OT - show us your... field artillery!

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:47 pm

I couldn't resist. We've covered black powder, military longarms, scatter guns, pocket knives, swords and long knives. This just seemed to make sense.

Unfortunately, I don't have any field guns - YET!

But fortunately, I good friend of mine, a member here, living in the great white north, with great taste in custom knives, should be along shortly and will have a couple/few pictures to share!

(How's that for an intro Gary?)

pokey · Post by **pokey** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:55 pm

don't have.

do want.

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_in ... ts_id=1653

firefuzz · Post by **firefuzz** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:36 am

Close enough for me. You have to admit, a .45-70 is pretty close.

Rob

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:00 am

firefuzz wrote:Close enough for me. You have to admit, a .45-70 is pretty close.

Rob

Yep - considering its trajectory, I'd say it does!

Gary · Post by **Gary** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:53 am

Here's a picture of my son's field artillery.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:48 pm

The Jap War Tuba..(I kid thee not)..

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:17 pm

best I can do...
rockets/tow

mini gun 40 mm

M60 D

AH-1 S

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:41 pm

Does an Ohio class submarine count??? I have wanted a bp napolean cannon for years. one day

Doc Hudson · Post by **Doc Hudson** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:08 pm

rjohns94 wrote:I have wanted a bp napolean cannon for years. one day

You and me both!

Since Ed McMahon is dead and won't be bringing us a big old check i guess we'd better start buying lottery tickets.

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:10 pm

TXPETE Whoa!!!!!

I like the warning beside the mini gun. "Will fire if rotated by hand???

I have to ask, did someone find that out the hard way?

lthardman · Post by **lthardman** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:54 pm

Thanks for the set-up, YK. I have posted a couple of these pics before, so I apologize if they look familiar.

This first piece features a solid oak carriage, and a bronze tube. It is a 1/2 scale version of a six pound Napolean. The tube weighs in at about 135 pounds. The wheels are about 38 inches high. It is my prettiest cannon, but not the most accurate.

This next one is actually not field aritillery. I built the naval carriage based on the plans used to build the gun carriages on the USS Constitution. It is also a 1/2 scale six pounder. The tube features a 4140 ordinance steel sleeve, which makes this an excellent shooter. Still smooth bore, but reasonably accurate. Since this picture was taken, I have mounted a cap lock on it that allows me to use percussion caps instead of cannon fuse. Its a nice safety feature, as things down field can change in the time it takes for fuse to burn.

Finally, here is the newest addition to the artillery unit. It is a mortar mounted on a sled base. It is sized to fire either soda can or tennis ball sized projectiles. Up to 700 grains of black powder (fg) assures you that you will never find the tennis ball again. It awaits a new wood base that I am making now, based on pictures of those used in the Civil War. I just got this late last Fall, and have not test fired it yet. But, I can assure you I will be making some smoke by Memorial Day.

I find lining these up in the yard keeps the neighbors neighborly.

win38-55 · Post by **win38-55** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:56 pm

How about some field artillery in 7.62x54r. Or maybee some 125 mm smooth bore action.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:12 pm

Not mine, but a fascinating near-satellite-launching piece of artillery....The "Paris Gun"

Article on the Paris Gun - http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/parisgun.htm

Field Artillery Journal article - http://sill-www.army.mil/FAMAG/1918/JUL ... 21_341.pdf

Note - on the Field Artillery Journal article - page 6 of 33 - the sentence fragment beginning at the top of the page "at 4000 f.s. the air resistance is about 50 pounds—or nearly 50 times the weight of the projectile, which is normally about 1 pound; for a velocity of 800 f.s. this resistance is increased to about 200 pounds, and so on." has a misprint and could read "8,000" instead of "800". Good article, though.

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:18 pm

Rusty wrote:TXPETE Whoa!!!!!

I like the warning beside the mini gun. "Will fire if rotated by hand???

I have to ask, did someone find that out the hard way?

you bet

when clearing the mini-gun you have to use a bullet trap.the bolts still use springs for the firing pins.as you rotate the barrels the bolts move in a track when they hit the firing position the firing pin lets go...bang at 2,000 RPM on low and 4,000 on high RPM.

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:05 pm

This was mine until we phased it out

Boeing Avenger Weapon System fired 8 Stinger missiles with a M3P .50cal electronically fired machine gun, Forward Looking Infrared camera tracking system, Laser Range Finder, and air conditioning. Man I miss it.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:10 pm

Kid,
Ask to see anything!

My buddy Tom is one of those guys who has everything. These belong to him

This is a line throwing cannon but also can be used with a ball. (2 and 1/2") We shot it only one time. It is dated 1886.

This is an original Winchester 10 ga. cannon, designed to be fired with blanks.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:12 pm

That ain't fair--You military guys have all the neat stuff.

