One of the major armor types to come out of WWII was the self propelled howitzer. These vehicles had shown their usefulness in that they were not required to be towed, could carry a goodly amount of ammunition with them, and in many cases, offered some protection to the gun crew that towed artillery could not.

After the war, the US Army was looking for a design for a tracked howitzer for either the 105 or 155 mm gun. Though there were open top GMCs still in service until the 1960s, the design of the new gun got underway about the time of the end of the Korean war in 1953 or so. Two designs were finalized and tested in the early 1960s; one with the 105mm gun and the other with a 155. The 105 gunned vehicle was the M108 while the 155 version was the M109. It soon worked out that the 105 version was undergunned for the size of the vehicle and so production of this variant was rather brief, with most of these vehicles eventually going to the Army National Guard.

Not the same with the M109. This has become the mainstay of US Army self propelled howitzers and has been modified and upgraded several times over the years. In fact, there has not been a viable replacement for it and it may well be that this vehicle will remain in service long enough to reach 100 years since its initial design. Quite a feat for any weapon, much less one of this size. Of course, much of the current M109 is quite different from the initial production version, but it is still based on the original.

In this book, author David Doyle has located preserved examples of the M108 and several M109 variants and includes the latest M109A6 in the book's format. As with other books in this series, there are extensive full color photos of these vehicles. Unlike some previous titles, there are not that many period images of the older vehicles and only a few color profiles.  However, the extensive detail images of the latest version and the museum vehicles more than make up for this. 

That makes this volume an excellent reference for the modeler and one that enthusiasts will want to add to their library.

March 2011

My thanks to Squadron Products for the review copy. Get yours today at your favorite shop or on-line retailer.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.