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Artillery gun emplacement rules?
marcb
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Posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 09:42 PM UTC
I'm looking for info on the rules that were followed when making a (towed) field gun emplacement. (Where did the ready shells, packing tubes (empty or not) and empty shells go, etc, etc.) Were these generaly the same for WWII US/ German and US Vietnam?

Thanks in advance.
redleg12
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Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 11:44 AM UTC
Marcb

Here is a layout



This is a typical layout for a 105mm in my era (VN to ODS)
Rifiles stacked to the rear, crew werpon (M60) to the front left. Collimater on the front right (scratch built). Ramming staff off to the side. Stakes in the ground at the rear are left and right saftey limits.



Ammo broken out would be set for FPF (Final Protective Fire), a preset fire mission that can be called to protect troops. Normally HE (two rounds here one with MTSQ Time fuze the other with PD fuze. The other rounds out are for IS (Immeadiate Smoke). This would be one WP round (light green with brass PD fuze) and two HC Smoke rounds (light green with black MTSQ time fuze). Note poder bag showing in casing

Lastly a used crate for the gun RTO, with his clipboard and telephone.

Overall layout with prime mover



To the front of the prime mover would be a powder area for excess powder increments. Normally mark as in this case with half an aiming post. Note powder bags in the crate.

Prime mover has dunnage (spent material) and more ammo along with tools and personal gear



Similar layout would be for SP artillery

Hope this helps. Any further questions feel free.

Rounds Complete!!
marcb
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Overijssel, Netherlands
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Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 08:44 PM UTC
Thanks Redleg!

That looks very similar to the WWII setup (found it after posting this question here).

Do you know what a "section chest" would look like? According to the WWII FM for towed 105 gun crews, it's a chest that holds tools etc for the gun. Located to the left of the gun.
Is it an old ammo chest with a new lease of life, or is it fe a metal chest?

Thanks again for the elaborate answer.
GaryKato
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Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 09:50 PM UTC
What are the poles with the 3 arms? For camouflage nets?

I seem to recall fixed emplacements had a fire where excess powder was tossed.
redleg12
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Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 10:51 PM UTC
Marc - A section chest is no more than a metal tool box about the size of a foot locker. In there would be all the artillery and specific weapon tools like fuze wrenches or breech disassembly tools. The chest is usaully painted either OD or black

Gary - The poles with those things on them are for camoflage nets. The thing on top is called a spreader.
As far as the powder, every emplacement has a powder area, fixed or not. The picture where you see an open ammo crate and an aiming post. The crate has excess powder bags in it.
In combat the excess powder could be used for all type of other uses. In training the powder is burned at the end of the day

Hope this helps

Rounds Complete!!
marcb
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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 05:33 AM UTC
Thanks again!

It's great to have people around that know all about this stuff.
18Bravo
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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 10:11 AM UTC
That's a very nice dio Mike has done there.
Which gun are thinking of doing? It matters because there would be minor differences. Since the M102 uses semi-fixed ammo, there's no need to swab the breech, hence the absence of a bucket and swab. With larger guns, like all of the US 155's from WWII until now, you'll need it. Normally you swab the breech after each round to prevent burning embers from igniting the separately loaded powder bags. We didn't always do it as the chances are FAIRLY minimal of that occurring. Sometimes the "need for speed" prevails. Even so, you'll see a bucket of water, often halfway buried, between the trails, and a swab.
This is a detail left out of almost any dio I've seen. Again, Mike's doesn't need it and it would not be appropriate to have it.
We even had the bucket inside the 109's. It was just something else to trip over (and eventually slip on) as the recoil threw projos rolling around on the floor.
Also, during training and combat, there's what's called a "safety T" taped to the left side of the gun, either on the trail or the tower, so that the gun chief can immediately see whether or not the mission is calling for a round to be thrown out of limits. The safety T tells you which quadrants and deflections not to exceed in either direction. It's usually an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper with the information large enough that you could actually depict it in 1/35. (This explains the two posts next the box trail on the M102. They act as a physical barrier to prevent the gun from being delfected too far to the right or left) There is at least one other sheet taped to the gun as well, or as in Mike's dio, on a clipboard . It contains information on the round count, and is actually a standard form. The sight box is another item you'll find on the bigger guns as well. There are good photos online of them, again depending upon which gun you're doing.
The more I think about it the more I remember, but I hope that helps you a little.

Mike, the number two man did not earn a beer on that last shot.
redleg12
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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 11:07 AM UTC
18B

No, the # 2 man was off setting up the camo net...

You are correct about the separate loading weapons (155, 175 and 203mm or 8 inch) The saftey card by my old SOP was two copies, 1 with the RTO on his clipboard (along with his record of fire). The other would be in the section chiefs hand. Each unit and weapon did things a little different.

The safety poles worked well at the back of a M102. On a M101, 114 or 198 the poles would be on either side of the barrel. On SP such as the M109,108,107 & 110 they would use 100 mile an hour tape (green duct tape) on either side of the traversing ring as indicator marks.

The sight box on the M102 was designed to fit on the back of the wishbone for airlift. Normally it was on the back of the truck. If you look on the left side near the rear after the two ammo boxes is the sight chest under the seats.

