FReeper Canteen~Military Vehicles~May 11, 2006

Various Internet Sites

[AZamericonnie]

MILITARY VEHICLES

M109A6 Paladin Self Propelled Howitzer

The M109 is an American self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. Continually upgraded and improved, to today's current version the M109A6 "Paladin", it is still the primary indirect-fire support weapon of maneuver brigades of armored and mechanized infantry divisions of the US Army, Israel Defense Forces, the Italian Army, and many other militaries, including the Norwegian, Swiss, Danish, Pakistani,Dutch and Austrian armies. ****

Army Spc. Frank Guerra prepares to fire rounds from a M109A6 Paladin artillery vehicle as part of a counter fire mission against insurgents near the town of Falluja, Iraq, on Nov. 5, 2004. Guerra is assigned to Alpha 382nd, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry. DoD photo by Senior Airman Christopher A. Marasky, U.S. Air Force. (Released)



Paladin M109A6 is a cannon artillery system developed by the Ground System Division of United Defense LP (now BAE Systems Land and Armaments) and manufactured at the Paladin Production Operation centre at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Paladin was first fielded in 1994 and is operational with the United States Army and the Israeli Army, and has been selected by the Kuwait and Taiwan. In June 1999, the US Army received the last of 950 Paladin M109A6 ordered. Seven systems were ordered in July 2000 for the US Army National Guard and a further 18 systems in January 2002.

Paladin was used in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March / April 2003 and in continuing operations in Iraq, including Operation Al Fajr in Fallujah in November 2004.

BAE Systems Land and Armaments is supplying 219 modification kits for US Army Paladins which will enable the use of the Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS) and the 155mm precision-guided extended-range XM92 Excalibur projectile being developed by Raytheon and Bofors Defense of Sweden (a United Defense subsidiary). Deliveries began in 2005.




(Exerpt) The eardrum shattering report of the Paladin rings out as the battery runs through one such registration fire mission. Spc. Ellery Villalobos, the ammunition team chief, stands a distance away from the vehicle, a red propellant bag slung over his shoulder. He waits. The look of excitement and shear joy mix on his face with the dirt and grime that flies back with each round expelled. BOOOOOM fires the gun and Villalobos is sprinting towards it with a new round to load up.

“HOOOOOAH!,” he shouts as he sprints back throwing another propellant charge over his shoulder in anticipation. “This is what being artillery is all about! COME ON GUYS! LET’S GO! GET THAT ROUND DOWN RANGE!”


The M284 cannon which is fitted with an M182 gun mount, has a range of 24 km using unassisted rounds or 30 km using assisted rounds.




Big gun go boom!

Model Type: GAW M109A6 "Paladin"
Vehicle Type: Self Propelled Howitzer
Crew: Four (Driver, Gunner, Loader, and Commander).

M.D.C. by Location: [1] Tractor Treads (2): 45 each
Howitzer Turret: 140
Howitzer Barrel: 70
12.7 mm Machine Gun (right side of turret): 20
[2] Main Body: 280

Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the Howitzer until it is replaced. Replacing a tread will take 1D6x10 minutes by a trained crew (2 replacements are carried on board) or three times as long by the inexperienced. Changing the tread is only advisable when the vehicle is not under attack. [2] If all the M.D.C. of the main body is depleted, the vehicle is completely shut down and is unsalvageable.

Speed:
Ground: Cruising speed on land is 35 mph (56.3 kph) on roads and 30 mph (48.3 kph) off road maximum. The vehicle is designed to traverse virtually all terrain and can climb at up to a 60% grade although at a much slower speed (About 10% of maximum road speed). It can also climb barriers and ford trenches. The vehicle can also handle side slopes of up to 30%. Maximum Range: 213.7 miles (344 km)

Statistical Data:
Height: 9.2 feet (2.8 meters) without machine mount and 10.6
feet (3.236 meters) including machine gun mount
Width: 10.3 feet (3.15 meters)
Length: 20.3 feet (6.19 meters) for main body and 32.2 feet (9.8 meters) with gun forward:
Weight: 26 tons (23.6 metric tons) empty and 31.7 tons (28.74 metric tons) combat loaded
Power Source: Diesel Engine (Detroit Diesel Model 8V-71T developing 440 horsepower).
Cargo Capacity: Minimal, enough for equipment with crew Black Market Cost: 175,000 Credits. If fitted, any extra weapons systems will add to the cost of the Howitzer.






