Heavy Artillery of WWII Questions and Info

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B-17engineer

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Dec 9, 2007
Revis Island.
I've been reading up on heavy artillery of WWII and what are your opinions on the different artillery guns.


M1 240mm Howitzer: Its weight was 30 tons and traveled on a six wheel carriage. (What kind of truck transported this monster?) Was placed in a pit to absorb recoil. The barrel was put into place by a crane! (What kind of crane was used, and was it truck mounted?) The set up could take over eight hours.(How many men did it take?)

24cm Kanone 3: A gun developed for counter-battery work. Also a version was produced that was carried by 2 turretless Tiger Tanks. (Any photos that someone would have?)

Right now I am off to dinner and will follow up. Thanks
 
24cm Kanone 3: A gun developed for counter-battery work. Also a version was produced that was carried by 2 turretless Tiger Tanks. (Any photos that someone would have?)
Click to expand...

A version was proposed to be carried by Tigers but never made ( check the rare panzers topic drawings), in fact even a variant of the heavier 280 mm railway gun K-5 e, mostly know in the US as "Anzio express", was also designed to be self propelled by two Tigers II, again remained projekt only.

In spite few 24 cm K3 were made that type was in fact used in the Eastern front, I have a video of it firing against russian build up areas in late 1943. It was towed by the 18 ton tractor Sd.Kfz 9 Famo.
 

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Gotta go with the 155MM Long Tom. The SP version. While there were other guns out there that had larger diameters or had technical points of superiority, in terms of number, mobility, size and effectiveness.

Read a story of an attack on the West Wall in 1944 where an infantry unit was pinned down. A Long Tom cranked up (evidently, it was wandering around the battlefield looking for it's unit) and asked if it could help. "Sure" said the infantry. And the gun set up and proceeded to throw 155MM rounds at bunkers and whatnot until the opposition was reduced. Not the kind of information that shows up in statistics but that use of Artillery is hugely important.
 

Not sure if the "SP" version was really a "LONG TOM"

M12 Gun Motor Carriage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

M40 Gun Motor Carriage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

155 mm Long Tom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They do use different barrels but maybe to the infantry anything longer than the 155 howitzer was a Long Tom

M114 155 mm howitzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Shortround6 said:
Not sure if the "SP" version was really a "LONG TOM"
Click to expand...

Gotcha. I was thinking along the lines of anything that didn't have to be towed was SP. Not a close support weapon per se, defiintely higher level artillery in most cases (Brigade or Division).

Remembered another story about the 155 last night. It happened on Pellieu and involved Marine artillery.

There is a ridge behind the airfield that the Marines were trying to take (I am pretty sure it was the 7th Marine Regiment, if not them, then the 5th). They'd gone at the ridge a couple of times and were not getting anywhere. Just losing guys. The spotters had a decent line on where the enemy way but they couldn't get close enough to destroy them and air power wasn't getting the job done. The Regimental commander then ordered the 155s up and had them dig in about 800 or so Yards away from the ridge and dug them in. Then, using the 155s as big rifles, just shot the hell out of the strongpoints and pretty much blew the Japanese off the ridge. The guns were so close they were getting shrapnel from the shell detonations back into the pits. That's close.

Just some FYI about big guns and direct fire.

I think something similar happened at Omaha Beach and Destroyer 5" guns against German Strong points.
 

Here 'tis, a SP version of the Long Tom:

M40 "Big Shot" U.S. 155mm Gun Motor Carriage

The US artillery really rocked between 1940-1990.
 
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