The M102 had an intergral section chest built into the weapon. It's the lid you see half way back in the wishbone. other weapons would hace a section chest as I discussed eariler.

The only other thing missing from my dio is the big black garbage bag. There is a ton of cardboard plastic spacers for fuzes, and other junk in unpacking ammo.

Thanks 18B, its great to have these kinds of discussions.,

Marc, thats what these fourms are about. Teaching and learning and in general having fun. After 20 years behind the breech, its great to pass this on and help someone.

Any other question are no problem.

18B...Stay away from those high angle primers

Rounds Complete!!
18Bravo
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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 11:26 AM UTC

Quoted Text

18B

No, the # 2 man was off setting up the camo net...



In case anyone is wondering...On this gun, with the semi-fixed ammo, the #2 man chunks the casing to the side of the trail after each round. If it lands upright, it's a beer on the chief. When I went to MOSQ, I became so adept at it he decided to just get us a keg. There's a counter-intuitive trick to it, but that secret stays with me.
redleg12
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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 01:52 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

18B

No, the # 2 man was off setting up the camo net...



In case anyone is wondering...On this gun, with the semi-fixed ammo, the #2 man chunks the casing to the side of the trail after each round. If it lands upright, it's a beer on the chief. When I went to MOSQ, I became so adept at it he decided to just get us a keg. There's a counter-intuitive trick to it, but that secret stays with me.



My kind of artilleryman!!
Many bets were made behind the breech (especially during direct fire) but thats how everyone kept it togeather!! Always love the stories...
Thanks

Rounds Complete!!
Always
SGTJKJ
#041
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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 07:37 PM UTC
Good story, 18Bravo.

Those good old days in the army - thanks for sharing
18Bravo
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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 07:57 PM UTC
One more rule, since that's what the OP wanted. Mike has mentioned the WP round in his dio. It is stored upright at all times, as he has depicted. When dealing with any other ammo, it doesn't matter if it's vertical or horizontal, but if Willie Pete isn't stored upright, it will not fly correctly.

One more story-
The #2 man is not the only one who can earn beer. If he fails to catch the extracted casing before it hits the ground, he owes a beer to the assistant gunner. No gloves allowed either. The casings are hot, but not too hot to grab and toss.
On this gun, the assistant gunner opens the breech with the handle to the right of the gun. He can actually ride it back with his hand on it as the guns fires, and open the breech during the recoil. The #2 has to be on his game.

Of course-for training, on any gun, it would not be incorrect to have a few empty quart bottles of oil lying around near the muzzle. When poured down the muzzle, it makes a spectacular flash.
You know what a redneck's last words are...


Quoted Text


Quoted Text


Quoted Text

18B

No, the # 2 man was off setting up the camo net...



In case anyone is wondering...On this gun, with the semi-fixed ammo, the #2 man chunks the casing to the side of the trail after each round. If it lands upright, it's a beer on the chief. When I went to MOSQ, I became so adept at it he decided to just get us a keg. There's a counter-intuitive trick to it, but that secret stays with me.



My kind of artilleryman!!
Many bets were made behind the breech (especially during direct fire) but thats how everyone kept it togeather!! Always love the stories...
Thanks

Rounds Complete!!
Always

redleg12
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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 10:51 PM UTC
OK...WP, well you are correct it has to be stored upright. The crate on the truck which is upright has the light green square on it and is stenciled for WP including the marking this end up.
Here was another build with lots of ammo



In the truck is HE, HC smoke and Illum but the WP...



Is in the trailer!!

The interesting thing is replacing the PD fuze on the WP round with a MTSQ time. Firing at night with an air burst WP is a sight to see.

Rounds Complete!!
thathaway3
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Posted: Friday, March 14, 2008 - 06:27 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Also, during training and combat, there's what's called a "safety T" taped to the left side of the gun, either on the trail or the tower, so that the gun chief can immediately see whether or not the mission is calling for a round to be thrown out of limits. The safety T tells you which quadrants and deflections not to exceed in either direction. It's usually an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper with the information large enough that you could actually depict it in 1/35..



You can see a graphic example of a "safety T" (or safety box) hanging in the background in the FDC track. We had a large version hanging on the wall so the chart operators and Chief Computer would also know what deflections and ranges were safe to shoot. If we knew we were going to be occupying a postion for a while I would actually have the chart operator draw it in red on the chart so when he plotted a target he could tell if it was in the box or not. This particular example was scanned right out of FM 6-40 and reduced to scale size.





redleg12
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Posted: Friday, March 14, 2008 - 08:37 AM UTC
Tom

Love your FDC. I have the parts and 577 in the stash and it is on the list for someday.

Love the FADAC. I presume you scratch built it. Boy does that bring memories. The old tube numbers for display....And of couse breaking your back moving the unit and the 3k genny.

Thanks for the view.

Rounds Complete!!
Whiskey6
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Posted: Friday, March 14, 2008 - 01:16 PM UTC
I think you all forgot the 100 meter roll of gun-target line and the battery adjusting wrench.



