I served with A battery 2/94 Artillery in Vietnam from July 1969 til September 1970 . I was a Gunner on a 8inch Self Propelled Howitzer n we were a very very very great gun crew.
My Dad joined the NJ National Guard in '65. He was in the 50th Armored "Jersey Blues". He was an artllary officer, and retired in the 80s. I find this stuff fascinating!
Yeah me too, knowing your dad and all these murderers are burning in hell for masskilling civilians defending their country from invading white people playing worldpolice for mythologic communism that never got a foothold in vietnam. And still lost lmao. The Tet offensive and that it was even possible, among all of vietnam, showed nobody wanted americans there in the first place. Just ask Agent Orange
Army 13 Bravo here. I was my sections M110a2 sp' 8" howitzer driver and number two man during desert storm. This magnificent machine performed at it's apex and when it counted most in the sandbox. Boasting a 300 meter circumference killing radius the M110a2 sp' 8" truly was The King of Battle in the Persian Gulf. I've experienced unimaginable events over there during and after my units fire missions. It's great to be alive and back home in the land of the free ❤🇺🇸
I piloted CH-47s in Nam. One day I was slinging a load of 175 ammo. They directed me to set it behind and off to one side of the gun. As we were hovering, they fired ... the concussion blew the windows out of the right side of the cargo bay. In addition my SAS (stability augmentation system) went wacky but recovered after the shock wave passed. We kept in close radio contact with “arty” so we knew the max ordinance (peak height) of the trajectory. At times we had to fly under the arc. That sucked because we never knew if they might have an unintentional weak powder package (or whatever they called the charge). Another artillery not mentioned was Naval battleship support. Those huge guns, I believe were 16”. Several times I watched them hit the jungle. Instant BIG hole. I can’t vouch for the accuracy since I had no idea what the intended target was.
How does it feel to have lived and die as a murderer and warcriminal, blowing up a bunch of farmers defending their country from hundreds of thousands of invading white people? I am white and proud of my Race but you are a criminal murderer and will burn in hell and then "it will be as if you never existed". Gotta be exicted for that, right? Felix "raining death" madison?. The only heroes were the students protesting and rioting. And the hippies of course. Those unwashed hairy apes, but with good hearts
Greetings from Australia Mate 😀 wow that must have been a butt cheeks clenching experience. I'm glad you're ok mate. My uncle was an Aussie soldier in Vietnam. I was born in 73 but I still vividly remember him flinching when a door slammed in the late 70s. As a small kid I couldn't understand why his eyes darted with such intensity surveying my grandparents old farm house. I was too young to understand the stress you gentlemen had experienced. Then as a teenager my dad was promoted in the fire service and dad had a patrol car and was on 24/7 call. We started going to motor vehicle accidents with him as he had to go everywhere in his service vehicle and I saw the look on his face after he'd cut some dead mangled kid out of a car and his uniform was splattered with their blood. The Vietnam veterans here as in America were treated like crap when they got back from a war that most didn't want. It might not mean much but Im glad you got home safely and want to show my respect and appreciation for what you did.. Hope you are well, best wishes from Australia 😊
All you guys are talking about firing and crewing these guns, I was one of the people on the receiving end and developed a healthy respect for the 105 mm. We prayed that the guy aiming that thing hadn't been up all night playing tonk. If they were firing from behind us we could hear the shot and the round howling through the air before it hit. Let me tell you that shrapnel was hot when it landed on us. D co, 1/16, 1st Inf Div, 1968
I was Field Artillery in the 70's. In a M110 8 inch S/P unit but trained on all of them. That 155 towed was the loudest dammed gun any of us ever served on too and everyone I've ever met who'd crewed one said the same thing. Man, that dude would yell BOOM for 20 minutes and play rock and roll afterward. But I loved that M110, one thing you could count on was it was going to hit exactly what the coordinates you were given. Accurate as hell.
I could not agree more! No sound from video can do it justice. I served in 'Nam in 1969 when I was 20 years-old. I'm now 70, and my hearing is pretty much shot because of the two years I spent working around and on those guns.
