Vehicle I-D: M109, Cold War and beyond

Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).

U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) M109 with short M126 155mm gun, Viet Nam, July 1966. Photo by Captain Edwin W. Besch.

A USMC Major General has the ‘honor’ of launching the 30-thousandth round from a 4th Battalion, 11th Marines, M126 155mm gunned M109, in Viet Nam. USMC photo by Sergeant Upton, 25JUN1967.

Video I edited from the late 1960s U.S. Army’s The Big Picture film to focus on the M109, and a sneak peak at what was then the experimental M109A1 (complete with fake artillery sound effects):

Another video I edited from The Big Picture about the USA 3rd Armored Division in NATO Germany, late 1960s, showing the short barreled M109 (there was no nat-sound, and the narration is terrible so I edited it out):

Silent USA film by ‘Jensen’, M109 action Khe Sanh area, Viet Nam, August 1970:

With the M109A1, the short M126 barrel was replaced with the long M185 cannon. From A1 through A4 series there is no visual difference, the upgrades being internal. If you’ll notice, some photos show a protruding panoramic periscope, while others do not, and it does not matter if it is an A1, A2, A3 or A4. The A5 variant got a more powerful motor, and a new M284 gun of apparently the same length as the M185, visually similar to its predecessors.

A U.S. Army (USA) M109A1 is loaded onto the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) YC-15, on Yuma Army Proving Grounds, Arizona. The experimental YC-15 helped develop the C-17. Photo by Charles P. Connally, 17DEC1975.

Photo attributed to Bernd Hartmann, Germany 1978.

In the mid-1970s, the U.S. Army (USA) turned a M108/109 into a fake-news ZSU-23-4 for use in the testing of a U.S. Air Force (USAF) ground vehicle identification/targeting program. It was seen again, very briefly, in a ReForGer (Return of Forces to Germany) wargame, where European tank-o-philes speculated that the USA had created a new anti-aircraft tank.

USMC M109s displayed for U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger, 27JUL1981. USMC photo by Corporal Jarman.

USMC M109, Twentynine Palms, California, November 1981. USMC photo by Sergeant D.D. Smith.

USMC M109 on Twentynine Palms, California, 28APR1982. USMC photo by Staff Sergeant Parker.

A little confused about the location of this photo, the info says it is a ReForGer exercise yet also says it is Fort Riley, Kansas, 1982. USA photo by Sergeant First Class Mcbride.

USMC 2nd Tank Battalion M109 self-propelled artillery in NATO Norway, March 1983. USMC photo by Corporal M.H. Coffey.

NATO Canada M109A1. USA photo by Specialist-5 (aka Spec-5 or Specialist Second Class) Vince E. Warner, 14MAY1983.

In 1984, the U.S. Army (USA) announced it was considering an ‘A5’ upgrade to its M109s, and the creation of a specialized ammo carrier based on the M109’s chassis. There is very little visual difference between the earlier long barreled M109s and the ‘A5’ M109.

Pulling the powerpack from a M109A1, Egypt, 1985. Photo by Dan Mock.

NATO Norway M109 with M126 155mm gun, February 1987. USMC photo by Corporal J.D. Gonzales.

Two M109A1s on a U.S. Navy (USN) landing craft, May 1987. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Ed Bailey.

The information that came with this photo says it is a USA M109A1, Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, March 1988.

A USA M109 155mm self-propelled artillery gun is offloaded for Operation Desert Shield, sometime in the last quarter of 1990. USA photo by Staff Sergeant Ruark.

Egyptian M109s taking part in Operation Desert Shield, moving through NBC decontamination training lanes, December 1990. U.S. Air Force photo credited to Technical Sergeant H. H. Deffner.

USA M109A2, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The odd shaped thing on the bow of the M109A2 is an experimental anti-tank-mine device. Photo by Lynn S. Beltran, January 1991.

Post Cold War, 1992 to present:

USA M109 of C Battery, 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, in Somalia as part of a UN peacekeeping mission. USA photo by Specialist Gary A. Bryant, 27DEC1993.

USA M109A3 (according to the info that came with the photo) live-fire training in Kuwait, 25OCT1994. USA photo by Specialist Moses M. Mlasko.

M109 based in Butzbach, Germany, loaded onto rail flat-cars (railhead operation), 28DEC1995. USA photo by Staff Sergeant Arthur Mitchum.

Supposedly the first A6 Paladin upgrades entered service with the USA starting in 1994. The Paladin has noticeable visual differences regarding the turret, gun mantlet and gun travel-lock.

USA M992 ammo carrier reloads a M109, Bosnia and Herzegovina. USA photo by Sergeant Alejandro Francisco, 06APR1996.

A muddy USA M109A2 (according to the info that came with the photo), Bosnia and Herzegovina, 22APR1996. USA photo by Specialist Glenn W. Suggs.

NATO Italy’s M109L in Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 1996. Notice the rear view mirrors for the driver. USA photo by Sergeant Brian Gavin.

