Aberdeen Proving Grounds - Part II - Artillery

[DD696]

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[DD696]

54 redone

[DD696]

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[DD696]

That will have to do it for today.....gotta go play rhythm guitar with the group after awhile. That's about half of them - the other half tomorrow.

[Historiker]

Sad to see that all this pieces rust outside [:(]

[stuman]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

Sad to see that all this pieces rust outside [:(]

I was thinking the same thing. I really need to make it there myself.

[mikemike]

Some of you may remember that about a year ago I posted a lot of photos I took of the tanks they have there. I went back today with my son-in-law's dad and took pictures mainly of the artillery, as there were a few of you who had expressed interested in seeing photos of the collection there. Only a couple had any ID on them and I am certainly no expert on artillery/AA guns and cannot identify them, but I am certain that there are plenty of you out there who would know.

Glad to be of service! Here are the items I've identified:

Picture 3: Must be a Japanese vehicle; the chassis is derived from the Type 97 Medium Tank CHI-HA; I think it's the Type 2 self-propelled gun with a 75 mm gun.

Picture 18: It's Italian, based on the M13/40 chassis; my guess is it's a Semovente M40 with a 75 mm gun-howitzer M 35.

19/20: a US 57 mm ATG, a copy of the British 6-pdr ATG

21: a German 88 mm PAK 43/41, a combination of the PAK 43 barrel with the carriage of the 105 mm Field Howitzer 18 (leFH 18). An improvisation as the designated carriage of the PAK 43 could not be manufactured in the required numbers. The weapon is the same as that of the King Tiger.

22: The barrel reminds me of the Soviet 122mm D74 gun, but the carriage looks a bit different; maybe the Chinese copy, the Type 60?

26: a German 37 mm PAK 35/36. Built by Rheinmetall from 1928 on, mainly for export. Introduced by the Wehrmacht from 1934 on. Licence-produced in Japan as the Type 97 37mm rapid-fire gun. "Inspired" both the Soviet 45 mm ATG and the US 37 mm M3 AT gun.

27: Looks Russian, a 85 mm AT gun?

30: a Soviet 122 mm D-30 howitzer. Standard WarPac medium field gun from the early 1960s on. Probably a souvenir from Gulf 1.

34: a German 170 mm K 18 gun. Used the same carriage as the 210 mm mortar. A Krupp design, the gun was transported in two loads, with the barrel on a separate trailer. The carriage on its own can be seen in picture 55, the barrel trailer (in this case with a 210 mm barrel) in picture 56. The barrel was inserted into the carriage either in the firing position or in a readiness area a short distance away. In this picture the gun is fully assembled, it could be moved over a short distance in this condition. In the firing position, the gun would rest on a circular base plate and on the carriage trail. After lifting the carriage trail off the ground using an hydraulic jack, the carriage could be turned around the base plate pivot. The carriage had a two-stage recoil system (gun in the upper carriage, upper carriage in the lower carriage, both against hydraulic brakes) that consumed most of the recoil force, thus providing a stable firing platform with minimal preparation.

The gun fired a 68 kg, 150 lbs shell to a max range of 29600 meters, 32400 yds.

35: A Soviet 122 mm gun (122 mm Pushka obr 1937/37 A19). Soviet standard medium gun in WWII. It used the same carriage as the 152 mm gun-howitzer Model 1937.

40: The barrel looks like that of a 75 mm pack howitzer, but it's not the standard M8 carriage.

41/42: A German 105 mm Leichtgeschütz 42, a recoil-less gun for paratroopers.

44/45: This is a 152 mm Div. Gaubitsa obr. 1938 g or a 152 mm Division Howitzer Model 1938. The standard Soviet 152 mm howitzer at the beginning of WWII.

48/49: Another German 170 mm K18 gun.

50: A US 155-mm Gun M1 on Carriage M1, I hardly need to say.

52: a German 10 cm K18 gun. Caliber was 105 mm, range 19075 m, or 20870 yds. In 1939, this was the standard long-range gun of the Corps artillery.

53/54: a Soviet 152 mm Gaubitsa-Pushka obr. 1937 g, or 152 mm gun-howitzer Model 1937, also called ML-20. With a range of 17265 m or 18900 yds, and a weight of 7.8 tons, this gun had in 1938 a similar performance as the US M198 of 1978 when using standard HE ammo.

55/56: carriage and barrel of a German 210mm Mörser (mortar)18. The Wehrmacht called all guns that fired predominantly at elevations above 45 degrees "mortars", while "howitzers" were guns that also fired at lower elevations. This weapon fired a 113 kg, 250 lbs shell over a range of 16700m or 18300 yds and was mainly intended for use against fortifications. It used the same carriage as the 170 mm K18 gun and could be converted into that weapon (and vice-versa) essentially by exchanging the barrel. These weapons were transported in two loads and only assembled in or near the firing position.

I think these guns inspired the M107/M110 pair.

57: US 8-in Howitzer M1 on Carriage M1.

58: German 15 cm s.Feldhaubitze 18 (150 mm heavy Field Howitzer 18), the standard heavy howitzer of the Wehrmacht early in WWII. After encountering modern Soviet guns, its range was felt to be insufficient, but longer-ranged guns were not produced in sufficient numbers to replace it.

59: A Soviet 203 mm Howitzer Model 1931.

[Richrd]

Pict 21. The Pak 43/41 was mounted on the heavy 150mm howitzer chassis.

[stuman]

thx for identifying some of these.

[Local Yokel]

DD696, thank you very much for posting these excellent pictures.
 
mikemike has covered most of them, perhaps I can suggest a couple more designations.
 
24: Soviet 100mm Model 1944 antit-tank gun (wheels look a bit lightweight for this size of piece - might they not be originals?)
 
27: Soviet 85mm Field Gun Model 1944 (D-44).
 
31: Looks rather like a Corporal missile to me, but not sure.
 
33: ? US 8 inch Gun M1
 
34: This one I disagree with mikemike.  I think this a German 15cm Kanone 18.  I say this because it appears to have a single recoil system, as distinct from the double recoil system used both by the 17cm Kanone 18 in Morserlafette and the 21cm Morser 18.
 
48/49: THIS is the 17cm Kanone 18 with its double recoil system: different beastie from 34.

[mikemike]

ORIGINAL: Richrd

Pict 21. The Pak 43/41 was mounted on the heavy 150mm howitzer chassis.

According to v. Senger und Etterlin, the PAK 43/41 used the 105 mm howitzer carriage and the wheels of the 150 mm howitzer.

[mikemike]

ORIGINAL: Local Yokel

34: This one I disagree with mikemike.  I think this a German 15cm Kanone 18.  I say this because it appears to have a single recoil system, as distinct from the double recoil system used both by the 17cm Kanone 18 in Morserlafette and the 21cm Morser 18.

48/49: THIS is the 17cm Kanone 18 with its double recoil system: different beastie from 34.

You're right, 34 IS the 15 cm K 18. Can't think how I missed it, the wheels alone should have told me.

NEW description for 34: German 15 cm K 18 gun, a Rheinmetall design. Carriage and barrel were separated for road transport. In battery, the gun rested on a two-piece base plate, this can be seen in the photo just behind the front wheels. This gun fired a 43 kg, 95 lbs HE shell to a max range of 24825 m, 27760 yds. Less than 200 guns of this type were produced, far fewer than of the 170 mm K 18.