United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
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Posted: Friday, February 12, 2010 - 09:22 AM UTC
Hello everybody,
I have an old Airfix 155mm howitzer #07362-6. Apparently seris 7. Well, three actually!
On the instruction manual it says that the kit is an M1-A2. I understand that this weapon was re-designated M114A1 at the time of the war in Vietnam.
Does anybody know if there are any aftermarket kits available for the M114?
I'm looking for photo-etch & wheels / tyres, etc.
Also, any info on the weapon itself would be really useful.
Thankyou very much indeed in advance.
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 11, 2007
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Posted: Friday, February 12, 2010 - 12:54 PM UTC
There is an underdeveloped subject!!!
To my knowledge, there is no PE set (watch me proved wrong). The tires were the same used on the M800 series 5 ton military tread. There are numerous resin tires of different sizes but you need the rims to match as they would be the front tires of the 5 ton.
After that it's scratchbuilding time. You should be able to find the manual online,
Same problem I have with two of the Perless versions on the shelf.....its a build with a lot of creativity!!
Rounds Complete!!
The Moral High Ground..a Great Place to Emplace Artillery
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
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Posted: Friday, February 12, 2010 - 01:34 PM UTC
Hi Mike,
Okay, thanks for the info.
So, I need to get hold od a couple of front wheels of a 5 ton truck. Is that right?
Will an M54 be okay?
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
Colorado, United States
Joined: January 20, 2005
KitMaker: 7,219 posts
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Posted: Friday, February 12, 2010 - 01:41 PM UTC
You'll also find quite a few photos of this gun deployed with automotive tire. Lindberg Chevy S-10 tires (1/20th) work very well. In fact, I sent two to a fellow modeller on here for him to cast. Not sure whatever became of that.
See my gallery for a taste of what's in store for you. And that's just the gun tube...
A strong man stands up for himself; A stronger man stands up for others.
Admit nothing. Deny everything. Make counter-accusations.
He is not Khan who calls himself Khan. Afghan proverb
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 11, 2007
KitMaker: 872 posts
Armorama: 831 posts
Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 01:32 AM UTC
Joe - Yep the M54 series tire will work......Any copy of an 11.00 x 20 military tread tire!! Look at some pictures as the rim is a flat rim,
TM 9-1025-200-12 or -20 Would be good manuals to have on the M114A1
Good Luck!
Rounds Complete!!
The Moral High Ground..a Great Place to Emplace Artillery
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
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Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 01:46 AM UTC
Thanks Mike,
Forgive my ignorance, but where can I get that manual?
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
Armorama: 1,143 posts
Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 11:58 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Joe - Yep the M54 series tire will work......Any copy of an 11.00 x 20 military tread tire!! Look at some pictures as the rim is a flat rim,
TM 9-1025-200-12 or -20 Would be good manuals to have on the M114A1
Good Luck!
Rounds Complete!!
What kits are there on the market that have this type of wheel / tyre combination? Obviously, I'll want the kit just for the wheels.
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: January 18, 2003
KitMaker: 2,402 posts
Armorama: 2,377 posts
Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 03:59 PM UTC
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
Armorama: 1,143 posts
Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 04:59 PM UTC
Hi Kurt,
Thanks very much indeed for the info but I cant seem to highlight the site you have sent me. Is it the correct address?
Please let me know as I'd really like to see the direction you're sending me in!
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
Grumpyoldman
ConsigliereFlorida, United States
Joined: October 17, 2003
KitMaker: 15,338 posts
Armorama: 7,297 posts
Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 05:07 PM UTC
Joe you need to learn to copy and paste the address into a new browser window, as not everyone posts live links.
Building Italeri 155mm howitzer Character is what you do when no one is looking.
Few things are harder to put up with than a good example.- Mark Twain
Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one less scoundrel in the world.--Thomas Carlyle
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
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Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 05:30 PM UTC
Hi Dave,
Thanks for this one!
Yeah, I know. I'm not very computer literate, I'm afraid. Wrong generation. I'll see if my wife can help me.
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
Armorama: 1,143 posts
Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 08:27 PM UTC
Hi guys,
Just to let you know that I checked out
www.realmodel.cz & found a 5 ton truck wheel & tyre set in both military AND civilian versions!
I've answered my own question, I guess.
Anyway, just thought I'd let you know. If anybody checks them out & has any comments I'd love to hear it.
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 11, 2007
KitMaker: 872 posts
Armorama: 831 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 01:17 AM UTC
Joe - Don't worry about your generation or your skills. I think based on your comments you are a fellow "gas passer". Guys like Dave and I have plenty of frost in our hair (no beatings when I see you Dave). Just enjoy!
Rounds Complete!!
The Moral High Ground..a Great Place to Emplace Artillery
Grumpyoldman
Consigliere Florida, United States
Joined: October 17, 2003
KitMaker: 15,338 posts
Armorama: 7,297 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 01:30 AM UTC
Character is what you do when no one is looking.