The M109L also has a barrel sleeve between the bore evacuator and the mantlet. The M109L gun is designed and built in Italy, with different shaped muzzle brake and bore evacuator. USA photo by Sergeant Brian Gavin, June 1996.

The M109L also has NATO European smoke grenade launchers. USA photo by Sergeant Brian Gavin, June 1996.

USA’s Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized), change track on their M109, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. USA photo by Private First Class Michelle Labriel, 31JUL1997.

Checking out the 1-148 FA’s boom-boom, Summer 1997. Photo by Sergeant AAron B. Hutchins.

My children checking out the 1-148 Field Artillery’s M109, Pocatello, Idaho.

In the late 1990s, I was a 13F for Idaho Army National Guard’s 1-148 FA.

‘My’ M981A3 FiSTV (artillery forward observer M113), on Idaho’s Orchard Training Area (now called Orchard Combat Training Center), Summer 1997.

M109A6 Paladin, Fort Stewart, Georgia, November 1997. Photo by Don Teft.

M109 of Bravo Battery, 2d Battalion, 3d Field Artillery Regiment, USA, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. USA photo by Private First Class Joel C. Miller, 27MAR1998.

Amazingly, this obvious M109A6 Paladin was listed by ‘officials’ as an M109A2!!! In fact, a whole series of photos showing Fort Carson, Colorado, M109A6 Paladins are listed as M109A2s! Also, notice this Paladin has a Mark-19 40mm grenade launcher in place of the usual M2 HB .50-cal machine gun. The A6 has a new turret, gun mantlet and even new style gun travel lock. Photo by Michael Knapik, 22JUN1999.

M109A6 Paladin, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, April 2001. Photo by Anita Johnson.

NATO Spain M109A5, El Omayed, Egypt. USAF photo by Senior Airman D. Myles Cullen, 20OCT2001.

Global War on Terror, approximately September 2001 (based on speeches by U.S. President Bush) to 23MAY2013 (based on speech by U.S. President Obama).

USA M109A6 Paladin heading towards the Euphrates River, Iraq. USMC photo by Lance Corporal Andrew P. Roufs, 23MAR2003.

Utah Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery M109A6 Paladin, Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Michael Rice, 12JUN2004.

USA M109A6 Paladin, launches rounds with its turret facing to the rear, in Balad, Iraq. An M992 is standing by with more food. USA photo by Matt Acosta, 28AUG2005.

Egyptian M109. USMC photo by Corporal Chad H. Leddy, 13SEP2005.

Egyptian M109 Self Propelled Howitzer, September 2005, photo by U.S. Army Sergeant Alejandro Licea.

Near Peer Threats and Russo-Ukraine War, 2014 to present.

Idaho Army National Guard 1-148 Field Artillery’s M109A6 Paladin, Pocatello Airport air show. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins, 2014.

POKEY AIRPORT, IDAHO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD M109A6

New Jersey Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Andrew J. Moseley, 02MAR2017.

In 2017, the New Jersey Air National Guard used the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Reutilization Transfer Donation program to get this M109 for its Warren Grove Bombing Range.

NATO video of NATO Norway M109A6 Paladins conducting fire mission training, video posted 26OCT2018 (no audio with the drone video, but audio with the cool close-up/crew compartment video):

Latvian National Armed Forces M109A5. Canadian Armed Forces photo by Aviator Jérôme Lessard, 15NOV2018.

NATO Vehicle I-D: LATVISKI M109A5Ö (THE Ö IS FOR ÖSTERREICH)

By 2019, a new, so called, M109 began arriving for duty with the U.S. Army (USA). In 2021, Army National Guard units began getting their new ‘M109s’. Many military armchair ‘experts’ who get paid to write articles for military themed journals call the ‘A7’ an “upgrade” of the A6. I do not consider the new M109A7 Paladin to be an ‘upgrade’, nor do I consider it to be a true M109 as it uses a completely new hull/chassis that is based on the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, as well as a completely new gun system.

Even in 2021, U.S. Department of Defense media personnel still get it wrong! This video, posted on 09JUN2021, shows Royal Moroccan M109s, obviously the A1 through A5 type, yet it was labeled as “Royal Moroccan Armed Forces Paladin” (the A6 is the true Paladin). U.S. Army video by Second Lieutenant Catherine Framstad:

USA’s 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, launching rounds with their M109A6 Paladin in NATO Poland, 20MAY2021. Video by Master Sergeant Ryan Matson:

Pennsylvania Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Zane Craig, 10MAY2022.

Pennsylvania Army National Guard drive away from a Army Prepositioned Stock (APS) in Europe, heading to Lithuania in M109A6 Paladins, M992A2 Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicles, and M572 Armored Mortar Carriers, 10MAY2022.

Biden’s War 2021: IDAHO’s 1-148 FA GETS ‘SMART’ ARTILLERY ROUNDS, REVEALS “UPCOMING MOBILIZATIONS”