Heavy Metal-8" Howitzer

[RatherBHuntin]

This was the first piece I worked on, while in Germany. Didn't spend any time on the border, but we were prepared to landscape the Fulda Gap if necessary. This beasty shoots a 200# projo up to 30 KMs, and was able to drop one in a cathole if need be. The full width spade in the back, which was dug in, and the tracks along both sides created an extremely stable firing platform. Crew was a nominal 8, though it was designed to have 10 and often was down to 7. In a pinch, like in the middle of the night and no one was looking, it could be fired by 3 or 4, albeit very slowly. Also able to fire a wide variety of munitions including chem, nuke, illum, mine and HE. This thing fired a powder charge that was at least 30#, and if shooting a full charge you were only allowed to fire a limited number of rounds a day because of hearing loss. When standing on the side, and you had your mouth open when it fired, your ears would pop. After a good days firing, I often had headaches from the concussion. A very common sight was trucks without glass in the cabs, because they got too close during firing and if it was perpendicular, it got broke. A very cool gun, except when the "Smoke" said that Gun 1 needed two rounds from Gun 4, and each gun is 50 yards from the next, that was a long walk with those monsters, in the mud usually. Sadly, it was replaced by Multiple Launch Rocket System for general support artillery fires.

[buckshot roberts]

:DRBH, Man good post, loved the pics, Being a 19D20, Cav Scout, I could call you boy's in when need, it good to know you have the big guns for back-up, when were you over their, Me 1979-83, Ron

[RatherBHuntin]

90-92 the first time, went back in 99 till 2002 for a much different experience.  The first tour I caught the end of the Cold War, the Russians were not our friends, DDR was the enemy, and we were all that stopped West Germany from being a socialist republic.  The second time through I was involved with joint ops with the Russians (we still didn't trust them), Germany was completely reunified, and the Americans had turned into an unwanted guest.  I saw in a recent NCO Journal that the Russians just participated in an exercise at Hohenfels.  I would have liked to see that I think, though Ike was probably rolling in his grave.

[buckshot roberts]

Sad so sad,  yep they liked us being their in the cold war, yep they liked us after WW2, I would like to have seen the russians at hohenfels, wildchicken, and all them other place I cant spell but then again, "NO", IKE, PATTON YEP, I was with the 7th CAv, then the 2nd ACR, up on the border, with the german polize. did ya see any of these

[gitano]

I missed this the first time. Was close to when I joined THL I think. Not sure how this post survived The Crash of '08. Anyway, great pictures and narrative! I was not there as military personnel, but was there in '65 to '68. They hated us then. I have no love for Germans as a result of those experiences and the fine concentration camps the nazis built and ran.

Cool gun and cool projectiles!

Paul