I'm thinking back a long time, but I want to remember that the Army decided it needed 175mm self-propelled guns in Vietnam, but the active Army didn't have any. The gun was however available in the National Guard. LBJ wouldn't let the Guard be called up for Vietnam, but an exception was made in this case. A Kentucky (?) National Guard artillery unit that had the 175 SP was called up and sent over to Vietnam where it fired quite a few fire missions. Not too long before the unit was due to be redeployed to the States, it was hit hard on some firebase and lost some people.
My Dad's little brother had to leave his trk and a 155 howitzer in the sea at Tarawa due the timing of the tides during the invaision in 1943. He drove off the laning craft into about 15 or twenty feet of water . He then swam ashore 2nd Marine division
I have heard first hand stories of the accuracy of the 155's. They would drop HE shells 8 miles away into an area the size of a little league ball diamond (that's actually the term he used) Our sniper teams or a spotter plane would radio back targeting data and within five minutes shells were in flight. That is how you fuck up an enemy badly and quickly.
It all came down to. How long your Forward Observers would last ? There life expectancy on the Battlefield? 13 Seconds ! Saw how those guys performed. On a High Observation Point in Graffonwohr West Germany back in 88.
Old VN Artillery FO here. Been there, done that. 155s were great, but if you really wanted to make a big impression and needed accuracy, I called for a fat tube. An eight-inch was hard/impossible to beat.
The largest guns used in Vietnam were the 16 inch guns on the battle ship USS New Jersey (BB-62). I was on the US Navy heavy cruiser the USS Newport News (CA-148) we had 9 × 8"/55 caliber guns 12 × 5"/38 caliber guns 12 × 3"/50 caliber guns We could fire our main battery 90 rounds before the fist one hit the ground. All guns loaded and fired in any position. We carried 1400 rounds of 8" and could expend all rounds in about 15 min. Our guns were trained by fire control radar or the main director, all of our guns were auto loaded and were capable of anti aircraft fire, why are these guns not shown here I spent 2 tours in Vietnam north and south.
@@rancherfarmerguy That happened in 1972, a faulty round exploded in 2 gun in T2, there was a fire that killed 20 ( brave souls), I left the ship in 1970 to join the crew of the USS Springfield (CLG-7) so I was not around, when it happened. They talked about putting a gun into her from one of her sisters but said it was to expensive, so they just locked the turret in train and continued missions with the other guns.
They said join the army and learn a trade, so I did. I ended up in vietnam 69/70 in an 8" and 175 unit. When I got home I found out nobody was looking to hire a 175 gun bunny.
@@digitaldesignfan7918 Better to have selected a trade that you can use in civilian life from a Military Tech school, and then use GI Bill to pay for GUR's or augment your trade. Electronics, or even truck driving, were available. My tech school was Aviation Weather [for SAC/ B-52's. et c.] and that paid off over much of my life.
We’d rotate six months on 155mms, six to a battery, getting hit and sometimes overrun; then six months on the big guns, four to a battery: two 8” howitzers and two 175mm guns: the 175 is not a howitzer. A howitzer is a medium velocity gun. A 175mm sends a 150lb projectile out of the tube at 3,000fps, the speed of an M16 bullet. A 155mm is loud, louder than an 8” howitzer. But a 175mm with Zone 3 powder jumps up like a frog and feels like it’s changing the rotation of the earth. Words like “loud” aren’t adequate to describe it. Everyone dreaded those six months, and everyone wanted to get back to normal, fucked-up fire missions and dealing with the prospect of getting hit and sometimes overrun. They made the 175mm obsolete because just firing them too long causes CTE. There are always guys claiming they’ve lost their minds and trying to get out of there. But the ones who really lose it won’t leave, won’t sleep, if they’re wounded they just bleed and walk around bloody and have to be taken out in handcuffs at gunpoint. Their Systematic Nervous System (SMS) surrenders to being pulverized, and they feel nothing. It’s not PTSD, it’s literally shell shock in its truest form.
I want/need to confirm caseyjoanz,s remarks. The shockwave/concussion from a zone 3 charge in a Long Tube(175gun) is devastating all by itself. One night, we had a unique fire mission that was 180 degrees out from our "normal" AO on LZ Crunch. After relaying the gun, the end of the muzzle wound up about 15 feet from the fire direction center(FDC), where I was the FDO. The first round brought down all kinds of sand and dirt. The second round brought down the chart tables, and our fear and wonder escalated dramatically. The third round sealed the deal and "ended" that fire mission. The radios were on the floor, dead. The place was a shambles; our heads were scrambled, and we were out of action. The Battalion Commander was there at first light, demanding an explanation.
