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Happy Birthday, Field Artillery!

HIMARS on the way.
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ATACMS on the way
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I cant remember for sure but I think I was at Fire Base Birmingham where the 175's were in 69. Also don't remember how much the shells weighed. I was never in a position to see how accurate they were. Mainly I do remember how loud they were. Just noticed you flew cobras, really got a kick out of watching them work. They saved my butt and many other guys when I was at Chu Chi.
 
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3L120 said:
And inaccurate. About minute of grid square at max range.
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Yes. inaccurate, but the longest range we had at the time. During the '73 war, the IDF counterattacked on the Syrian front and got to within 20 miles of Damascus and that's all it took. The 175s started lobbing shells downtown and attitudes changed real quick.
 
I attended mortar and fire directon control instructor training in 1972. When we were on the artillery range for live fire I learned we were in the middle of the range and the 175's were miles behind us shooting over our position. It sounded like boxcars hurtling overhead on their way downrange. I found it unsettling and it gave me a sense of what our enemy felt when being pounded. Awesome power.
 
I experienced something similar in Korea. Our sister unit was firing directly over our position and used sensitive fuzes during a rain storm causing premature detonation. No one was hurt thankfully, but shrapnel shredded some of our camo netting.
 
David N. said:
Ah, a fellow Redleg. I had orders for Wertheimer, but some GENIUS thought it better for me to be a field recruiter.
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You would have liked Peden barracks.

It was a small post but they seem to get along well with the local population.

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The Markplatz. It seems like they had a different fest going on every weekend. And the music scene was surprisingly good. You go downtown and walk around and there were these little pop-up clubs. No cover go in buy beer , sit and listen to music all night long.
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The oldest intact castle ruins in Europe. I'm not sure if that's still counts because they restored the castle after I left
 
HayesGreener said:
I attended mortar and fire directon control instructor training in 1972. When we were on the artillery range for live fire I learned we were in the middle of the range and the 175's were miles behind us shooting over our position. It sounded like boxcars hurtling overhead on their way downrange. I found it unsettling and it gave me a sense of what our enemy felt when being pounded. Awesome power.
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one of my first security assignments was the Ray Nixon power plant on the south end of Fort Carson.

The grounds of Nixon was 2 square miles with the actual power plant right in the center. The West perimeter of the power plant butted up against the East perimeter of Range Road On Fort Carson. Along the west fence line they had a hill that they constructed out of coal ash and dirt. We could drive up on top of that Hill and watch the helicopter firing range.

I heard 155 going overhead most of the night. As a former 13 bravo I knew what I was hearing but none of my coworkers believed me.
 
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FYI: a complete listing of Army Branch birth dates can be found here: https://history.army.mil/faq/branches.html Next up in a few days is Armor Branch on December 12. I always thought the birthday coincided with the Armored Force established in July of 1940, but they tied to the original establishment of the Cavalry in 1776.

The enlisted of the Armor Force had their own MOS but there was no official Branch for officers until 1950. During WWII officers were drawn from Cavalry, Infantry, Engineers, Artillery, etc. For example, one of the best and brightest (and toughest) was MG John Wood, who commanded the 4th Armored Division, was an artilleryman.
 
Cedric said:
Yes. inaccurate, but the longest range we had at the time. During the '73 war, the IDF counterattacked on the Syrian front and got to within 20 miles of Damascus and that's all it took. The 175s started lobbing shells downtown and attitudes changed real quick.
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The 107's were also used in the Sinai to destroy Egyptian SAM site at long range, and the IDF took them across the canal when they crossed to extend their use in the same role.

Israel improved their 175mm M107 Romachs were later upgraded extending the range out to ~31 miles.
 
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