Today in WW II: 9 Jul 1940 Battle of Calabria [Battle of Punta Stilo, the toe of Italy] fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British/Australian Royal Navies, 30 miles [48km] east of Punta Stilo. More ?

9 Jul 1943 US-British invasion of Sicily begins [night of 9-10 Jul].
9 Jul 1944 British and Canadian forces capture Caen from the Germans, a critical post-D-Day objective in Normandy, France.
9 Jul 1944 US forces reach the northern end of Saipan, finding thousands of Japanese civilian men, women, and children who commit suicide by leaping off the cliffs rather than be captured.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

M-52 105mm Self-propelled Howitzer

The Howitzer, Self-propelled 105mm M52 / M52A1 was developed starting in 1948 as one of a set of post-WW II self-propelled artillery weapons. It replaced the M-7 Priest 105mm SP and M37 105mm HMC. With the advent of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the Army specified that the new artillery platforms would be fully enclosed to provide not only protection from conventional weapons, but also for the NBC protection required by the nuclear battlefield.

The M-52 was based on components of the M41 Walker Bulldog Light Tank. The rear track idler wheel was lowered to the ground to resist firing shock and no recoil spade was provided. The engine and transmission were in the front section of the hull, while the rear hull was the base of a large turret with a 60° traverse left or right of center. The turret had access doors and hatches for the driver, gunner, and commander. An anti-aircraft .50 cal. machine gun was mounted at the commander's hatch. During development, the vehicle was known as the T98, then the T98E1 which was standardized as the M-52.

The main gun of the M-52 was the 105mm M49 Howitzer.

A total of 684 M-52 105mm Self-propelled Howitzers were built by Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. in Milwaukee, WI starting in 1954.

M-52 105mm Self-propelled Howitzer Specifications

Crew	5
Weight	49,800 lbs
Height	10 feet 10.5 in.
Width	10 feet 4 in.
Length	19 feet 0 in.
Engine	Continental, AOS-895-3, 6 cal., supercharged, gas
Horsepower	500 bph
Road Speed	35 mph
Range	100 miles

Manuals for the M-52 105mm Self-propelled Howitzer include:

TM 9-717A Self-Propelled 105-mm Howitzer T98E1 (July 1952)
FM 6-77 155-mm Howitzer M52 Self-Propelled (December 1956)
TM 9–2350–209–20P Organizational Maintenance Repair Parts and Special Tools List for Howitzer, Light, Self-Propelled: Full-Tracked, 105mm M52 and M52A1 (April 1961)

Manuals for the M52 SP Howitzer in the new numbering system will be numbered TM 9–2350–209-xx where the xx represents the maintenance level.

M-52 105mm Self-propelled Howitzer.