M1 Howitzer (2/12)

The M1 Howitzer was a 240mm artillery gun that was nicknamed the Black Dragon. It was a towed howitzer cannon that was designed to replace the M1918 Howitzer the United States army had deployed in World War I, which had in turn been based on a French design. The M1 Howitzer was used extensively throughout World War II and the Korean War, and the 240mm round it fired weighed nearly four hundred pounds and could be propelled over twenty five thousand yards. It was by far the largest and most powerful weapon used by the United States Army on the battlefield in World War II. It was only retired from service in the late 1950s when ammunition stockpiles ran out, but it remains in service today with numerous other countries, such as Taiwan.