WEAPONS OF THE FIELD ARTILLERY

you the field artillery has a wide variety of weapons available for use in various situations there are heavy and medium weapons for delivering fire on such targets as enemy supply lines or installations troop concentrations enemy batteries or fortifications the weapons to be used in any given situation will be determined by the nature and location of the target also there are light artillery weapons finally there are certain weapons which though not technically artillery may be used by the artillery the 3.5 inch rocket launcher for instance is used for the closed in support of artillery positions this weapon is served by a two-man crew it fires an eight and one-half pound rocket carrying a shaped charge this charge is capable of penetrating 11 inches of armor plate which makes the weapon highly effective against tanks its maximum effective range is about two to three hundred yards the absence of recoil is due to the fact that the breech end of the weapon remains open but this also creates a cone-shaped danger area extension about 75 feet out to the rear the quadruple 50 caliber machine gun motor carriage m16 is designed primarily for fire against low-flying aircraft however it can also be used effectively against ground targets the m16 is a very flexible weapon it has 90 degrees of elevation and 360 degrees of trevor's both Traverse and elevation are controlled electrically there are eight m16s in each self-propelled automatic weapons battery there are four firing batteries in each battalion this weapon has a rate of fire of 500 rounds per gun per minute its maximum effective range is 700 yards you the twin forty millimeter gun motor carriage m19 is a companion piece to the m16 it too was designed for use against aircraft but at intermediate ranges however like the m16 the m-19 may also be used effectively against ground targets its Traverse is also 360 degrees but its elevation is only 87 degrees both may be controlled either electrically or manually the twin 40 has a high rate of fire being capable of firing 120 rounds per gun per minute the 4.5 inch multiple rocket launcher was designed to supplement light artillery and heavy mortars its chief advantage is its tremendous firepower however due to its wide dispersion this rocket launcher is used primarily as an area weapon those weapons which are of chief concern to the artillery man in the fulfillment of his principal missions or the standard artillery pieces the smallest of these is the 75 millimeter pack howitzer this weapon was originally designed so it could be transported by pack animal in mountainous or other difficult terrain it is still the standard weapon of the pack artillery in Special Operations pack animal remains the surest method of transporting firepower to otherwise inaccessible locations there are four pack howitzers per firing battery and each is served by a crew of seven men the weapon fires a high-explosive shell weighing 15 pounds to a maximum range of nine thousand six hundred yards the effective bursting radius of the show is approximately 15 yards the pack howitzer is also designed for use by airborne troops it can be dropped by parachute complete in one load or broken down into seven power crate loads it can also be towed by Jeep or any other available vehicle the standard light artillery piece of the infantry division is the 105 millimeter howitzer this howitzer weighing about 5,000 pounds is towed either by a two-and-a-half tonne six by six truck or by an m5 tractor the gun crew consists of ten men including the driver of the prime mover there are six 105 howitzer is per battery three firing batteries for battalion and three battalions organic to each Infantry Division the 105 howitzer can be unplaced in firing position in about three minutes it is a very flexible weapon with a maximum elevation of 65 degrees and a total trevor assault 45 degrees it can be loaded and fired at all elevations it fires a 33-pound semi fixed round to a maximum range of about twelve thousand two hundred yards various fuses are available to produce different types of burst fuse quake will cause the high explosive shell to burst on impact with an effective bursting radius of approximately 25 yards fuse delay is used to obtain penetration mine action or ricochet fire Air bursts which are particularly effective against personnel or unarmored vehicles can be obtained from either time or VT fuses the teeth users have the advantage of causing a burst over the target at a height predetermined to produce the maximum destructive effect for use against armored vehicles the 105 howitzer fires a high-explosive anti-tank round carrying a shaped charge for screening purposes or for producing casualties there is a white phosphorous shell by the use of time fuses set to burst at different intervals it is possible to trace the trajectory which a shell will follow on its way to the target for use with an Armored Division the 105 howitzer has been mounted on a light tank chassis to become the motor carriage m37 this weapon is manned by a crew of seven and can be emplaced in approximately one minute it fires the same ammunition as the toad 105 howitzer and hazard n t'kul ballistic characteristics the standard medium artillery piece of the infantry division is the 155 millimeter howitzer this weapon also constitutes the bulk of core artillery there are 6 howitzers per battery 3 firing batteries per battalion and one battalion organic to each infantry division the 155 howitzer weighs twelve thousand seven hundred pounds and is towed either by an m5 tractor or by a four-ton six by six truck this weapon can be emplaced in about five minutes it requires a crew of 12 men the 155 howitzer fires separate loading ammunition with two types of propelling charge green bag for shorter ranges and white bag for longer ranges the projectile itself weighs approximately in 95 pounds this howitzer has a maximum elevation of 65 degrees and a total Traverse of 48 degrees it's range is sixteen thousand five hundred yards the effective bursting radius of its high