I trained on those 8-inch self propelled howitzers, and the .155 SP. in the States. Over in Vietnam in 1969, I played for keeps on the .105, and then the .155 towed howitzers. They were brought into the 'landing zone', (called that because you couldn't drive in) hanging from a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter, with us troops riding inside just waiting to be picked off by the Viet Cong. We were sitting ducks in those damned things as they sat there hovering!! We had a few close calls!
I was Infantry, called 8 inch in "Danger Close" mission once that was something to witness. Rounds hit within 200 meters of my position. WOW! The 175 mm "Danger Close" mission was considered 1,000 meters, not the most accurate! Best support was from 105mm, 155mm, and 4.2 mortars. They could really fill the air with steel and were really fast shifting from a known point. American artillery wins wars.
I was the C.O.'s Radio Op. at 32 Hvy Regt. R.A. in 1965 when they fired the first 175mm round on the ranges at Honne. When it was safe we went to the impact area and dug out some shrapnel from that round. I was impressed with the colour of the metal. I got a beautiful piece of about 8"x 4 .5" in the shape of the island of Cypress. It was still warm when I first handeled it. Colour of gold -red, merging through to indigo blue. That piece went into the map pocket of my combats before the C.O. saw it. we dug some more out that was bound for the officers Mess no doubt. My piece ended up has a present for an Ex. Gunner, who was a Amateur radio pal living in Pieter-Mariotsberg , South Africa. His old mate took his wife out to see him and took the present for me. I had the piece mounted on oak with a brass plaque enscribed that it was from the first 175mm shell fired by 32 Hvy. Regt. R.A from the M107 SP Guns. Ho and yes they were F---g Loud. What did you say. Cotten wool was no good at keeping the Boom out of your head. When I got posted to Malasia, My leaving present was to pick a target and control the firing of a Divisional Shoot. Two Heavy regiments firing. I picked "Hitler Howe" and blew it to Sh-t
Hi John, That's fuck all, pal. I got some of the first agent orange on my skin. I wasn't able to keep it as most of it was absorbed by my skin and my clothing. I kept some, but unknowingly passed a "gift" on to my children (deformity and retardation). You see I too went to the impact area only I went there before the impact. The bit I was able to keep seemed pretty small at first but continued to grow, unnoticed by me, until my doctor found an angry looking lesion on my back. Coincidentally, it was also gold -red, merging through to indigo blue, but the shape looked more like Italy or an old combat boot. Anyway, it seems we have similar stories except I grew up in a tiny hamlet outside of Quang Dong. Anyway, thank you for sharing your inspirational story. It's cool to shoot things off, alright.
@@BOB-wx3fq Quảng Đông is a hamlet in Quảng Trạch District, Quảng Bình Province, in Vietnam. Are you ignorant of the geography of our great country. What kind of communist are you? If you lived in my village I would report you to the authorities immediately. You deserve retraining.
@@jimmyarbutus2555 We hate communism. Any veteran that is. sorry for being exposed to that shit. but our government exposed our troops to the same thing. USMC FOREVER. 2002-2012
Concerning the m 109, 175 mm howitzer..........Zone 1, 2, and 3. After 300 rounds of zone 3's we replaced the barrel. They had a tendency of becoming structurally dangerous. When fireing a zone three the crew took cover behind a sandbag barrier. Too dangerous to be on the vehicle. Think you've heard loud noises? A zone 3 pack is the loudest thing I have ever heard. It actually brought me to one knee! Thought it broke my ear drums. They told me to put my ear plugs in my ears but I didn't. I did after that! The blast forward of the gun would actually rip the older tents in the company area. Supposedly,,,,,, supposedly, you got used to the noise and could actually sleep thru a fire mission!! I don't think I could be drunk and passed out and sleep thru that. I can only imagine what a 16" battle ship gun would sound like. I believe that would physically harm a human body if standing near the Barrell. Central Highlands VN 1966-67 The greatest year of my life.
We called 'em 'ground attacks'. We opened up the darkness with flares at 2am, and fired every weapon we had from every man we had. The .155s were all parallel to the ground as a last resort. Engineers went around after the fire fight with dump trucks to pick up the body parts and bulldozers to cover 'em. It was like a Mardi Gras without any of the fun.
