M126 (155 mm)

Description

The M126 is a 155 mm American-made howitzer used as the main armament of the M109. Rheinmetall later modified the gun to feature a breechblock, resulting in the M126E1 used on the M109G variants.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• M109

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

• M107: HE - Default shell used by the M109. With over 9 kg of TNT, this shell is capable of destroying any target with a single shot.
• M107 (PF): HE-VT - Same as M107, but now equipped with a proximity fuze with trigger radius of 3 m. This shell allows the M109 to deal with opponent's close air support without the requirement of a direct hit. The proximity fuze may also be used to flush open topped and lightly armoured targets out of cover by detonating the HE shell above them.
• M110: Smoke - The M110 allows you to create accurate smoke screens or blind the enemy positions by hitting the cover they are hiding behind.

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

The 155 mm cannon combined with a powerful HE shell means that a well-placed shot will send the opponent back into the hangar with a single blow. Although not easy to aim because of the lower muzzle velocity compared to a regular tank, shooting at longer ranges allows for over the horizon shots, lobbing shells over hills and obstacles. It's recommended to avoid close combat and roll back into cover after firing because the longer reload time means that your opponents will usually reload sooner than you do.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful HE shells
• Lower velocity allows for high arc shots out of cover
• Ability to load HE-VT and engage enemy planes

Cons:

• Low velocity makes landing shots harder and require practice
• Slow reload rate means that every shot counts
• Some heavily armoured targets may require careful aim to destroy

History

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Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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