Few things are harder to put up with than a good example.- Mark Twain
Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one less scoundrel in the world.--Thomas Carlyle
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
Armorama: 1,143 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 01:41 AM UTC
HA HA HA!!!!!!
Actually fellas, I'm only 38! I was born in 1971. I always wanted to be a firefighter when I was a kid & now I am one (last 13 years) so what do I need with computer skills?!
That is, until now, of course - since I've taken back up this great hooby! Never thought I'd ever need a computer for modelling. Freaky, eh?
I am, however, learning quickly so please bear with me fellas!
Thanks a million to you all for your kind patience.
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,357 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 06:07 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Hello everybody,
I have an old Airfix 155mm howitzer #07362-6. Apparently seris 7. Well, three actually!
On the instruction manual it says that the kit is an M1-A2. I understand that this weapon was re-designated M114A1 at the time of the war in Vietnam.
Does anybody know if there are any aftermarket kits available for the M114?
I'm looking for photo-etch & wheels / tyres, etc.
Also, any info on the weapon itself would be really useful.
Thankyou very much indeed in advance.
Joe.
They were still known as M1a1's in 1967,68,&69 in Vietnam. The only very good set of pics I've seen have an M114 looked just slightly different than any piece I saw in country. Main thing I noticed was the barrel had a groove machined in it at the muzzel (what for?), and was supposed to be a couple inches longer than the others. Otherwise I'd have to dig out some pictures to see if they changed any of the brackets and mounts like they did between the Korean war version and the one I was on.
gary
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
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Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010 - 08:24 AM UTC
Did the marines have these 155's in their TO&E? Were they at Khe Sanh in January '68? I'd like to do a dio with KSCB during the so-called siege of the fire base as a back drop & use the several 155's I have shooting a fire mission, if I can.
Also, where were the bigger guns? Was it Camp Carroll? What did they have there? Was it M109's, M107/110's & what outfit were they?
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,357 posts
Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010 - 12:11 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Did the marines have these 155's in their TO&E? Were they at Khe Sanh in January '68? I'd like to do a dio with KSCB during the so-called siege of the fire base as a back drop & use the several 155's I have shooting a fire mission, if I can.
Also, where were the bigger guns? Was it Camp Carroll? What did they have there? Was it M109's, M107/110's & what outfit were they?
Joe.
* Marines used towed 155 howitzers just like the Army, and there was at least one battery up at Khe Sanh
* I think (maybe wrong here) that the closest heavy unit was either at Camp Carroll or else The Rock Pile (I'd like to suggest you find a copy of the book "Valley Of Decision" as it really goes into better depth about the events than anything I've ever ran accross). The heavy stuff was M107's and M110's, and they could well have been Army units attached to the Marines up there.
* to the best of my knowledge there were no M109's close by. They could not have gotten to Khe Sanh very easilly, and they didn't have the range to hit the Co Roc Ridge Line. That Ridge Line was extremely critical as there were 152mm Howitzers placed inside of caves at the base of the ridge. The Russian 152 has a slight range advantage over what we used in Vietnam.
* one thing to keep in mind is that you almost never saw SPG's and towed guns placed close to each other. The blast from an M109 is not fun, and an M107 was a nightmare. These were usually kept to themselves. Also an M107 is not very accurate, and is not good to use as fire support. Yet the 8" SPG was a favorite for contact missions due to it's accuracey. So if there was a towed 105 /155 battery as well as 175 guns; the latter would be placed at least two hundred yards away
gary
United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2009
KitMaker: 1,209 posts
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Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010 - 12:24 PM UTC
Hi Gary,
That's some great info there. I've got that book here & read it back last summer but I just wanted to make sure.
So I can use the 155mm kits I have on a dio inside KSCB? Excellent!
Yeah, I heard the NVA artillery were pretty good. I read a story about a FAC who was trying to pinpoint one of those suckers for the fast air but every time he flew over he couldn't find it. The NVA kept dragging it back into the cave when they heard his engine. The FAC had a vague idea where it was so on his next pass he turned the engine off. Bingo! Out they came & fired. The FAC called in the fast movers & ...Wham! That sucker wont be firing anymore!
Great story, eh?
Joe.
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right...unless you are going all the way".
On the bench:
Tamiya SAS Green Hornet Land Rover
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 11, 2007
KitMaker: 872 posts
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Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010 - 01:13 PM UTC
To give you an idea....here is the M107 kicking like a horse
When you fired the 175.....you know youe fired something. Where the round went...well that was a different story...and yes it is not an optical illusion...the barrel is a little bent.....thats what affected accuracy!!!
Dave....LOL....love the love!!!
Rounds Complete!!
The Moral High Ground..a Great Place to Emplace Artillery
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: January 18, 2003
KitMaker: 2,402 posts
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Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010 - 02:20 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Main thing I noticed was the barrel had a groove machined in it at the muzzel (what for?), and was supposed to be a couple inches longer than the others.
gary
The groove near the muzzle was to indicate an M1A2 cannon (tube) and consequently an M114A2 howitzer. The tube was the same length as far as I know. There were a number of modern projectiles (*) that could not be fired from M1 or M1A1 cannons, like the Copperhead CLGP and ICM projectiles. This was added in 1977 or so.