explosive shell is about 30 yards the weapon also fires chemical shelves such as white phosphorus or smoke in addition it fires an illuminating shell to provide battlefield illumination at night the m41 is the self-propelled 155 millimeter howitzer which serves as the medium artillery weapon of the armoured division it has a maximum elevation of 45 degrees and a total Traverse of 37 degrees it can be elevated or depressed either manually or by means of a power system like the 105 howitzer this weapon is mounted on a light tank chassis it can be emplaced in firing position in about one minute the crew consists of 12 men including two drivers the ammunition is the same as that fired by the toad weapon while the 155 howitzer was intended primarily for use against emplaced batteries or other suitable ground targets it is also very effective in direct fire it's high-explosive shell as a tremendous concussion effect or white phosphorus can be used to set a vehicle on fire the 155-millimeter gun is normally employed as core or army artillery there are four guns per battery and three firing batteries for battalion this gun weighs about 30,000 pounds and is usually towed by an m4 tractor the 155 gun requires from one half hour to six hours to emplace depending on the type and condition of the terrain it is served by a crew of 17 men this weapon also uses separate loading ammunition they projectile weighs 95 pounds and can be fired to a maximum range of 25 thousand seven hundred yards ordinarily this gun has a pronounced muzzle flash for night firing a flash reducer is wrapped around the charge to dissipate the muzzle flash in the form of smoke the 155 gun is also mounted on a self-propelled carriage which is a modified medium tank chassis this weapon is known as the 155 millimeter gun motor carriage m40 the m40 can be emplaced in firing position in about one minute it requires a crew of 13 men including two drivers the ammunition is the same as that used in the toad 155 millimeter gun because of its mobility the m40 is often used for the reduction of enemy fortifications it has a concrete piercing fuse which enables its high explosive shell to penetrate up to five feet of reinforced concrete the 8 inch howitzer also is normally employed as core or army artillery there are four howitzers per battery and three firing batteries / battalion this weapon and the 155 gun or what is known as companion pieces their carriages are identical the 8-inch howitzer weighs approximately 30,000 pounds and is generally towed 1m for tractor I'm placing this weapon like the 155 gun may take as little as 30 minutes or as much as six hours it is served by a crew of 17 men the ammunition again is separate loading with two types of propelling charge green bag and white bag the 8-inch howitzer is the most accurate of all field artillery weapons with a probable error of not more than 20 yards in range and 8 yards in deflection at maximum range it fires a 200 pound projectile to a range of eighteen thousand five hundred yards like the 155 gun this weapon has a maximum elevation of 65 degrees and a total Traverse of 60 degrees it's high-explosive shell has an effective bursting radius of about 40 yards because of the size of the projectile ricochet fire from the weapon is particularly effective the 8 inch howitzer is also mounted on a medium tank chassis when so mounted it is known as the 8 inch howitzer motor carriage m43 and is the companion piece of the self-propelled 155 millimeter gun this weapon requires a 15-man crew including two drivers and it can be emplaced in about one minute it fires the same ammunition as the towed howitzer and it has the same exceptional accuracy the 240 millimeter howitzer is normally employed as core or army artillery here there are only two howitzers per battery with the usual 3 firing batteries for battalion this weapon is towed in two loads by M 638 ton tractors 214 power to require one to six hours the crew consists of 24 men including two drivers the 240 has a maximum elevation of 65 degrees and a total Traverse of 45 degrees it also uses separate loading ammunition the projectile ways 360 pounds and can be fired to a maximum range of 25,000 yards the effect of bursting radius of the 240 high-explosive shell is approximately 50 yards an airburst of this show gives exceptional coverage the 280 millimeter gun is in the very heavy class there are two guns per battery and three firing batteries per battalion the 280 is used primarily as core or army artillery the 280 gun is suspended between two transporters it weighs 85 tons and is 84 feet long this gun can negotiate sharp turns travel cross-country or move on hard surface roads at a speed of 25 miles per hour the 280 may be emplaced by a crew of 11 men in 12 minutes this is made possible through the use of hydraulic hoists on the transporters and the winch on the front transporter a loading davit is provided on the carriage as a simple means of placing this 600-pound projecto on the loading trough the carriage also houses a power ramming and elevating mechanism to speed the operation and the gun is fired by electricity produced by a magneto final adjustments for deflection and elevation are made using a traversing and elevating hand wheel the ammunition for this weapon is either a high explosive or atomic projecto and may be delivered on target in any kind of weather day or night here we see the high explosive shell by using a ball and socket on a turntable and a small jack the entire carriage may be traversed 360 degrees by employing to recoil mechanisms for stability we may fire a high-explosive projecto to a range of thirty 1200 yards it will have a bursting radius of over 100 yards the artillery then has weapons suitable for use against almost any target under any circumstance and for large-scale targets which merit the expenditure of vast quantities of ammunition the artillery is able to mass the fire of all its weapons with terrifying effectiveness add to this conventional power and artillery deliberate atomic weapon and the artillery really has a devastating punch