While we were at Duc Pho, our 8-inch SP howitzer was used in a direct-fire situation, with the timed fuze set at the minimum. It was quite a bang! Immediately, the grunts on the hill behind us started yelling for us to "SHUT IT OFF!!!" Then the radio started yelling the same thing. Too much of a good thing can be bad. I learnt that about whiskey, too. Later that day, some of the grunts bought us some souvenir pieces of shrapnel. Impressive! A thoroughly "shattered" piece of steel has a strange beauty to it when it's still warm.
I was trained on a 105 mm as a gunner, but was called for to shoot a 102 mm, which I had never fired before, came in on a helicopter and set up and put the toob straight up, shot a round and shot a direct fire and hit the target at the same time.
Back in 2008 I was involved in a UXO clearance mission in An Tay. The single most accurate rounds we found just HAD to be the rounds fired by the M115's inside the Iron Triangle Some time during the war a 3 round illum mission must of been called in, as we found all three expended rounds sitting about a meter under the surface. From the bearing they laid at we were able to confirm which firebase they had been delivered from. They had travelled about 18km. All three projectiles were less than 3 metres apart in bearing, and two were about 3 metres apart in range, with the third round 25 meters away . Having said that, some hooch must have been consumed on the gun line, as we often found 155 and 105 rounds 1-2 meters underground, still with their shipping plugs screwed in ;-)
I grew up in Ft Sill Ok, artillery capital of the world. My dad was the post Sergeant Major. I've fired every single one of these, and did it as a young teenager. Could never happen today.
Must have been the self propelled 8 inch I saw at An Khe in Vietnam. That was 70-71. I remember they had long barrels but I don't remember if they were on tracks. Biga Booma! Also watched 105s work at one of our firebases. Then they found out I could type.
You do know it's a demonstration video yeah? They're showing what goes on. If everyone was working at speed, there would be a few things the camera just wouldn't be able to see. Keep in mind the age of the video too. It's not like they could just rig up loads of GoPros back in those days to get all the necessary angles. Also, they're not in combat so they're neither being shot at nor are they trying to protect people and provide fire support for people who are being shot at. People naturally get faster at what they're doing when they're being shot at.
Artillery units have come under fire in every major engagement that artillery has been a part of since artillery was first invented. Similar idea with a tank. While tanks are armoured, like artillery, they're also bullet magnets. Artillery naturally makes a high priority target... Smash your enemy's big guns and he can't pound you with them... The reality is that the only safe place in a war zone is the inside of a coffin.
Usually artillery is far behind the action if they are under fire it's indirect I never said they were safe only out the way. What's the point of being a spas if they have to be within reach of the enemy
@Jim lastname...from Thee Outlaw Josey Wales: redlegs is shorthand for arty. Has been since at least the Civil War.Yellow is cavalry and green was medical .
I was told a story about how an 8'in towed howitzer unit that was called the Automatic Eighth,got it's nickname.Seems that during the Korean war the unit was involved in an attack on a N.K.unit.The N.K unit was captured and the commander,an artillery officer ask if he could see how the 8' in autoloading system worked.He simply could not believe that men could fire the howitzer that fast.loading by hand.At least,that is the story I was told.
You would've had to have been a Bad Ass Mutha. To load an 8 inch Towed by Hand. When I fired it at Fort Sill in 87? It took Four Men. Just to carry it to the Gun. To be lifted and Loaded into the tube. Talk about One Hell of a Recoil. Imagine an 8 inch for Home Defense in your Front Yard. Thugs come along to try and break in? They would without a Doudt? Provide you with the Maximum amount of Fertilizer for your front and back yard.
Battery B 2/320th Field Artillery 101st Airborne Div. March 20 1970 - March 25 1971 I Corp Vietnam. M102 Howitzers FADAC Operator, Generator Mechanic Fought in the last major battle in Vietnam, The Battle of Firebase Ripcord, firing support from Firebase Gladiator. We were waiting to replace the destroyed Battery of 102’s on Ripcord, when they decided to abandon Ripcord. We were firing support the entire time of withdraw of Ripcord, until we got to observe the B52 bombing of the abandoned Firebase to destroy any remaining equipment left there.
