Original Item: Only One Available. This 105mm Artillery round has been deactivated and rendered completely inert per BATF guidelines and cannot be converted back to an explosive device and is not available for export.

Since the early 21st century, most NATO armies have centered on 155 mm weapons as having a good compromise between range and destructive power whilst having a single caliber simplifies logistics; however some military forces have retained 105mm towed howitzers for their lightweight and portability. The lower power and shorter range of 105mm ammunition has led to its obsolescence in full-sized self propelled guns such as the American M108 and British Abbot. During the Cold War, the concept of the main battle tank was established and guns of 105mm (NATO) and 100mm (Warsaw Pact) were the standard until the advent of guns of 120mm (NATO) and 125mm (Warsaw Pact) from the 1960s to the 1990s. The L7 was widely used by NATO countries, and is still used in lighter-weight applications such as the Stingray light tank and the Stryker Mobile Gun System as well as older MBTs.

This 105mm round appears to have been for the M102 Howitzer, which is a light, towable 105mm howitzer that saw extensive use in the Vietnam War, First Gulf War and the War in Iraq.

The shell bears multiple markings: ALK 10 38 105MM M1 and is dated 1955. It is in good condition and has some scratches and rust marks visible on the paint. It comes with a wooden fuze. The shell doesn’t appear to have been repainted and it has retained quite a bit with only a small amount of wear to it. It looks like the casing had been painted in black, and still retains a large part of it, but with rust and scratches. It has a nice patina. Both pieces together make for an impressive display piece and would look great in any collection from the Cold War up to modern day!

Dimensions:
Shell Height: 19 ½”
Shell Base Width: 3 ½”
Casing Height: 14 ½”
Casing Width: 4 ½”
Total Height: 31”

M102 howitzer
The M102 105 mm howitzer is used in air mobile (helicopter), attack plane, and light infantry operations. The weapon carriage is lightweight welded aluminum, mounted on a variable recoil mechanism. The weapon is manually loaded and positioned, and can be towed by a 2-ton truck or High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), can be transported by UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, or can be dropped by parachute with airborne units. When emplaced, the howitzer's high volume of fire compensates in large measure for the lower explosive weight of the projectile compared to the Army's 155 mm and 8-inch howitzers. Since 1964, the Army acquired 1,150 M102 towed howitzers. The weapon is being replaced by the M119-series 105 mm howitzer.

Units were initially equipped with the M101A1 howitzer, virtually the same 105 mm howitzer that had been used to support U.S. forces since World War II. In 1966 a new 105 mm towed howitzer, the M102, was received in Vietnam. The first M102s were issued to the 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery, in March 1966. Replacement of the old howitzers continued steadily over the next four years.

Many of the more seasoned artillerymen did not want the old cannon replaced. Over the years they had become familiar with its every detail and were confident that it would not disappoint them in the clutch. These experienced artillerymen could offer some seemingly convincing reasons why the M101 was still the superior weapon: its waist-high breech made it easier to load; it had higher ground clearance when in tow; but most important, it was considerably less expensive than the M102. Their arguments, however, were futile.

The new M102 was substantially lighter, weighing little more than 1.5 short tons (1.4 t) whereas the M101A1 weighed approximately 2.5 short tons (2.3 t); as a result, more ammunition could be carried during heliborne operations, and a 3/4-ton truck rather than a 2½-ton truck was its prime mover for ground operations. Another major advantage of the M102 was that it could be traversed a full 6,400 mils; the M101A1 had a limited on-carriage traverse, which required its trails (stabilizing legs) to be shifted if further traverse was necessary. The M102 fires the same semi-fixed ammunition as the M101, but it's longer barrel (32 caliber versus 22 caliber on M101) allows a slightly higher muzzle velocity and thus enhanced firing range. A low silhouette made the new weapon a more difficult target for the enemy, an advantage that far outweighed the disadvantage of being somewhat less convenient to load.

The 105 mm howitzer M102 is a lightweight towed weapon, which has a very low silhouette when in the firing position. The M102 howitzer fires a 33 lb (15 kg) projectile of semi fixed ammunition and at charge 7 will fire 11,500 meters. It has a muzzle velocity of 494 metres per second (1,620 ft/s). The maximum rate of fire is 10 rounds per minute for the first 3 minutes, with a sustained rate of 3 rounds per minute.