Heavy Metal with the M777 155mm Howitzer
If you are a US Solider or Marine hunkered down in some remote forward base and the perimeter is crawling with what are politely called, ‘unfriendly’, the sweetest call that can be made is for a fire mission. Since 2005, this type of call has increasingly gone to a new, effective, and hard-hitting howitzer– the Triple 7.
During World War 1 (1914-1918), large caliber heavy artillery became the all-encompassing Mother Medusa of the modern battlefield. The United States entered that war behind the technological 8-ball and had to make due with French 155mm guns to provide punch for the dozens of new infantry divisions sent ‘over there’. The French guns weighed 7300-pounds and could fire three 100-pound shells a minute out to 12,400 yards.
Following WWI, the US decided to design their own 155, the 13,000-pound M114 that could fire four shells a minute out to 16,000 yards. In the quest for bigger, faster, and better, the Army replaced this gun with the M198 in 1977. The M198, designed with input from fighting in Vietnam, could fire four rounds per minute out to amazing 24640-yards. That’s 14-miles. The problem was, the gun weighed just a hair under 8-tons. While it could be parachuted into tight spots, or carried by supercargo USMC CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, it was still a heavy beast.
Then came the M777 of today.
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Spotted- an Amtrac R7
Played around near one of these today so thought I would share since its kinda rare to spot one in the wild. Its the recovery vehicle variant of the Marine amtrac. Since FMC made less than 1400 amtracs, and this subvariant probably accounts for less than 10% of that production, I figured I would share…
From the dossier:
AAVR-7A1 (Recovery): This vehicle also does not have a turret. The R7 is considered the
“wrecker”, as it has a crane as well as most tools and equipment needed for field repairs. It is by far the heaviest of the three, and sits considerably lower in the water. Crew of three, not including the repairmen. The vehicle is designed to recover similar or smaller size vehicles. It also carries basic maintenance equipment to provide field support maintenance to vehicles in the field.
Manufacturer: FMC Corporation
Date First Prototype: 1979
Date First Production Vehicle: 1983
Weight:
Unloaded: 50,113 Pounds (Less Crew, Fuel, OEM, and Ammo)
Combat Equipped: 52,123 Pounds (Crew, Fuel, OEM, and Ammo)
Load Capacity: 21 Combat Equipped Troops (@ 285 Pounds) or 10,000 Pounds of Cargo
Fuel Capacity: 171 Gallons
Cruising Range:
Land at 25 MPH: 300 Miles
Water at 2600 RPM: 7 Hours
Cruising Speed:
Land: 20 to 30 MPH
Water: 6 MPH
Maximum Speed Forward:
Land: 45 MPH
Water: 8.2 MPH
Maximum Speed Reverse:
Land: 12 MPH
Water: 4.5 MPH
Engine:
Make: Cummins
Model: VT400
Type: 4 Cycle, 8 Cylinder, 90′ Vee, Water Cooled, Turbocharged
Fuel: Multifuel
Recovery Equipment:
Generator: 120 VAC Output
Air compressor: 145 PSIG to 175 PSIG
Welder: Miller Maxtron 300
Hydraulic Crane: 6000 Pounds Capacity
Crane Winch: 23,000 pounds Breaking Strength/ Length 85 Feet
Armament and Ammunition: M60D Machine Gun (currently the M240G)
Unit Replacement Cost: $2.2 – 2.5 Million
Guns of Grunt: 2013
In 2013, the firearms carried by the regular soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines of the US military are among the best in the world. In some cases, these guns represent more than a century of continually evolving designs while others are about as new and visionary as we’ve ever seen.
Although very similar in profile to the Vietnam-era M16 and civilian AR-15, the M4A1 carbine, currently the standard front line rifle of the US military, is something altogether different. Much shorter, its 14.5-inch barrel and collapsible stock gives an overall length of just 29.75-inches, nearly a foot shorter than the M16A4 that it supplemented in 1994 (as the 3-round burst capable M4) and has now largely replaced…..