Has anyone tried to scratch an aiming circle or BC scope? They might be interesting additions to a diorama.

One thing about the ammo too.....at least for separate loading ammo...we always transported the fuzes away from the rounds and powder. Thinking back on it after almost 40 years, I'm not sure it added too much to our safety...if the truck hit a mine, it was all going up anyway..... but it seemed to make sense at the time.

Semper Fi,
Dave

Whiskey6
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Posted: Friday, March 14, 2008 - 01:25 PM UTC
[quote]The interesting thing is replacing the PD fuze on the WP round with a MTSQ time. Firing at night with an air burst WP is a sight to see.
quote]

It's also a great way to help the recon guys find themselves in the jungle when they are lost or in "deep doo-doo." Pop one of those puppies and let the recon team get their bearings...but be prepared to follow-up with both HE and Illum. When one of them popped, Charlie knew ricky recon was around somewhere and went hunting for them. The next missions were usually HE-VT to get them out of Charlie's deadly grip and Illum to light up the LZ for the medevac birds.

Semper Fi,
Dave
Aleksey_Gilevskiy
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Belgorod, Russia
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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 07:44 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Marcb

Here is a layout



This is a typical layout for a 105mm in my era (VN to ODS)
Rifiles stacked to the rear, crew werpon (M60) to the front left. Collimater on the front right (scratch built). Ramming staff off to the side. Stakes in the ground at the rear are left and right saftey limits.



Ammo broken out would be set for FPF (Final Protective Fire), a preset fire mission that can be called to protect troops. Normally HE (two rounds here one with MTSQ Time fuze the other with PD fuze. The other rounds out are for IS (Immeadiate Smoke). This would be one WP round (light green with brass PD fuze) and two HC Smoke rounds (light green with black MTSQ time fuze). Note poder bag showing in casing

Lastly a used crate for the gun RTO, with his clipboard and telephone.

Overall layout with prime mover



To the front of the prime mover would be a powder area for excess powder increments. Normally mark as in this case with half an aiming post. Note powder bags in the crate.

Prime mover has dunnage (spent material) and more ammo along with tools and personal gear



Similar layout would be for SP artillery

Hope this helps. Any further questions feel free.

Rounds Complete!!



It is strictly denied to set up shells and barrels with charges because of a blast!!!! I punished my solgiers very seriously for that.
thathaway3
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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 09:48 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Has anyone tried to scratch an aiming circle or BC scope? They might be interesting additions to a diorama.

One thing about the ammo too.....at least for separate loading ammo...we always transported the fuzes away from the rounds and powder.
Semper Fi,
Dave




While we actually had a BC scope, we never used it. But I did scratch an aiming circle along with the FADAC and a 3 Kw generator. I'm not exactly sure where the head came from, but it was some kit with a site that was close and I added a few things to make it work.

One other item you'd see in an artillery position of this time period is an MX 155 switching kit. This was placed near Battery Center, and each gun section, the Battery XO and the FDC each ran a phone line and plugged into the box. This allowed all 8 stations to communicate via field phone on the same circuit. There were two additional plugs at the top on a separate circuit, allowing one gun to be connected separately with the FDC if you wanted to fire a mission with only that gun, like a registration, and keep the chatter off all the other stations. This was a much more efficient system than using a "hot loop"!

The two ammo shelters were something we used, made out of 2 x 4s, and PSP with a tarp cover. They were stowed on the side of the howitzers and could quickly be set up on either side of the gun position. Projectiles and fuzes on one side and powder on the other. As fire commands came in to the gun from the FDC, a cannonier on each side was responsible to prepare the right projo/fuze combination, and correct number of charges from the right lot of powder for the mission.





Thrashergklm
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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 10:06 AM UTC
I'm at Arty School right now and I have several pics of the set up for the 109A6 the M119 and the M198 I get homw in two weeks shot me an email if you still want more info on this subject.
Thrashergklm
redleg12
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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 02:01 PM UTC
Nice aiming circle...makes me want to go outside and do a polaris-kolchab survey.....need my XOs handbook for the star chart...

Thanks for the look Tom

Rounds Complete!!
Aleksey_Gilevskiy
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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 10:01 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I'm at Arty School right now and I have several pics of the set up for the 109A6 the M119 and the M198 I get homw in two weeks shot me an email if you still want more info on this subject.
Thrashergklm



Hi there)))) I`m Arty officer right now)))))) Please send me those pics to [email protected]
On our positions we have never had set up them because there were some negative events
marcb
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Overijssel, Netherlands
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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 10:21 PM UTC
I was just brainstorming for an idea on how to present a typical artilery piece.
I red the WWII FM on the US 105 mm towed piece from here:
http://www.ahco.army.mil/site/auth_docs_brief.jsp

I didn't figure that there would have been so many differences, so I'm glad I asked.

@ Cam,
I'd be interested in the info on the firing emplacement of the Paladin. I'm really hoing for a walkaround book of this spg, fe by WWP?
CombatKrieg
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Posted: Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 04:09 AM UTC
Whoa nice one aleksey!
Aleksey_Gilevskiy
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Posted: Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 04:47 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Whoa nice one aleksey!


sorry?
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