today across Afghanistan and was already used to good measure in Iraq during the 2003 invasion.

1998 saw the Light Artillery System Improvement Program (LASIP) Block I initiated and incorporate improvements throughout the M119 design. This generated the new designation of M119A1 to coincide with the upgrade. Block II followed and completed all its own updates by 2004, resulting in the new designation of M119A2 being assigned. These particular systems were given a rollbar to reduce potential damage in air drops as well as a revised elevation gearbox, monitoring hardware and buffer. Radioactive tritium was removed from the fire control system as a protective measure. The M119A2 also features an improved sighting package made up of the M90A3 telescope and the M137A2 telescope.©MilitaryFactory.com

The howitzer can provide direct and indirect heavy fire power at the cost of minimum weight, allowing for additional ammunition to be carried into action. It also provides a small, squat profile silhouette and - not needing a recoil pit - it requires less setup time resulting in faster firing of projectiles by the crew. The M119 has all the elements needed to support infantry and bring plunging fire down upon the enemy and his positions with elevations in range of -100 to +1244 mils with a low angle-of-fire available for close targets.

With its increased range and a rapid rate-of-fire equal to six rounds-per-minute (three rounds per minute in the sustained fire role), the M119 is the reason the US Army chose to retire the old M102 howitzer series from front line units and replace them. The relative "light" weight of just 4,520 lbs (with BII) makes it easy to get her into the fight. The primary tow vehicle for the howitzer is a special HUMMWV (model M1097), itself having a range of 200mi (321.8km), or by helicopter, increasing the deployment range of the M119 to 450miles (724.2km).

Along with firing the reliable 105mm shell, additional ammunition types are available (including all NATO-standard types):

The M314 is an illuminating star shell while the M60 is the standard White Phosphorous smoke cartridge. The M760 represents the HE (High Explosive) round and sports an unassisted range up to 14.5km. The M913 HERA (High-Explosive Rocket Assisted) shell sees a range of 19.5km. Rocket-assisted shells are utilized to obtain a slight increase in the overall firing range and several other forms are currently being tested for use in the M119 family.

The M119A1 was expected to end of its service life around fiscal year 2008-09. However, due to the US Army's current war plan, the M119A1/M119A2 are still deployed as of this writing (2012). As a result, the production contract of the M119 has been extended until 2013. The weapon has been manufactured by the Joint US/RO partnership made up of Rock Island Arsenal, Watervliet Arsenal, Seller Instruments and Royal Ordnance, UK.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1989

Origin

United States

Crew

7
CREWMEN

Production

5,000
UNITS

Royal Ordnance, Nottingham, UK

(View other Vehicle-Related Manufacturers)

United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Fire Support / Assault / Breaching
Support allied forces through direct / in-direct fire, assault forward positions, and / or breach fortified areas of the battlefield.

Length

20.7 ft
6.32 m

Width

5.8 ft
1.78 m

Height

7.3 ft
2.21 m

Weight

4,519 lb
2,050 kg

Tonnage

2.3 tons
LIGHT

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Rock Island Arsenal M119 production variant. Length typically includes main gun in forward position if applicable to the design)

Powerplant: None. This is a towed artillery piece.

Range

7.1 mi
(11.5 km)

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Rock Island Arsenal M119 production variant. Compare this entry against any other in our database)

1 x 105mm barrel

Supported Types

(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)

Dependent on ammunition carrier. Types include HE, illumination and smoke and may be rocket-assisted.

M119 - Base Production Model fielded in 1989.

M119A1 - Improved M119 with Block I update; new low-temp recuperator; increased low-temp capability; increased brake diameter; improved repair functions; revised trail access cover; battery computer system.

M119A2 - Improved M119A1 with Block II update; improved sighting package; revised elevation gearbox; sans radioactive Tritium in fire control system; new buffer with revised seals; simplified monitoring hardware; rollbar for air drop protection.

Military lapel ribbon for the American Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of the Bulge

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Kursk

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental military vehicles

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective campaigns / operations.

Images Gallery

1 / 15

Front left side view of an M119 at rest

2 / 15

A crew attends to an M119 105mm howitzer

3 / 15

The 105mm shell size is shown to good effect in this picture

4 / 15

A view from behind the M119 system

5 / 15

A crew lets off a 105mm projectile from their M119

6 / 15

An excellent shot of the moment the 105mm projectile leaves the M119 barrel

7 / 15

A US Army personnel loads a fresh projectile into the breech

8 / 15

A spent 105mm shell casing is ejected from the breech of the M119

9 / 15

An excellent view from behind the M119 gun and crew; note projectile high in the distance

10 / 15

An M119 crew lets off another round of 105mm ammunition

11 / 15

A soldier peers through his sights on his M119 gun system

12 / 15

Close-up detail view of the sighting system on the M119 howitzer

13 / 15

Close-up detail view of the rear right side on an M119

14 / 15

Front right side view of the M119 being readied by Army personnel during practice

15 / 15

A crew moves their M119 into position by hand

❮ ❯

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)