It was developed in the early 1950s, at the beginning of the Cold War; and fielded between April 1955 and December 1962, in West Germany, South Korea and on Okinawa.

[3]) The design was approved by the Pentagon, largely through the intervention of Samuel Feltman,[5] chief of the ballistics section of the ordnance department's research and development division.

The project proceeded quickly enough to produce a demonstration model to participate in Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade in January 1953.

Each of the tractors was rated at 375 horsepower (280 kW), and the somewhat awkward combination could achieve speeds of 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) and negotiate right-angle turns on 28-foot (8.5 m) wide paved or packed roads.

The test—codenamed "Grable"—was attended by the Chairman-delegate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Arthur W. Radford and United States Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson; it resulted in the successful detonation of a 15 kt (63 TJ) shell (W9 warhead) at a range of 7 miles (11 km).

Operated by a crew of 5-7 artillerymen, the cannon fired 280mm caliber shells that weighed 600 pounds and had a range of 7-20 miles.