Posted on 12/08/2005 3:29:45 PM PST by Clive
FORT SILL, Oklahoma -- The new M777 155mm howitzer coming into service with the Artillery in November will extend the range and lethality of fire missions supporting ground operations.
Captain Jeffrey Pederson (left), takes part in war games at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
The Triple 7, as gunners call it, is a lightweight 155mm towed howitzer that is air-portable and air-droppable. The design is the result of a joint British-American project, with the guns being manufactured in the United States.
Firing conventional munitions, the gun has a range of 30 km. With precision munitions, such as the Excalibur round, the range can reach 40 km, with the first rounds being effective. The increased accuracy of the Excalibur round is due to the built-in global positioning system guidance system.
"With the equipment we've been using until now, it would sometimes take up to eight minutes after receiving a fire-mission request to have effective rounds hitting the target. With a digitized Triple 7, effective fire can be achieved in under two minutes," said Major Paul Payne, Chief Instructor in gunnery at the Field Artillery School in Gagetown.
Conventional munitions will still require ranging and bracketing to get rounds on target, giving an aggressor with mobility time to move away from the impact area as adjustments are made. With the Excalibur round, commanders and forward observation officers can deliver lethal blows with the first and subsequent rounds.
Staff Sergeant Joseph Andrews, an instructor at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, has assisted with training the first Canadians who will use the Triple 7. The 19-year veteran, who has had many tours in combat zones, does not hesitate to describe the Canadian gunners as " a well motivated and well disciplined group of soldiers ... very professional."
Staff Sgt Andrews has a depth of experience as an artilleryman and sums up the Triple 7 this way: "This weapon is high speed, and can always stay in the fight no matter what happens. It's awesome."
After extensive trials and shoots, the first new guns built for the Canadian Army were delivered on November 26, in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. The gun represents a major leap in technology and its first use in an area of conflict will be with Canadian gun crews.
A joint Canadian-American New Equipment Training Team (NETT), established at Fort Sill, was CFB/ASU Shilo for the arrival of the M777 to conduct further training and live shoots.
Following the shoot, the Canadian component of the NETT will be established in the Field Artillery School at the Combat Training Centre, Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.
Article and photos by Master Corporal Dennis Power
FAMPL ping.
Fort Sill, M777 lightweight 155..
Thanks for the head's up!
FA/M ping list pinged..
BTTT!!! Thank you for the ping!!
Major Payne. They write themselves...
no problem....
Looks like a fun weapon to shoot.
bfl!
Clive fouind the arrticle, and Mike gave me the head's up.
;-)
Welcome!
Cannoneers have steel balls.
Hopefully... he doesn't use it as an in joke and thus end up with a bunch of guys busting a gut during a critical juncture...
Everything that I have ever seen that was air-portable is air-droppable.
Oh, they mean it won't break.
Sorry, never mind.
Thanks for the ping.
Oh, nevermind.
;<)
Yeah!
Emplacing the howitzer in two minutes, and then able to fire in another two from the warning "Fire Mission"..
Sounds sweet.
Closest my old unit came was emplacing in two minutes and then being able to fire in three minutes, but that was because we were M119A1's, and were pretty quick that day on the aiming and safety circles.
LOL!
If I know 13B's, if it can be broken, they will find away to break it.
;-)
interesting...
The FO's standard is getting the inital call for fire out in 45 seconds. Unless that's changed, and I doubt it.
I generally came in well under that.
Not a dumb question at all. The path of the projectile will approximate a parabola, with the angle of departure of the Shell from the tube being equal to the angle of approach to the target. That being said, several other factors such as wind velocity and direction, elevation differences between the gun and the target, temperature of the air and the relative humidity will all factor into the initial setting of the tubes azimuth and elevation prior to firing the initial round.
Semper Fi
I'm not sure what the total time was from the FO giving the call, I was never privy to the elapsed time info unless I was down at FDC handing in the chiefs report and the FO's were on the net talking to us directly.
Not being a 13E, I don't know if we normally spoke to them or range control.
Kinda like humblegunner's last job.
They sealed him in a 55 gallon drum with three ball bearings.
At the end of the day when they cut him out he had lost one, broke one and the third was in his lunchbox.
So sad!
All in all, it does look like a nice system.
Wonder how tough it is, the traversing gear and such.
They are probably putting it through the paces as we speak.
yeah...
that would be a real nice equalizer out in the boonies in Afghanistan or in Iraq. If he can push it out of the back of a C-130, it makes everything easier on everyone.
Airborne Artillery!!
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