8 In. Self Propelled Gun!
Part of the first gun crew I was on!
Prokop & Griffin taking a break!
Bobby Mack (on the right)!
The last Gun Crew I was on!
Myself, Sgt. Richie and Bursky!
Bursky and Sgt. Richie Johnson!
Gun Pad during Rainy Season!
The M110, 8 in. gun was a shorter barrel, and a shorter range (about 10 miles), and a bigger round. Our gun was called "Alley Oop"! Muzzle velocity is 1,950 FPS.
This gun has a range of 10.5 miles. It is a rifled cannon, and has an "interrupted stepped threaded breech". That means the breech will close and lock with one half turn.
This is the first gun crew I was on when I got to Vietnam. From the left, Miller, Bursky, Dunn, Zebro, Frenchie, Griffin, myself, and Bobby Mack.
That's Lynnwood Dunn (best poker player in French Fort!), Zebro, Frenchie, and myself.
This is John ________. We called him JJ.
The bunker on the right was an ammo bunker.
That's Corporal Fechetto, thank you!
This is the crew as it was when I rotated out of Vietnam.
Sgt. Richie was our shake'n'bake NCO; he was a good and fair seargent and learnt a lot from those who had been in-country longer. Note Bursky pointing out the inverted-stepped threaded breach on our gun. It closed and latched with one half-turn (tisk, tisk).
Here's a view of the gun looking down the business end!
We kept a couple hundred rounds of ammo in the bunker behind the gun pad.
Taking a break in the shade of the ammo bunker.
From left, Sgt. Richie Johnson, Bursky, Ssgt. Woodard, and Prokop. I can't identify the guy on the ground.
The projectiles came in pallets. The power canisters came bunched together. All had to be safely stored under cover of the ammo bunker.
From left, Sgt. Richie, Frechetto (above), myself on the deck, and Bursky.
The pad would get all torn up as the ground got soft with constant rain. A fire mission would bury the gun clear up to its deck.