--------------Sixgun

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:45 pm

How about the atomic cannon? That's a field piece and a half

Atomic Canon test 1953.jpg

I agree the military shouldn't be allowed to have ALL the fun.

Joe

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:48 pm

BlaineG wrote:The Jap War Tuba..(I kid thee not)..

What in the world were those used for? Deafening the enemy or launching big spit wads?

Joe

Old No7 · Post by **Old No7** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:05 pm

OK, I'll play this game...

Here's one of my favorites...

Get Off My Lawn.jpg

...Just missing the pretty Dillon Girl to stand next to it... Drat...

And here's one for Gunny!

Anti Tank.jpg

And yet another for boys who like the BIG toys!

High Explosives.jpg

Tight groups!

Old No7

Post by **Old Savage** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:25 pm

OK then, this is my son's former "field artillery". I don't think you will be able to top this.

claybob86 · Post by **claybob86** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 2:14 am

here's mine. (from way back!)

Gobblerforge · Post by **Gobblerforge** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:40 am

Well it ain't no nuke tosser, but it's home made, portable, ahoot to shoot and it's mine.

Gobbler

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:33 am

I saw in Cheaper than Dirt they have a golf ball popper for blanks and your AR-15

shdwlkr · Post by **shdwlkr** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 1:07 pm

http://armyreco.ifrance.com/amerique_du ... rmy_05.jpg

this was my favorite as I got the chance once to give the comand to fire on a battery of 5 of these while they were practicing. What a loud noise they did make and just made this kids heart pound, after I picked my self up from the back bast the the crews never mentioned would happen.

Cast Bullet Hunter · Post by **Cast Bullet Hunter** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:53 pm

J Miller wrote:
BlaineG wrote:The Jap War Tuba..(I kid thee not)..

What in the world were those used for? Deafening the enemy or launching big spit wads?

Joe

These are not weapons of any sort, they are accoustic direction finders, to locate airplanes for the AAA.

Old No7 · Post by **Old No7** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:27 pm

"These are not weapons of any sort, they are accoustic direction finders..."

Funny, but they look like they were designed by Dr. Seuss!

Old No7

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:35 pm

Old No7 wrote:
"These are not weapons of any sort, they are accoustic direction finders..."
Funny, but they look like they were designed by Dr. Seuss!

Old No7

That is what I was thinking.

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:12 pm

or really deep bass for the marching band.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:49 am

Cast Bullet Hunter wrote:
J Miller wrote:
BlaineG wrote:The Jap War Tuba..(I kid thee not)..

What in the world were those used for? Deafening the enemy or launching big spit wads?

Joe
These are not weapons of any sort, they are accoustic direction finders, to locate airplanes for the AAA.

OK, I guess I'm having a Monday brain failure, but how does a big tube work as an acoustic direction finder? I can't make the picture of it.

Joe

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:16 am

J Miller wrote:
Cast Bullet Hunter wrote:
J Miller wrote:
BlaineG wrote:The Jap War Tuba..(I kid thee not)..

What in the world were those used for? Deafening the enemy or launching big spit wads?

Joe
These are not weapons of any sort, they are accoustic direction finders, to locate airplanes for the AAA.
OK, I guess I'm having a Monday brain failure, but how does a big tube work as an acoustic direction finder? I can't make the picture of it.

Joe

Think of then as over sized listening horns that old folk used to use. They only channel sound from the direction they are pointed.

Pathfinder09 · Post by **Pathfinder09** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:30 am

This should do it!

Doc Hudson · Post by **Doc Hudson** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:08 pm

Old No7 wrote:
"These are not weapons of any sort, they are accoustic direction finders..."
Funny, but they look like they were designed by Dr. Seuss!

Old No7

Or maybe John Phillip Sousa.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:49 pm

JReed wrote:
Think of then as over sized listening horns that old folk used to use. They only channel sound from the direction they are pointed.

Ahhhhh, DUH!!! I understand now. Thanks for clearing that up.

Joe

Leverdude · Post by **Leverdude** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 1:12 pm

Found these at Putnam Park in Redding CT, its the site of General Israel Putnam's winter of 1779 encampment but I dont think they used these guns.

Heres a link to info about the park.
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geutFsgppLS ... mpark.org/

This ones at Fort Trumbull in New London I believe. Dont ask what the kid was trying, I'm just glad he didn't become a bore obstruction.

Gary · Post by **Gary** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 6:56 pm

Some aerial artillery. (The kid is mine, not the B17.)

prebans · Post by **prebans** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:55 pm

I own a live US M18A1 57mm recoilless rifle. Here's a picture of it on my 1917 tripod (correct) with one shell.

It's a registered NFA weapon (Destructive Device) because its bore is 2.24", well over the standard half inch bore legal limit. It's the same paperwork and $200.00 tax as for a machine gun, suppressor, or short barrel rifle/shotgun.

