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Armor/AFV: AA/AT/Artillery
For discussions about artillery and anti-aircraft or anti-tank guns.
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155mm Howitzer
PSullivan
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: January 24, 2006
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 24 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 08:11 AM UTC
Here are a few pics (hopefully I've got it right) of and old Italieri kit of the 155mm Howitzer. Initial painting and washes done, but still have a way to go. Some pieces still to be added. Wheels are dry fitted which is why sprues are attached to help with weathering. I replaced the elevation springs(?) with scratch built ones. I would like to get more contrast as model still seems a bit dark.

[img]http://photos.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php/cat/20673
PSullivan
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: January 24, 2006
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 24 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 08:14 AM UTC
Yikes,

Still seems I qite have't got the hang of posting photos. Back to the FAQ!
HeavyArty
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Florida, United States
Joined: May 16, 2002
KitMaker: 17,694 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 08:18 AM UTC
You left off the closeing image tag [/img] and you cut off the file extension (.jpg). Place your url between the image tags; [ i m g] place url here [/ u rl], only without spaces.

Here is your pic.



Looks pretty good. I have built it and it is lacking straight from the box. Good work on the additional details.
gunnytank
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California, United States
Joined: February 24, 2006
KitMaker: 205 posts
Armorama: 200 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 11:54 AM UTC
Guys,
Is this the same gun?

The only reason I asked is that I remember the Marine Corps had 155mm guns and that the barrel was not painted because of the recoil. Don't remember the nomenclature, if anyone does, let me know and if this model is still available.
Don
GeraldOwens
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Florida, United States
Joined: March 30, 2006
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Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 12:12 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Guys,
Is this the same gun?

The only reason I asked is that I remember the Marine Corps had 155mm guns and that the barrel was not painted because of the recoil. Don't remember the nomenclature, if anyone does, let me know and if this model is still available.
Don

Same weapon. Those howitzers saw service in World War Two, Korea, and Vietnam. The kit was originally released in the late 1970's by Peerless Max, and included a piece of stainless steel tubing for the barrel, with a plastic insert for the muzzle. As you noted, the gun barrel on the real weapon was often left unpainted. Kit also included metal springs. Italeri acquired the molds in the 1980's and substituted plastic parts for the barrel and springs. Downside is, the kit is poorly scaled, and measures out close to 1/30th.
PSullivan
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: January 24, 2006
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 24 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 02:39 PM UTC
Many thanks for your help in getting the pic. on. Hope to figure it out eventually!

Thanks again.

Paul
trickymissfit
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,357 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 05:30 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Guys,
Is this the same gun?

The only reason I asked is that I remember the Marine Corps had 155mm guns and that the barrel was not painted because of the recoil. Don't remember the nomenclature, if anyone does, let me know and if this model is still available.
Don

Same weapon. Those howitzers saw service in World War Two, Korea, and Vietnam. The kit was originally released in the late 1970's by Peerless Max, and included a piece of stainless steel tubing for the barrel, with a plastic insert for the muzzle. As you noted, the gun barrel on the real weapon was often left unpainted. Kit also included metal springs. Italeri acquired the molds in the 1980's and substituted plastic parts for the barrel and springs. Downside is, the kit is poorly scaled, and measures out close to 1/30th.


The barrel on the 155 howitzer used in Vietnam was never painted as it's a bearing surface used during full recoil of the tube. Might add here that the tube was never left without some form of lube on it (we used plain old bearing grease (green). I didn't see the "jack plate", and this was used when setting the howitzer up to fire. Might add that the jack supplied with the howitzer is the correct one for the Vietnam era howitzers. The ones from WWII and Korea used a gear and rack system to elevate the wheels off the ground. The tires in the kit are something I've never seen on a 155, but have seen tires that remembeled truck tires as well as the ones shown in the pictures. The periscope was normally covered when not in a firing position just to keep dust and rain off it. Lastly all kits I've seen seem to omit the handle at the end of the trails used for an azmuth shift. I also noticed that the recoil cylinders and the springs were quite dusty. During heavy use the recoil system is checked daily if not more than once a day. The recoil systems are prone to failure when they get very hot, and this can be somewhat ugly.
gary
trickymissfit
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,357 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 05:49 PM UTC
after looking the picture again, I noticed the the springs are not right in the kit (I have the kit for a group build i'm in). There should be two sets of springs on each side (one inside the other). These springs were always kept very clean just to keep an eye out for cracks developing in them.
The platform on the trail (gunner's side) is an add on. The ammo boxes between the trails and right below the breech are for primers. Suspect that this gun wasn't shot a lot, and it would have been a certain death sentence to put your head that close to the firing lock. Also the parapit wasn't dug very deep suggesting that the gun shot mostly short charges. A typical charge seven during the rainy season would have ate that parapit up. The parapit was poorly constructed at best when you look at the size of the backup logs and how deep the area was in front of them. Making it fairly easy for the spades to jump the pit (extremely ugly). Also notice how large the platform is in the center of the pit. On a 155 this was a must .
gary
18Bravo
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Colorado, United States
Joined: January 20, 2005
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Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 08:54 PM UTC
Nice job on the equilibrators, and the overall finish.
Whiskey6
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North Carolina, United States
Joined: August 15, 2006
KitMaker: 408 posts
Armorama: 215 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 06:11 AM UTC
Don -

Do you know what unit (Battery/Battalion) this piece was with and where the pic was taken?

Thanks,
Dave
gunnytank
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California, United States
Joined: February 24, 2006
KitMaker: 205 posts
Armorama: 200 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 09:04 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Don -

Do you know what unit (Battery/Battalion) this piece was with and where the pic was taken?


Dave,
I have no idea, I just remember driving past 11th Marines at Camp Pendleton and seeing these guns with silver barrels. I thought it was weird that he had painted the barrel and I whated to know if it was the same gun. I found the image at this site:
http://www.ww2armor.us
Here is the other picture they had of the same gun:

Don
trickymissfit
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,357 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 04:21 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Don -

Do you know what unit (Battery/Battalion) this piece was with and where the pic was taken?


Dave,
I have no idea, I just remember driving past 11th Marines at Camp Pendleton and seeing these guns with silver barrels. I thought it was weird that he had painted the barrel and I whated to know if it was the same gun. I found the image at this site:
http://www.ww2armor.us
Here is the other picture they had of the same gun:

Don


If you take a close look at the way the howitzer is setup in the parapit, you will notice that it's in a "ready fire position." The wooden blocking under the jack plate is the norm, as it makes it quicker to jack the front of the gun up to create that "three point position." Thus creating a near perfect plane to shoot off of. In the back you will also note that there is additional wood blocking between the spades and the wall of the parapit. This is done to help prevent shift in the gun after the fist shot, but the piece will always shift a little bit no matter what. The trick here is to prevent as much as possible (the folks down range like this much more than anybody else). Lastly it hasn't been brought up here, but it's critical to keep all gun powder out of the direct sunlite. Powder burn rate changes quite a bit in temperature extremes, and that's why powder temps are monitored every so many hours (always the contact load). There is an equation that's factored in to the firing solution. I saw a lot of mid 140's during my tour.
gary
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