(*) Remember the M107 HE projectile was essentially the same as the M102, which was little different than the Mk I of 1917. So, by 1977 the basic projectile was 60 years old.
KL
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 06:04 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Hi Gary,
That's some great info there. I've got that book here & read it back last summer but I just wanted to make sure.
So I can use the 155mm kits I have on a dio inside KSCB? Excellent!
Yeah, I heard the NVA artillery were pretty good. I read a story about a FAC who was trying to pinpoint one of those suckers for the fast air but every time he flew over he couldn't find it. The NVA kept dragging it back into the cave when they heard his engine. The FAC had a vague idea where it was so on his next pass he turned the engine off. Bingo! Out they came & fired. The FAC called in the fast movers & ...Wham! That sucker wont be firing anymore!
Great story, eh?
Joe.
NVA artillary was usually a joke unless it was manned by folks trained to be cannon cockers. Their real problem was that they probably didn't have a hundred fifty people that were capable of adjusting gun fire in the field. So most of the time the would literally adjust fire by line of sight with no way to compute an equation for a firing solution. Their motar fire was in some case fairly good, and in many cases nothing but harrassment. They seemed to be very good with recoiless rifles, and everytime you saw those perforated cases on the side of a road everybody off loaded the tracks. The real problem for the NVA was that they couldn't (and really didn't know how to) register their howitzers. In other words you started out with a couple rounds and then made a big adjustment from there again and again. The 152's at Co Roc Ridge were registered, and in many cases the actual targets were pre registered (Note: registering a cannon is basicly the samething as zeroing a hunting rifle, and the the phrase registering targets is simply putting a round on target and copying down the deflection and elevation numbers). These guns were manned by true NVA arty folks as well as East Germans. The guns were stored in caves, and just wheeled out to shoot. The ridge was bombed several times a day, but with little if any hits. The guns were finally knocked out by Vietnamese Rangers dressed as VC. Had these same events happened a year later they'd been delt with via guided bombs fairly easilly. They just needed about 1.5 miles more range from our 155mm rounds
The NVA also used a 122mm howitzer from time to time, and I think this was a better solution for them than the 152. It was easier to hide, and for all practical purposes just as good.
gary
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,357 posts
Posted: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 06:11 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Quoted Text
Main thing I noticed was the barrel had a groove machined in it at the muzzel (what for?), and was supposed to be a couple inches longer than the others.
gary
The groove near the muzzle was to indicate an M1A2 cannon (tube) and consequently an M114A2 howitzer. The tube was the same length as far as I know. There were a number of modern projectiles (*) that could not be fired from M1 or M1A1 cannons, like the Copperhead CLGP and ICM projectiles. This was added in 1977 or so.
(*) Remember the M107 HE projectile was essentially the same as the M102, which was little different than the Mk I of 1917. So, by 1977 the basic projectile was 60 years old.
KL
they did have a charge eight powder charge in 1968, but never saw one as it was reserved for nukes. I also never saw a nuke rounds as well, but knew they had them in Korea. I never saw a grooved barrel anywhere in Vietnam, and in September we recieved a new 155mm howitzer that was just like the one it replaced. In 1968 the Cofram (nicknamed firecracker) round was the latest and greatest. My unit was the very first unit to ever fire them in combat, and we did zone sweeps with them twice in two days
gary
Joined: October 03, 2007
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,357 posts
Posted: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 06:20 AM UTC
Quoted Text
To give you an idea....here is the M107 kicking like a horse
When you fired the 175.....you know youe fired something. Where the round went...well that was a different story...and yes it is not an optical illusion...the barrel is a little bent.....thats what affected accuracy!!!
Dave....LOL....love the love!!!
Rounds Complete!!
that's a 3rd/18th piece being shot just in front of the chopper pads at LZ Ross. The rounds are going deep into the Que Son Valley out around LZ Lurch / Oconner. That same group of folks liked to scared me to death one night while I was sleeping on that chopper pad waiting to hook up an entire unit for an assualt deep into the valley
If you look closely at the photo you will notice a small mountain to the right. There was a road that wound down the side of that mountain, and at five in the morning I was woke up again by a battery of 105's shooting at one lone truck headed down the side of the mountain. They must have fired fifty rounds all around the truck ad never hit it!
gary
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 11, 2007
KitMaker: 872 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 12:53 PM UTC
Gary - I always like your memories. Yep, the 175 was good at scaring the excrement out of everyone around. That was the best mission the 175 carried out...the H&I mission (harassment and interditcion). If you were observing a 175 round, it always had the freight train coming sound!!
Thanks again
Rounds Complete!!
The Moral High Ground..a Great Place to Emplace Artillery
