Are the crates?? for the M102 the same as the 105mm tank ammo?????

No, 105mm ammo comes in a cardboard-like, cellulose sleve that comes apart in the middle. It is black in color. Theer are some 105mm ammo sleves in the Italeri modern accesory set.

Aren't the sleeves crated????

I think they might be, you probably could go with 105 tank ammo crate as you said before. Sorry, I haven't been on light arty for about 10 years. I'm trying to remember how the crates look. I found this picture and I think that is a 105 ammo crate in the foreground with the rounds on top. Hope that helps.

After some tigging & reading into TM's...... they are crated.....2 sleeved rounds to a crate....I'm sure the crates are close enough.....

Hi Gino

Question, based on your pic above is th eM102 ammo two part?

Yes, 105mm Howitzer ammo is two-part. You take apart the two halves and there are a series of bags of powder inside. Depending on range, you remove so many bags and then seal it back up. Lower case is brass and upper portion (projectile) is usually dark green for HE and a grey color for WP or Smoke. Fuze is a steel colot for PD fuze, black for Time fuze. After round is fired, the lower casing is left over and ejected out of the breech.

Tank 105mm rounds came in a crate with two rounds inside. Each round came in a black tar paper "tootsie roll". A tank round is just that, a complete one-piece "round" of ammunition.

Our crates were longer, but narrower than an artillery round crate, but should be close enough for the casual observer.

This brings question to bro Adams are you building the M-102 from Afv club for incoming campaign I am also on board with this thing.
Thanks for the color of the Ammo saved and stored one less question to ask.

But is it stored and loaded as on piece, or is projectile and part with powder loaded and stored separately?

There is a set of 105mm howitzer ammo available from Varlinden and it looks like this:



I also have this photo and while it is not clear, it looks that the guy on the left is holding the complete round - it may be just the lower part however, hard to say for sure:



On the other hand this photo clearly shows that ammo is loaded in two pieces:



EDIT: After looking at the picture above a bit longer, I now think that the guy is acually loading complete round, not just a projectile as I initially tought. It is just the angle of the photo that makes the round look shorter. By the way: the gun on Gino's photo is not M102, it's M119.


Does it mean that Verlinden set is inaccurate?... Or is it just ammo for some other weapon?

Cheers,
Pawel

The picture below shows the ammo being loaded as one unit. Granted, it is in a Herc but it is the same gun...
Shaun


This thread has helped me out, too.
Thanks everyone.

Ok the m102 fires a NATO std. Semi fixed ammo:

Semi-fixed ammunition is characterized by an adjustable propelling charge. The propellant is divided into increments, or charges, and each increment of propellant is contained in a cloth bag. All of the cloth bags are held together by an acrylic cord, and are stored in the cartridge case. The primer is an integral part of the cartridge case, and is located on the base. Semi-fixed ammunition may be issued fused or unfused. Semi-fixed ammunition is used in 105mm howitzers. The ammunition is shipped in a wooden crate, with two fiber tubes in each crate. The fiber tubes are sealed at each end with tape. Upon removing the tape, the cannoneer will place the heavy end down first, and remove the projectile from the fiber tube. Next, the cartridge case is removed. Both the projectile and canister MUST REMAIN in their fiber cups until firing

Vodnik,
M119 is the current 105mm Light Howitzer used by US forces. It uses the same ammo as the M102. The ammo is loaded as a full round. As Matt says, it is stored in one tube , with projectile and powder together until time to fire. It is then taken out of the tube and charge is removed for appropriate range, two parts are put back together, and it is loaded into the weapon. The Verlinden set looks correct to me for any era 105mm rounds. Thant is how they look.