Howitzers Are Leaving Slopes for Tour of Duty

The Washington Post ^ | May 2, 2004 | Rene Sanchez

[neverdem]

Even at ski resorts, wartime brings hardship.

On the slopes of Mammoth Mountain and Alpine Meadows, high along California's Sierra Nevada range, resort operators have grown accustomed to using five leased Army howitzers to blast loose dangerous drifts of snow packed high on mountainsides.

"They work really well for avalanche control work," said Pam Murphy, senior vice president for Mammoth Mountain ski resort.

But the military wants the big guns back. It needs them for troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Army officials came knocking for the artillery cannons a few days ago, saying they had no choice but to break their deal with the ski resorts because the weapons, once surplus stock, now have to be hastily spruced up and shipped out to the front lines overseas.

[neverdem]

IIRC, they don't use no stinking FDC. It's all direct fire.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks, I found out the manufacturer (joint op with army). Looks like they still make them. Guess we are trying to save money by taking the ones already here. Who knows.

Link

[Major_Risktaker]

This is a joke right? The American's could buy them from Pakistan for a song and have them delivered the next day for cheap.

This is more Bravo Sierra! 125 billion + for the war and thier taking some old equipment off the mountains.

Next thing they will want are my weapons to...

[neverdem]

Next thing they will want are my weapons to...

Don't be surprised if the Brits have to repeat their begging from us again like in World War II. Maybe that's the reason Blair backed up Bush. 8^)

[Squantos]

I thought same as you....asked some active duty muzzlephucers at Ft X and it's fer real....................damn sad ain't it !

Stay Safe !

[Cannoneer No. 4]

The howitzers they are calling in are probably needed because of the current TOE (table of equipment) that the military was moving to. The military was looking to standardize all artillery to 155mm howitzers, phasing out the smaller 88mm and 105mm howitzers which are not produced any further for the US Army. However, in Afghanistan these caliber of guns are needed because of the mobile/moutainous nature of this war. A 155 cannot easily be transported around the mountainous terrain, while the smaller calibers can- forcing a rethink for the Army's artillery. The smaller caliber cannons had probably been donated to these resorts in the expectation the Army would never have use of them, yet, lo and behold they do now and are recalled. There actually was an excellent article in the professional magazine of artillerymen detailing this tactic shift in Afghanistan where they actually load the smaller cannons onboard helicopters so as to conceal/transport them instead of the traditional slingloading method.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

They're not that old. 1989 through 1995.

[Squantos]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1128134/posts?page=6#6

Stay Safe .............:o)

[Cannoneer No. 4]

A Case For Howitzers In Afghanistan

[neverdem]

What's with the 88mm howitzer? Did someone start using old German 88mm guns as howitzers?

[Darksheare]

Hey, archy and I spoke specifically about that capability about a year or so ago.
Hmm..

[Darksheare]

The 10duece was the precursor to the one pictured.
The pic is of the M-119A1, the howitzer my unit was equipped with.
I do miss that puppy, and there's supposedly a desigantor now of A2 on them with handrails welded to the trails so that there's something to grip when the chief says "Hands on trails!"

[Redleg Duke]

I'm really showing my age! :-)

[Darksheare]

Don't worry about it, there's a Hawwaiian unit that still has the Duece, and they recently (within the past 5 years) did a stint at JRTC.
They were supposed to switch over to the 119, but with teh slashing of artillery units I'm not sure what happened to them.
I know about them only because they needed people with knowledge of the duece to round out their ranks for JRTC and it was put to our unit for volunteers.
My unit was going to JRTC the next year, and it was put to us for that so that we'd have a few people with 'first hand' experiences of what happens at JRTC.
Don't know exactly how that whole idea came about, but it was interesting to read about it after I left the unit.

Cripes I'm babbling.
What I was trying to say, before I sidetracked myself, was that the old Deuce was still in a few units here and there a few years ago.
;-)

What boggles me is the idea of cross-training/MOS'ing 13B as MP's..
Artillery types think this way: Hey, there's a bad guy, let's blow him up.
MP types think this way: Hey, there's a bad guy, let's detain him.

[El Gato]

Do you recall any stories within the last year or so where they discussed using old artillery tubes for inert precision guided munitions, like Jdams, for targets in populated areas.

The so called Bunker Buster LGB's (Laser Guided Bombs) were fabricated rom artillery tubes. They were designed, tested, built and deployed in mere months during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. I later worked with some folks involved in the guidance package end of the project.

[xone]

They are also not inert. You may be thinking of a practice bomb (the designation escapes me) filled with concrete for use in cities, no blast no frags. Just 500# of crete.