Designed shortly after World War I to replace existing light artillery pieces, the M1 75mm “pack” howitzer was a small artillery piece that could be broken down and transported by pack horses or mules. Not mass produced until the outbreak of World War II, several design improvements were added in 1940, with the new gun designated the M1A1 on M8 Carriage (replacing the original wooden-wheeled gun carriage). The lightweight field gun was mainly used to equip US Army airborne artillery battalions, but was also adopted for use by the US Marine Corps for its campaigns in the Pacific. While not as powerful as the more widely used 105mm howitzers, its small size made it more versatile and easier to transport over rough terrain.
Additional information about this Brickmania custom Lego® kit:
- Gun is posable with a full range of elevation
- Carriage and gun can be “broken down” for transport
- Can be towed behind any vehicle with a hook type hitch
- 1/35 scale matches other Brickmania models
- The over-all color scheme of this model is dark gray
- Includes 41 LEGO elements.
This Brickmania model kit is made from genuine unused LEGO bricks and is shipped disassembled. Also included are full-color printed building instructions and is packaged in a sealed polybag. All Brickmania building kits are limited production and may be discontinued at any time.
Filed under: Announcement, General Awesomeness, New Releases, World War II Models Tagged: Brickmania, Brickmania Sale, Custom Lego, Custom Lego Kit, Daniel Siskind, Lego, Lego artillery, Lego Military, World War 2, World War II, World War II Lego, WW2
A single howitzer was airdropped in April 1945 to the 2nd SAS Regiment, a special force composed by partisans with mixed political allegiance, Russian ex-POWs, and Wehrmacht deserters, coordinated by Major Roy Farran. The gun was baptized “Molto Stanco” (“Very tired” in Italian) and used in the course of Operation Tombola to harass enemy convoys driving up and down along Route 12 between Modena and Florence. On 21 April 1945 the howitzer was towed by means of a Willys Jeep to the outskirts of Reggio Emilia, from where the Italian gunners initiated a shelling of the city that wrought panic among Axis troops. Believing that the arrival of Allied forces was imminent, the Germans and their fascist allies evacuated the city.
