Hello
Can someone help me with this. What AFV Club 105 mm Howitzer do I use for the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion? The time frame I want is when they were attached to 100th/442nd RCT in Italy or later.
Any help with trucks, gear, and tractors used, also model kits will work to.
Thank you.

Hi Danny

Did you see these pics ?

522nd Field Artillery Bn. in action in Bruyères (France) 18 October 1944 :



Full-size

Members of the 442nd RCT fire a 105-mm Howitzer during the battle for Leghorn, Italy (12 July 1944) :



Judging by these pics, I guess AFV Club's 1/35 "105mm Howitzer M2A1 and Carriage M2A2" kit should be OK :



AFAIK this howitzer was usually tow by the GMC CCKW 352 2.5 ton truck. Both Real Model and Masters Productions has released conversion sets for this variant.

HTH

Frenchy

Nice shots Frenchy....

The first picture appears to be the early version (see the electric brake box on the trail) but has the later version military tires.

The second photo appears to be the later version with the early civilian style tires.

What this tells you is you can be correct with either version.

Rounds Complete!!

Thanks for the pointers Mike. I had noticed the box on the trail but didn't know what it was...and I didn't pay enough attention to the tires

Frenchy

Go For Broke, a Pictorial History of the Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion and the 422nd RCT by Chester Tanaka has a few photos of trucks used by the 522nd FAB. But these are apparently taken after Mar. 45 when the 522nd was detached from the 422nd and sent North towards the Rhine while the 422nd returned to Italy. The trucks are GMC 2 1/2 ton trucks with the metal rounded cabs. They do not have the opening for the 50 cal. machine guns on the roof of the cab. The closest injected mold kit would be the long discontinued Red Fire tender truck produced by Italeri. Or you could get the recent release and fill in the hole on the cab.
One truck had the large circled star on the cab door and hood, vehicle number on the hood but not the USA. Bumper code reads 7A 522 * A-1? It is unclear if the codes read 522 FAB or just 522. To the left of 7A was the yellow circle with the bridge weight and to the right of A-1? was a three part rectangle. Top and bottom bands dark and the middle band light. This truck had a nazi eagle affixed to the engine grill. It looked like this;
http://tattooqac.deviantart.com/art/nazi-eagle-132022860
Eagle head facing towards the left. The swastika was centered on the horizontal bar on the grill. The bar is at the same level as the front fenders. The eagle wings stretched almost to the headlights with about 6 inches spacing on each side. The eagle's head did not rise above the grill.
The canvas top was not rigged over the cargo bed, but the first hoop was installed.
The caption labels it as a supply truck, but al least it belonged to A Battery.

Hope that this is of some use.
Best wishes,
Grant

I don't know if you caught it, but did you see how the gun was layed? Looked like they actually sand baged the trails in to keep them from bouncing around! 105's were famous for displacement, and maybe these guys were onto something!! Charges look light as the wheels are still dead solid on the ground. A charge seven will make them jump off the ground two or three inches. Great photos of a great unit in combat
gary

Gary - In the second photo you can also see the barrel is low....maybe 400 mils. If less than charge 7, they are firing in close...say 5 or 6 KM.With what looks like a ridge in the distance they may be lobbing just over it.

Note the "padding" under the wheels in the first picture. Looks like bricks

Rounds Complete!!

Thank you all for the help. I have seen both of those pics and a few more. But I do not know much on 105s, and AFV has three or four kits. I also read they used the105 with M-3 Carriage, 155mm, and 8in. No photos on them in use. See why the help.
My girl's Dad and two uncles were in the 442nd RCT Co B. So I am building a 442nd Jeep for them. Thanks for the help again.

Grant Also thank you for the book info

The main difference between the M2A1 early version and late version (the two AFV kits) is the shield, tires and the brakes. Based on looking at the photos, you could use either but the third kit the M101A1 is more modern/Vietnam era upgrade.

If after this you are still confused, feel free to PM me

Rounds Complete!!

The 442nd RCT Cannon Company used the 105mm M3. The unit might have been supported by 155mm and 8 inch howitzers/guns, but would not have been organic to the 442nd.
After the end of the War, the 442nd were assigned to the 5th Army PBS (Peninsula Base Section) and assigned a security role which included processing POWs. It was assigned M8 armored cars and M3 halftracks. Go for Broke has photos of one M3 and another of an M8 assigned to L Company and taking part in a parade. White bumpers (M3) or rectangles. (M8) M3 bumper code: 442 I .... L-3, M8: 442 I ... L-11. White stars without rings. Driver's name on the M8 under the driver's hatch.

If your'e interested, the 442nd Anti-tank Company temporarily used the relatively rare British 6 pounder Mk III gun, used for airborne landing in gliders, when they were used to support the 1st Airborne Task Force in Operation Dragoon. One photo shows a nonstandard muzzle brake without holes and cylindrical in appearance, rather than rounded normally seen. Resicast has a kit of the standard airborne Mk III.

