155-mm M777 Howitzer

155-mm M777 Howitzer

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Keith D. Henning)

Canadian soldiers fire a 155-mm M777 Howitzer field artillery gun from a forward operating base in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, 7 Apr 2007.

In December 2005, 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, conducted an inaugural firing of its first 155-mm  M777  towed howitzers.  The first six guns delivered were supplied by the United States Marine Corps under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract between the U.S. and Canada.  The Canadian guns were first fired by A Battery, 1 RCHA at CFB Shilo, Manitoba, and then were deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Archer, and were put into service in the Canadian theatre of operations around Kandahar in early 2006.  This marked the first use by any nation of the M777 in combat operations.  Regular RCHA units, reinforced by volunteers from Reserve units, continued to support operations until Canada completed its combat mission in Afghanistan in March 2014.

(Author Photos)

155-mm M777 Howitzer field artillery gun, Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery School, 5 CDSB Gagetown, New Brunswick.

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