page_title: M116 howitzer
section_title: Other operators
hierarchical_section_title: M116 howitzer / Organization and service / Other operators
context_page_description: The 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 was an artillery piece used by the United States. It was designed in the 1920s to meet a need for a howitzer that could be moved across difficult terrain. The gun and carriage was designed so that it could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by pack animals. The gun saw combat in World War II with the United States Army, with US Marine Corps, and was also supplied to foreign forces.
  In addition to the pack / air portable configuration, the gun was mounted on a conventional carriage to serve as a field artillery piece. The M2 and M3 are derived vehicle mounted howitzers used in the 75mm HMC M8 and some LVT models. In addition, the M1 in its original version was mated to a number of other self-propelled carriages, though only one of those – 75mm HMC T30 – reached mass production.
context_section_description: Two major lend lease recipients of the M1 were United Kingdom (826 pack howitzers) and China (637 pack howitzers and 125 field howitzers). 68 pieces were supplied to France, and 60 to various countries in Latin America.
  In the British service, the howitzer was issued to two mountain artillery regiments, two airlanding light artillery regiments, raiding support regiment and was temporarily used by some other units. The gun remained in British service until the late 1950s.
  The 75 mm howitzer was also used by Australian forces – two mountain batteries and some other units.
  A single howitzer was airdropped in April 1945 to the 2nd (Italian) SAS Regiment, a special force coordinated by Major Roy Farran and composed of partisans with mixed political allegiances, Russian ex-POWs, and Wehrmacht deserters. Baptized "Molto Stanco" ("Very tired" in Italian), the gun was used in the course of Operation Tombola to harass enemy convoys driving up and down along Route 12 between Modena and Florence. On 21 April 1945, the howitzer was towed by means of a Willys Jeep to the outskirts of Reggio Emilia, from where the Italian gunners initiated a shelling of the city that wrought panic among Axis troops. Believing that the arrival of Allied forces was imminent, the Germans and their fascist allies evacuated the city.
  The experience of the guns given to the army of the Republic of China was particularly notable. After the loss of the mainland, the guns left behind were both used by the People's Liberation Army and exported to the Viet Minh. There is record of these guns being used at the Siege of Dien Bien Phu and, presumably, in later conflicts. The type by virtue of its compactness also remained in use with the ROCA's outlying island garrisons (as coastal artillery) as well as mountain troops.
  153 M116s were supplied to Japan (Japan Ground Self-Defense Force) and they were used until the 1980s. The Croatian Army fields M116 howitzers as ceremonial cannon, 12 of which are still kept in service for that purpose; an additional 45 guns have been retired and are no longer utilized by the army, some being stored in local army museums.
  In 2010 the M116 75 mm pack howitzer was used by the Turkish Army in operations against Kurdish separatists in southeastern Turkey.
  The howitzers have been used for avalanche control at several western US ski areas.
  Three howitzers are used by Norwich University's Norwich Artillery Battery, along with a Civil War-era cannon used for ceremonies. The howitzers are used in field training exercises for both the Battery and the school's Ranger Company and the Corps of Cadets, as well as school traditions, such as at football game kickoffs. The University of North Georgia, one of six senior military colleges also utilizes a pack howitzer at the base of their drill field. The piece is fired daily during revile, retreat and during any special ceremonies honoring military graduates or active duty personnel.
caption: 75 mm pack howitzer on carriage M1, supplied to Chinese forces.
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