This is the 155 millimeter caliber M1A1 field gun on carriage M1, which was developed by the United States Army. The gun was nicknamed “Long Tom” because of it’s almost 7meters (22ft) long barrel. It was deployed as a heavy field weapon during World War Two and also classed as secondary armament for seacoast defense. Long Tom could fire a 45kg (100 lb) shell over a maximum range of 23km (14 mi), with an estimated accuracy life of 1,500 rounds. The M1 and M1A1 version of the gun was produced from 1938 to 1945.
The M1 carriage acted as a solid and mobile base, which made it faster to deploy. The upper part of the carriage existed of the gun cradle and recoil mechanism, while the lower part existed of the wheels and suspension and a split-trail to stabilize and absorb the recoil of the gun when fired.
Early in WW2 the preferable prime mover was the Mack NO 6×6 7.5 ton truck, in 1943 followed by the tracked M4 High Speed Tractor.
This Long Tom field gun named “Bunker – Buster” was photographed in front of the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, Luxembourg.
The ammunition for the 155 mm gun was “separate-loading”, consisting of the shell and a powder charge.
A small number of Long Tom guns were supplied to the United Kingdom and France through the Lend-Lease arrangement.