Best wishes,
Grant

I believe that the 442nd kept the same equipment through early 1945. So save bumper codes, markings may not have changed much. But besides the normal turnover of equipment due to wear and damage, the 442nd also turned over all of their equipment prior to returning to Italy after the Champagne Campaign, so there would be a difference between vehicle and artillery shown in earlier photos and later ones. I believe that they might have taken over the equipment from one of the two 92nd Div. Regiments that were disbanded. The 442nd replaced one of the regiments and was assigned to the 92nd Div. until the end of the War.
So equipment used in Italy in 44 or France might be marked differently than those used in Italy in 45.
Some interesting ideas. Task Force Fukuda was perhaps the first to be named after an AJA, but it seems to be straight leg infantry with anti-tank company attachments moving over mountain trails. In Pisa, they rode street cars to continue pursuit of the Axis forces.

Best wishes,
Grant

Thank you for the additional info Grant and Mike. The other 105mm in question was AFV's M-5
http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=AFV35S64

I will go with M2A1 Carriage M2A2.
Also thank you Frenchy

Happy New Year

What would you gentlemen recommend for figures. I can change the heads to Nisei. The gear for the right time is the qusetion. How about them

http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=HF%20710

http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=VPI2190

Do not get the M5.....The M5 is a 3 inch (76mm) Anti-tank gun. It uses the same lower carriage as the M2A1 105mm howitzer but is not the same weapon.

AFV was able to produce 5 kits using many of the same parts. 3 different versions of the the 105mmHowitzer and 2 versions of the 3 inch gun.

You want either

http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=AFV35160

or

http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=AFV35182

HTH

Rounds Complete!!

If you want to make some of the smaller nisei soldiers, I used the female VC figure from the Dragon VC kit. I had to sand the chest down, though. It's hard to find nowadays, though. The AVRN and Japanese soldier sets are also OK. You would have to modify the uniforms and shoes to make them GIs. Some of the Nisei solders were rather tall. Mention of one who was over 6 foot tall. His family came from Okinawa..... The largest problem is getting faces that look like AJAs. Many had rather large and flat faces, not like the pinched faces on the kit figures. You probably know that when looking at the pictures in the various books on the 100th Battalion and 442nd RCT.

Best wishes,
Grant

Thanks for the LOL Grant. My Girl's Uncle was over 6ft at that time. Lawson from I co. is tall too. The 442 RCT 522 nd FAB vets I have met are 5'6' or so.

Domo
Happy New Year

If you meet any vets from the Anti-tank Coy, could you find out if any tanks were ever knocked out by the 57mm anti-tank guns? I've looked at various books and web pages and the most likely was on the 27th of Jun. 44 when the Anti-Tank Coy and Cannon Coy knocked out two tanks north of Sassetta. This is from page 35 in 'Americans, The Story of the 442d Combat Team,' by Shirey. I suspect not as it would have been mentioned before. The photo I've seen has a non-standard muzzle brake which makes me wonder if the airborne 6 pounders used in Operation Dragoon might have been locally modified rather than shipped from England. If so, would they have bothered to modify the trails to allow them to fold in half? None of the sources I've read about concerning Normandy or the 442nd mention using this feature. I think that the 442nd anti-tank coy used a combat load of a jeep and gun in a CG-4 Waco glider and there might have been enough room for both plus a squad.

Best wishes,
Grant

I live not far from the Japanese American Museum / 100th 442 RCT memorial. I will bring a copy of your question with me. Everyone I have met have not been in the Anti tank role, Sorry but I will try. I picked up some modern JSDFA figures for heads (Budda Head) or (Ka-tonk).



Happy New Year

The photo of the 6 pounder with the different muzzle brake is from p. 278 from Michel De Trez's First Airborne Task Force. It is large and expensive but worth it as it is filled many photos not seen anywhere else.

Here is the photo from the book.


Best wishes,
Grant

didn't pay attention to that, but taking another look, it almost looks like a direct fire situation! Direct fire and an arty unit are not good things as you are well aware of. Also taking another look at the bottom photo I think they maybe using the first charge only as the recoil is very shallow. I bet they are shooting well under 3000 yards, and with the bad guys on the high ground I feel for them.
gary

keep this in mind when doing a WWII arty battery. They had a surplus of folks, so the gun crews will be full strength. (probably nine or even ten men) A Korean or Vietnam era gun crew will be just enough to get the job done efficiently (seven men). Most all arty units rely on field telephones and not radios for communications between te gun and FDC. The FDC will be the one with wireless radios. There is a reason why I might add. Expect to see a large pile of spent 105 cases, and in this case a pile of left over powder bags.
gary