I was in Target Acq in the '70s and we always found the 8" SP to be the king of accuracy. The towed 155mm were next followed by the 105mm. Those 8"s could really reach out and touch someone!
South African artillery got the 155mm to reach 60,000 meters! We pioneered base bleed technology ! Russians and Cubans could not understand how we were hitting them so hard ! No clue how far away we were! My SF teams were within 1000 meters spotting and calling in adjustments! The 200 square meter blast area of HE 155mm trashed them big time! Our gunners would fire 4 salvos from 6 guns then relocate ! 😆👍🏻
In March of 71 during lom som 719 , 2 rounds of 175 landed in our ranger teams ndp, I'll never forget the sound they make coming in and then the explosion, each round sent me sent me about 20 meters, most of the 7 of us lost blood and some body parts, then it was a 12 hour wait to get a chopper in to get us off the mountain top. I was with team 1-4 p company rangers 75th ranger regt. With the 5th inf div. Mech. In quangtri, the 175 rounds came from camp Carroll. RLTW
Too bad the film did not show the immense smoke ring the 175mm could make when firing. The 8" howitzer shell produced a "ripping silk" sound when it went overhead at altitude. Funny, I still dream of those sounds and more even 48 years later.
They were far from perfect, I was with the 5th division on the dmz. During a firefight we called for arty support, a 155 round fell short killing 8. We relied on tanks of 177 armor for support after that.
Lao gov't should need the 175mm that hit target at 32 km range to be used during The Secret War in Laos. Because Russia provided the 130 mm that can hit targets at 20 km to Vietnam to battle Gen. Vang Pao's troops in Laos around Long Cheng which were atthe Skyline areas that caused major damages to 2nd battalion in Xieng Khouang.
During the Vietnam thing my uncle was a commander of an artillery battery in I Corp. A General was inspecting the DMZ early one morning and witnessed the NVA raising their flag, a huge flag along with huge speakers just out of range of the 105s. Not happy with the display the General ordered my uncle's unit of 155s to move into position. The next morning at dawn the NVA flag was about half way up the flag pole when everything disappeared...
Lynn Wood do you think that Vietnam is a "communist" country ? How did we "save" our free market system if we lost the war ? Have you ever been to Vietnam ?
1st.good mention of artillery I've come across.i was in a btry 1st of the 27th arty.155 s.p.in dau tieng.6 pcs.in lazy w.many battles were fought in dau tieng.1968 feb69 to feb69.thank you for mentioning the artillery men.
Anybody notice the M102 did not have a pan-tel? The gunner just kneeled next to its empty mount. Kind of hard to aim an artillery piece without one. I suppose that was why they were at low angle shooting direct fire. Kind of a Hollywood moment.
I was in maint contact team in Nam changed the 175mm barrels short life span 3 to 4hundred rounds and elevation motors did not last seals blowing out anyway 8inch was a good weapon
my grandfather also died in that war. He was not in it, he was just camping there and went over to complain about the noise. Some bastard shot him in the head.
So everyone knows,.the cannons are a hell of a lot louder in real life. I remember the report of the 155 towed Howitzer. I ran comm wire from gun to gun and HQ before each fire mission.
I was on a 105 and 8in I don't miss any of that shit at all. I have no regrets in serving but field artillery you can keep that shit all that maintenance it's for the birds especially self-propelled artillery if you go into that field you want to stay on a 105 I'll leave the rest of that shit alone.
Had 6 mos.to go when I came home.went to ft Carson. Also with a great unit.4th of the 84th arty.on the 175s.also s.p.did annual training war games while there.
in my service we used m110a3 and towed 8" we were kind of good at targets located around 13-14 km (10~55 m accuracy) but towed guys were shooting as accurate as rifle... but while changing positions we were drinking tea in our fire control truck and towed guys were packing / digging / unpacking and redigging.. were really sorry for them ;) ps : turkish army field training
Combat Veterans home from Vietnam quickly learned that they were universally despised by most Americans, and treated as second class by the VA. The VA 'College Benefits' had many catch 22 clauses attached to them, didn't pay enough to get you a private college education, and all the cheap public universities were full up with those seeking to Dodge the Draft. Eventually they went to the Draft Lottery, by that was well into the war before that happened. When I got Drafted into the 82nd Airborne rich peoples children were about as common as Hens teeth. And when there were any they were found in cushy guaranteed stateside danger free jobs like George W. Bush had holding down bar stools in Texas.