Mike

prebans · Post by **prebans** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:58 pm

Here's my recoilless on its bipod. (The bipod is removed to attach it to a tripod; please see above.)

Shells from left to right: .50 BMG, 20mm Vulcan (from the A10 Warthog), 57mm Recoilless

Each fully loaded 57mm shell takes 1.1 pounds of IMR 5010. The IMR 5010 is set off by 175 grains of 1F cannon blackpowder inside of a primer tube. The 1F in the primer tube is set off by one standard .50 BMG primer.

Mike

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:05 pm

prebans wrote: Each fully loaded 57mm shell takes 1.1 pounds of IMR 5010. The IMR 5010 is set off by 175 grains of 1F cannon blackpowder inside of a primer tube. The 1F in the primer tube is set off by one standard .50 BMG primer.

Mike

Holy smokes Batman

How often do you fire that thing?

prebans · Post by **prebans** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:14 pm

JReed wrote:
prebans wrote: Each fully loaded 57mm shell takes 1.1 pounds of IMR 5010. The IMR 5010 is set off by 175 grains of 1F cannon blackpowder inside of a primer tube. The 1F in the primer tube is set off by one standard .50 BMG primer.

Mike
Holy smokes Batman How often do you fire that thing?

The first time is this spring. And yes, I'll be at the end of a veeeeeery long string and behind the cover of a tree (or a dump truck) for its first shots!

There'll probably be one full load to "proof" the gun. Then I'll download somewhere between 25-50% of a normal load with the vast majority being 25-33% loads. The only issue will be dropping the projo weight. Using a light charge and a regular projo makes the recoilless ... less recoilless.

No need to have my gun tip over sideways or try to do a somersault on me. I figure I'll sandbag the tripod down as much as possible. May even do my first shots from a HEAVILY weighted cobbled together wood sawhorse. Losing that tripod would make me cry.

Mike

Mike

leeloader · Post by **leeloader** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:34 pm

texpete, when were you at Feucht AA ? Brought back alot of memories from the 2 ACR. Too many beers at " big Tits " gasthouse!!

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:36 am

79-81 air troop.

http://dragoonbase.ning.com/

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:50 am

My baby...

Pulled from inventory to appease the gods of High Tech warfare... leaving nothing to punch proper holes in things.

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:47 am

leeloader wrote:texpete, when were you at Feucht AA ? Brought back alot of memories from the 2 ACR. Too many beers at " big Tits " gasthouse!!

for us it was the cobra grill in nurnberg.in the summer it was nurnberger brats and honey beer.

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:57 pm

prebans
I look forward to hearing how that works out for ya.

prebans · Post by **prebans** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:14 pm

JReed wrote:prebans
I look forward to hearing how that works out for ya.

I'll let you know if I survive the first test firing!

Mike

Ray Newman · Post by **Ray Newman** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:16 pm

Ol’ Iron Sights: didn’t know you were a cannon-cocker, AKA red leg.

Is that the 175mm gun? Saw a U.S.A. SP 175mm gun battery in action up on the RVN DMZ at Camp Carol-- AKA Artillery Plateau -- in Nov ‘66 -- impressive long range results.

When I was in the U.S.M.C. (1964 - ‘68), the 175mm gun was just coming into inventory in ‘67-68 and some were tubed with the 8“ barrel. And yes gents, that 204 lbs, 8” high explosive projectile is impressive to say the least.

I served on the ol’ M53 155 mm self-propelled gun and the M55 8” self-propelled howitzer (nuke capable).

But my lasting love is the 105mm howitzer --towed (M101). I served with Echo battery, 12th Marines 4/65 - 3/67 providing direct fire support for 2 battalion, 9th Marines. March 18-19, 1966, Echo fired 829 rounds supporting Fox 2/9 when they were surrounded during Operation Kings. Including Echo battery, the other supporting batteries of the 12 Marine Regt. fired a total of 1740 shells that night. It was said that that all night, Echo had two in the air; one in the breech.

As an aside, for those not familiar with the world’s best tube:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M101_howitzer

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:58 am

M110 203mm (8") SP.

morgan in nm · Post by **morgan in nm** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:39 pm

win38-55 wrote:How about some field artillery in 7.62x54r. Or maybee some 125 mm smooth bore action.

Looks like a t54 tank. I wonder what happened to all of those that were captured during the first gulf war?

Jeremy, seeing those pictures of the "duck hunters" brings back fond memories. I got to play in one once and they sure do get hot inside.

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:46 pm

This is my buddies FOX and it is road legal (Antique Car Registration). The photo was taken in 2005. We have to take the .50 M2 mount off to get it in the garage. We were working on the brakes and co-axe mount (it now holds a MG34). In WV we don’t kid around.
The driver in the photo was Benjamin C. Dillon, my nephew, just before he enlisted for Special Operations and was KIA, 6 Oct 07 in Iraq with B Co 3/75 Rangers on a HVT mission.