They were used to douse fires and, usually full of sand. There may have been a few that contained water, but this was an unreliable for fire suppresion.

Okay I see at the Nam fire bases, positions for the Guns 203 MM and 175 MM call for a sandbagged reverse U shape, with fire barrels at the front and rear, are they used for putting fires out?

Really never was in the Artillery.

Jeff

Those fire barrels



Jeff

Quoted Text

---

Those fire barrels



Jeff

---

Never did 8" / 175guns in combat, but was around them a lot. Yet I was trained on the M110/M107 platform extensively. Never saw anything like the diagram, and trust me the concussion from a 175 gun would have been ugly on the bunkers. Just shakes the dust off everything for about a 150 foot circle. Most of these big guns didn't even have a parapet wall, but still shot off a heavy wooden base dug into the ground (mostly M110's did this) to make a dead steer easier for an azimuth shift. Remember the 8" usually shot the 6400 mill circle, while the 175 gun didn't. 175's usually shot less than a 90 degree quadrant. It would become a horror story to be shooting over another gun crew!! A lot of 175's shot directly off the back of a truck for ammo, but have seen bunkers (never close to where you sleep). Powder is never stored with projectiles or even fuses. A safety issue here. Fuses can be dangerous, while projectiles are inert unless fused. With an 8"; you don't just shoot HE rounds. You shoot WP and maybe illumination as well. These rounds can be dangerous due to their construction. You store they separately from the generic HE, and often on the opposite side of the parapet. Powder being the one quantity that's easy to set off, is stored as far away from the others as possible. Even then, it's still close to the piece.

The bunker you slept is whatever you found to build it out of. One common thing is that it will have a minimum of two entrances (once again a safety issue). Each opening should have a flash wall outside it (about four feet high and about eight to ten feet long). Beds are built like bunk beds out of 2x4's. Remf's got air mattresses, but not in the field all that much. Being as you have to have 110vt. electricity to operate, a small fridge was an often sight inside. Be thinking lots and lots of sandbags, with walls at least two feet thick (I've seen five feet many times). They usually have a canvas tarp (stolen off a five ton truck) on the roof.

gary

Quoted Text

---

Quoted Text

---

Those fire barrels



Jeff

---

remember this; an M109 unit will use a regular parapet a lot of the time. But it will not have the back up logs like a towed gun is set up for. The center plate is much larger to aid the piece in shifting azimuths. M110's and M107's rarely do a shift that amounts to much. Most M110's and M107's simply dug in on open flat ground that was leveled out.
gary

Never did 8" / 175guns in combat, but was around them a lot. Yet I was trained on the M110/M107 platform extensively. Never saw anything like the diagram, and trust me the concussion from a 175 gun would have been ugly on the bunkers. Just shakes the dust off everything for about a 150 foot circle. Most of these big guns didn't even have a parapet wall, but still shot off a heavy wooden base dug into the ground (mostly M110's did this) to make a dead steer easier for an azimuth shift. Remember the 8" usually shot the 6400 mill circle, while the 175 gun didn't. 175's usually shot less than a 90 degree quadrant. It would become a horror story to be shooting over another gun crew!! A lot of 175's shot directly off the back of a truck for ammo, but have seen bunkers (never close to where you sleep). Powder is never stored with projectiles or even fuses. A safety issue here. Fuses can be dangerous, while projectiles are inert unless fused. With an 8"; you don't just shoot HE rounds. You shoot WP and maybe illumination as well. These rounds can be dangerous due to their construction. You store they separately from the generic HE, and often on the opposite side of the parapet. Powder being the one quantity that's easy to set off, is stored as far away from the others as possible. Even then, it's still close to the piece.

The bunker you slept is whatever you found to build it out of. One common thing is that it will have a minimum of two entrances (once again a safety issue). Each opening should have a flash wall outside it (about four feet high and about eight to ten feet long). Beds are built like bunk beds out of 2x4's. Remf's got air mattresses, but not in the field all that much. Being as you have to have 110vt. electricity to operate, a small fridge was an often sight inside. Be thinking lots and lots of sandbags, with walls at least two feet thick (I've seen five feet many times). They usually have a canvas tarp (stolen off a five ton truck) on the roof.

gary

---

A big thanks Gary and Matt.

A darn good explanation Gary.





Jeff