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
Guns of the Grunt: 1963
The US Army infantryman and USMC marine of fifty years ago carried in almost every case,firearms far different from the ones carried by either their counterparts fifty years before or those of today. Nevertheless, the weapons they carried were technological marvels of their time that are till relevant today.
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The 1897 Winchester Trench Gun
Americans live in a shotgun culture and we have long brought them with us when heading to war. Without argument, one of the most popular shotguns ever built in the United States was the 1897 Winchester and this work horse got called to serve in not only both World Wars, but in Korea and Vietnam as well.
The Winchester Company of New Haven, Connecticut, first breathed life into their 1897 model shotgun through a modernization of its 1893 series pump gun. Both were designed by firearms legend John Moses Browning. The gun was light and handy, at 7-pounds, and it was sold in a slew of variants with barrels ranging anywhere from 20-30.” One of the first pump action shotguns capable of shooting the then-new 2.75-inch smokeless powder shells, it was an instant hit at $25.
Users carried five shells of buckshot in the magazine tube and one in the chamber. Better yet it could be slam fired as fast as the pump could be worked, unloading 54 balls of 00 buckshot in about five seconds. The Army, needing some bad medicine to deal with Muslim insurgents in the Philippines and Mexican bandits on the border, bought several small batches of riot guns with the 20? barrel as early as 1900. When World War 1 erupted and the US found itself in the worst of it in 1917, again they found they needed more shotguns; like 20,000 more.
Little did they know these guns would still be in use in Vietnam fifty years later.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
The Smith & Wesson M1917 Revolver: 45 ACP’s first wheelgun
When the European continent rushed to its First World War in 1914, the United States remained neutral. By 1917, with German U-Boats sinking unarmed ships full of Americans and the Kaiser coaxing Mexico to invade the US with Imperial German arms, this neutrality ended. The problem was that though the US had a lot of people, it also had a tiny army and needed many more guns if we were going to send millions of troops over there to fight the Huns. This led the military to start a fresh conversation with the firm of Smith and Wesson about handguns.
In early 1917 Smith and Wesson, had its second Model Hand Ejector revolver, a large frame gun similar to the N-frame series of today, already in wartime production (and chambered in .455 Webley) for contracts to the British Army. The US Army’s standard pistol was the Browning-designed Colt .45ACP M1911 and upon their entrance in the Great War, they placed orders for as many 1911s as could be manufactured. However a little math revealed that there would be a shortfall between how many men they needed in the field and how many 1911 pistols could be delivered from all production sources on time. Thinking outside the box, they asked S&W if they could redesign a revolver to fire the same .45 ACP round (of which they had many) and deliver thousands of them ASAP…
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S&W Model 1917s still serving in New Guinea in 1942…
Posthumous CMoH for Korean War Catholic priest, sainthood possible
WICHITA, Kan. — A Roman Catholic priest from Kansas will be awarded the nation’s highest military award for bravery for his actions during the Korean War, according to former Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt.
Tiarht told the Wichita Eagle that Emil Kapaun will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama in April. Tiahrt also posted a letter from a Pentagon official on his Facebook page, saying that Kapaun will be honored April 12 at the Pentagon.
Kapaun, a priest from Pilsen, Kan., who died in 1951, has been celebrated for his actions during the Korean War. The Vatican has also classified Kapaun as a Servant of God, a step in the process to sainthood.
The Browning M2: All will kneel before the mother of ‘Heavy Metal’
Since the 1930s, the sound of American awesomeness on the battlefield has been played through the .50-caliber heavy machine gun. This gun, officially dubbed the M2 though cherished as the Ma Deuce or Mr. Deuce by our troops in the field, is the longest serving weapon in front line use in US military history. If you ever have the privilege to fire one, it’s easy to see why.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
Guns of the Grunt: 1913
By 1913, the United States had become an imperial power with newly acquired obligations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and China. This was in stark contrast to the divided country mired in a costly Civil War just fifty years before. In line with this newly acquired “global player” status, the average US GI of the time period was armed with some of the most groundbreaking firearm designs of the day, many so advanced, they would remain relevant for generations to come.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
Goodreads
