The 105mm howitzer M2A1 was the standard divisional field piece used throughout World War II by the US Army and was distributed around the world thereafter. It is still in wide use and the ammunition has become a virtual standard to which other howitzers have been built. This weapon was developed during the 1920s, perfected in the 1930s, and went into production in 1941. It uses a split trail, hydro-pneumatic recoil system and horizontal sliding breech and fires semi-fixed ammunition. It is now known as the M101, although there is no significant difference between it and the M2A1, and has been in use in 67 countries. Apart from World War II, it has seen action in many conflicts including Korea, Vietnam and Grenada amongst others.

Pictured here is a 1:32 scale replica of a US 105mm field howitzer with three crewmen. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 7-inches
Width: 2-1/2-inches

Release Date: July 2006

Historical Account: "Hedgerows" - The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between Nazi Germany in Western Europe and the invading Allied forces as part of the larger conflict of World War II. Over sixty years later, the Normandy invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord, still remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost three million troops crossing the English Channel from England to Normandy in then German-occupied France. It is most commonly known by the name D-Day.

The primary Allied formations that saw combat in Normandy came from the United States of America, United Kingdom and Canada. Substantial Free French and Polish forces also participated in the battle after the assault phase, and there were also contingents from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Norway.

The Normandy invasion began with overnight parachute and glider landings, massive air attacks, naval bombardments, and an early morning amphibious phase began on June 6. The 'D-Day' forces deployed from bases along the south coast of England, the most important of these being Portsmouth. The battle for Normandy continued for more than two months, with campaigns to establish, expand, and eventually break out of the Allied beachheads, and concluded with the liberation of Paris and the fall of the Falaise pocket in late August 1944.

The Battle of Normandy was described thus by Adolf Hitler: "In the East, the vastness of space will... permit a loss of territory... without suffering a mortal blow to Germany's chance for survival. Not so in the West! If the enemy here succeeds - consequences of staggering proportions will follow within a short time."