As for the markings; I know that they were yellow but my question is this: would the M114A1 155mm Howitzer be stamped with the yellow USMC stencil anywhere on it? Mabye the barrel or gun shield or somewhere else.

Hello again you two!
Nice to hear from you both!
Gino, I meant the recuperator tube & not the barrel. I just said the barrel because I didn't know the name of the recuperator tube. But now I do, eh!!!
As for the barrel-I know the Vietnam version shouldn't have that groove at the end so I got the metal barrel from Bronco which is for the WWII 155mm Howitzer-you know, the one without the groove at the end!

without getting into something I want to avoid, let me say this in three basic parts:

1. this would be gun three on LZ gator in January 1968. There were eight men on that tube when I arrived a month before The two of us made nine men (I was in the learning curve). Of the eight men, one was always on guard duty somewhere, so you really had seven men all the time. But that crew didn't have a "section chief"! Unusual I know, but not all that uncommon.
the crew consisted of:
1. gunner (thats the guy setting on the trail, and also the normal position unless your seven feet tall)
2. the assistent gunner or more commonly refered to as the "AG". He the guy that fired the thing and opened the breach
3. loader
4. telephone guy (we didn't use radios on guns)
5. the guy with the swab and rammer staff
6. somebody to handle powder and set fuses
7. would normally be the section chief, but like I said we didn't have one. He'd just kinda fill in where he was needed the most.
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2. this would be gun one in the Que Son valley at numerous garden spots. This crew started out with seven men total, but got down to five due to WIA's. Same jobs, but you just did some more stuff. We did get down to four men out on the Lao border for about 24 hours, but they brought a couple newbies out from the replacement depot
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3A. This is also gun one, but out at Thien Phouc (A102). Seven men it was, but two were short. No guard there as the local CIDG's did it. We had a section chief who was very short. Got down to five and whoever the first sargent was mad at. Same basic duties

3B. Pig is CBL'd. Crew is down to two and a guy limping. Didn't matter much as there was no gun anyway.

3C. another howitzer is flown out, but is declared junk. Same crew size anyway, so we can't shoot much

3D. a nearly new gun is flown over from the states in about 48 hours. First sargent goes back to Chu lai and cleans out the transit hooch. Brings back three guys, but soon loose one. Start functioning with four men. Commo guy has to help with the rammer staff. Top makes a return trip and gets two guys from Chu lai replacement depot that are slated to be infantrymen. We got four men and two guys doing OJT. We loose two more to ETSing. Sargent Major finds another guy for us. We shoot with five men till I go home. Never got more than the five as the WIA's and worse took their toll on replacements. At one time or another we were down to three men. Usually the first sargent would show up to help us get thru fire missions (sometimes he drag along an LT he caught standing around).

So basicly you can make your crew anywhere from eight to five guys. Four is getting pretty light, and with three men your not really fit for combat.

Remember there are only three guys between the trails except for the swab and rammer staff guy, and he gets outta there as the breach is closing (saftey issue), The telephone guy will be way back to the rear of the gun, but normally never to the side. Section chief will be right behind the gunner and very close to the loader, but still outside of the trails.
gary



Another question while I have the ear of you two vets: How many guys in the 155mm crew? I think I read somewhere that it was 11. But I've never seen that many guys crewing this weapon in period photos in Vietnam! Fill me in guys.
Looking forward to hearing from you again.

Joe.

(1) OPERATOR: MOS 13B.

(A) CREW SIZE/MOS:

POSITION GRADE MOS STRENGTH
-------- ----- --- --------
HOWITZER SECTION CH E6 13B30 1
AMMO TEAM CH E5 13B20 1
GUNNER E5 13B20 1
ASST GUNNER E4 13B10 1
CANNONEER E4 13B10 3
PRIME MOVER DRIVER E4 13B10 1
CANNONEER E3 13B10 3

I think I am saying basically the same thing as Gary...

By the MTO&E (Army manning document) an M114A1 towed howitzer has a crew of 11.

Quoted Text

---

(1) OPERATOR: MOS 13B.

(A) CREW SIZE/MOS:

POSITION GRADE MOS STRENGTH
-------- ----- --- --------
HOWITZER SECTION CH E6 13B30 1
AMMO TEAM CH E5 13B20 1
GUNNER E5 13B20 1
ASST GUNNER E4 13B10 1
CANNONEER E4 13B10 3
PRIME MOVER DRIVER E4 13B10 1
CANNONEER E3 13B10 3

---

Most crews were manned at 8, eliminating 3 cannoneers who also double as ammo crewmen and/or the driver. You can operate with as few as 5 in a pinch, but it makes it rough.

Okay, thanks for that fellas.
I've been putting a few figures together & that's roughly what I've got.
I always thought the guy on the telephone was in charge. Shows how much I know! I also thought he would be using a prick 25/77. Is this not the case? And who is on the other end? And would he have a map of the surrounding terrain/AO?
I was also going to place him outside of the trails but thanks for the advice on the crew situation. Much better to have a realistic looking crew, isn't it?

Another question: The kit comes with ammo & other bits & pieces (Gino, you've reviewed the kit so you know what's in there) so can you guys talk me through the loading sequence?
Obviously, the round is placed in the barrel first. But then what? And what kit parts relate to this sequence?
Also, what other equipment would be around the firing position? For instance, a metal bucket with water to swab out the barrel, etc? What does the swab look like?
Any little details you can remember! I like the little details as they make the whole scene far more realistic!
Thanks again.

Joe.

Sometime ago, I was told that the Tamiya acrylic color for the JGSDF was the right color to use but I cant remember if that was for the army or marines. There seems to be quite a lot of conflicting information out there.

No, the RTO would not have a map. He would have a ROF (Record of Fire) sheet on a clipboard. He is not receiving any coordinates that you could translate to a map. He is getting firing data; shell/fuze combo, azimuth of fire, and quadrant of elevation. He records this on a sheet to keep track of what they fired when, how many rounds, etc..

Talking about the semi-glossy look, I guess you could maybe do away with it

Whiskey Battery, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines at Khe Sanh (no visible USMC markings BTW, only a nickname... BADNEWS ? ) :



Frenchy