~Tribute To Our Troops~

[SandRat]

Morning. Surprise! I'm off work. Have to drive 5 1/2 hours to Flagstaff up to bring my daughter home from NAU for the summer tomorrow after she clears the dorm inspection.

[GodBlessUSA]

I cheated a wee bit by posting early, but it's mine LOL

[GodBlessUSA]

Good Morning Sandrat
Have a safe drive and a wonderful day! Yay, your daughter is off for summer :)

[txradioguy]

LOL! not yet. I gotta quit going places first.

[GodBlessUSA]

Good Morning Connie
You have created another wonderful thread of our Hero's vehicles! Hugs!

[beachn4fun]

Good morning, ML. Brrr....... We're warmer here, but overcast and yucky looking.

[beachn4fun]

Something is just NOT RIGHT about this!

W H

[txradioguy]

{{{MEG}}}

Morning Star...sorry to hear about your boy taking a tumble. Hope he's ok now.

We tend to scuff ourselves up pretty good at that age.

[beachn4fun]

Cheated a wee bit, she says. HuH! What an understatement......

[beachn4fun]

No, no.... you've got to try to see as much as possible for you're off to somewhere else!

The museums are a must see in DC.

If you've never been to Gettysburg, PA., I suggest that as a must see before you leave. Do it while the weather is not too hot as there's a lot of walking. And, it's only a few hours away from here.

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Morning, GodBlessUSA.

[MozartLover]

Soldier, just back from Iraq, helps out at Georgia crash site

Stars and Stripes European edition, Thursday, May 11, 2006

Thirteen hours after returning from Iraq, a Georgia National Guard soldier helped rescue a man whose truck veered off the Forest River Bridge and landed in the marsh, according to a report in Wednesday’s Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle.

Sgt. Shawn Dantzler and his family were on their way to the mall Monday afternoon when a Ford F-150 pickup started to swerve in front of them on Highway 204.

“I thought he was going to sideswipe us,” the 48th Brigade guardsman told the paper. “Then I saw him go off the road, and I feared he was going into the creek.”

Gary Farrand, 67, was heading east when he became ill and lost control of his truck, Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police spokesman Sgt. Mike Wilson told the Chronicle. Farrand’s truck clipped the guardrail, sped down an embankment, bulldozed a fence and landed in the marsh — just feet from Forest River, witnesses were reported as saying.

Dantzler jumped out of his Jeep and ran down the embankment, while his 17-year-old brother, Kyle, called 911.

“I don’t know if it’s an adrenaline rush or what. My main thing was to make sure he was OK,” Dantzler told the paper.

The Chronicle wrote that Dantzler asked Farrand about his injuries and talked to him about family to keep him focused and awake, he said.

Farrand was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was listed in good condition Monday night, hospital spokeswoman Betsy Yates told the paper.

[SandRat]

Not quite..... she starts work on Monday for the City for a Summer 33hr/week job. Why 33 hours because that way under Arizona Law you're part-time so no bennies need be provided.

[MozartLover]

Unbelievably nasty weather here today.

I'm off to a rehearsal, then to Best Buy....Ev's busted laptop finally got here; I'm going to take it in & see what they will do for him.

bbl

[Lady Jag]

hope that you didn't miss my post about the new controversial film

I had missed it! Thank you for thinking of me even though it was after the fact!   : )   It was fabulous to wake up to this morning! Neat site, too.

[Lady Jag]

I am not a mathematician or scientist, yet I found CHAOS to be a fascinating a impressively well-written explanation of the physics of Chaos, fractals and Mandelbrot sets.

Having loaned out the book and wanting to read it again, I searched Amazon for it and found some interesting looking newer books that have taken this science and veered it toward religion.

I'm fascinated by this, but have no time to read about it now or in the foreseeable future. I have my own sort of math/spiritual theory and would like to put much aside to read about theirs, but unfortunately, it's going to have to wait.

[Lady Jag]

Keep an eye on the temps, Kathy, Alaska & Boston may stick rather close today, another gray and drizzly one for us.

Hey, how about that grizzly/polar cross they found up there, eh?

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Proud Patriots - Sending care packages, e-mails, and snail mail to US Military worldwide.
Proud Patriots is a group of private Americans who are working to ensure
that our brave military heroes receive the support we believe they deserve.

[AZamericonnie]

Good *yawn* morning/afternoon/evening Troops & Canteeners. Looks like we are supposed to hit temps of 101 today. Getting ready for work here but I'll be back to catch up in a bit. Hope you are all having a super day!

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))How's it going?