@@jrjohnryanjr who wanted to fight in war the government knew we couldn't win ? It was a stupid war a waste. Btw I'm a vet and the VA is the best it's been since Trump got in
Yea I was on the 110 Self Propelled Howitser Biggest Bad Ass Artillery Weapon they had in the Army at that time 1972 it could really reach way out there and for sure mesh up the Enemy’s day Guarantee over 20 Miles 100% to hit its Target,I damn sure wouldn’t want to be on the Receiving end of it for sure.
I still don't quite understand why all the heavy artillery was replaced with rockets. The 175mm and 8 inch are still more efficient than a HIMARS if one considers how much more space it takes to haul all the rockets. Luckily, the US has yet to face a peer or near peer enemy. Sure will miss these weapon systems if that happens.
I've been a field artilleryman for 30 years. Trust me you can be just as if not more accurate with modern artillery, and rocket assist projectiles match range. Problem is rockets are inefficient compared to separate loading artillery, and reload time is very slow compared to tube artillery.
Actually, modern artillery has guided munitions, and there are rocket assist projectiles that range as far as missiles. Bottom line is modern tube artillery can do exactly this. The current excaliber round fired from a 155mm cannon has less than a 3 meter probability error which is lower than MLRS systems. The real reason has to do with the effect of lobbying on the procurement system. Rockets are more expensive, and everything else can be duplicated, but the profit margin is higher for the producers.
HIMARS is a launcher. The rocket that does the 8in. job is called Guided MLRS unitary. It's a 200lb. joe that is GPS guided and goes 70km. The Army is extenting that range to 150km. The tracked launcher for MLRS is the M270A1.
It does seem strange. I realize that tactical missiles can give a longer range than even extended range 155mm rounds, but presumably the same XR technology applied to the larger calibers would similarly expand their reach, and - as you say - be much cheaper.
Served 71-74...B Battery 2d of the 20th Divarty..3d of the 17th.. Merrell Barracks...gun bunny..FDC... forward observer...We computed the data but the guns kicked ass.... Artillery... Queen of Battle...
Upon Returning home to civilian life in Nanny States like New York these veterans are not allowed to carry guns, or buy such dangerous devices as firecrackers or sparklers, just like every other NY State Citizen untrusted by the State.
That was because their New Yorker’s , we southerners return from Nam could buy and use firearms to not only to protect one’s family, but to hunt for food, and immedately defend our country from attack from our enemies.
The 8 in howitzer had a low trajectory and was its undoing in hilly areas of Vietnam. They had a hard time hitting the backside of steep mountains/hills. Eventually was replaced by the 155mm towed and M109.
Respectfully disagree my brother ; I served in D battery 5/16 artillery 4th division. I crewed on an M110 and was in the FDC . We were in a very hilly area approx. 6 clicks from the Cambodian border supporting the 101st and couple other infantry .the gun was incredibly accurate regardless of the terrain . Thanks for your servicr
negative ghost rider. Even when I was in during the mid-late '00's we didnt typically wear earpro. typically fire missions get called down so fast that you dont have time to put them in, then you really need to be able to hear the fuse, fuse setting, amount of powder, round type, as well as the deflection and quadrant.. everyone needs to be able to check everyone else. nothing scares you more than thinking someone might be accidentally loading a white phosphorous round instead of an illumination round in night time operations.. and nothings more embarrasing for a gun than their illumination round having a point detonating fuse on it, thus going off when it hits the ground hahaha
The nuclear capability the USA used to have, in light and medium artillery. Arms treaty's did away with those. Mind you the thought of nuclear artillery in evil minds, won't just vanish because of paper and signatures.
Apparently they had a design for a nuclear shell for the 105 mm. The smaller shells had a tiny yield, 10 tons being the smallest I believe. The 106 mm recoilless rifle had a nuke version as well. Yields from 10, up to a kiloton. A suicide weapon due to the short range. The core of these tiny nukes was also used as backpack nukes.
ONE battery 4 at LZ Blackhawk. respect from vc . will stop incomming of their 60mm motors. 4th inf. div vietnam, yes liked the cluster round better than HE. hawk
