Fort Sill Half Section Demonstration , and other stuff

[Subdeacon Joe]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tom Bullweed]

We lived there in 1972, my Dad's last of 24 years in the US Army.

I saw The Cowboys at a theater called The Alamo and remember a circular sample of artillery.

[Waxahachie Kid #17017 L]

Now by gum, that's the kind of demonstration I can love.  Finally, something to cheer about. 

Thank you for posting this.

 

W.K.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Looks like the first two clips showing a total disregard for the 170 rule.  Might be the camera angle but it looked like they fired those blanks into the bleacher on the right.

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Ohio has the biggest Civil War re-enactor and collector's show in the nation. It's held in Mansfield at the fairgrounds (cancelled this year of course, along with everything else)

I would give my eye teeth to have been there three years ago (I think it was three)

A Florida artillery regiment came up -- they parked their tractor-trailers and a minor fleet of pickup trucks in the far end of the property to get set up.

A whistle, a yell, a gunshot, a bugle:  here they came at a dead flat out gallop, hooves a-thunder and sabers bright in the morning sunlight, charging at the top of their lungs for the infield:  they brought the teams around, gun carriages and limbers slid into position, one-two-three side-by-side, they unhitched livestock and limbers, the guns had been power slid into position in a neat row:  powder monkeys at a dead run, charges run home, a raised saber, a leather-lunged FIRE! and BANG BANG BANG right down the row!

They had to put in an awful lot of practice to make it look that good!

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

I saw a 105mm gun crew pull off a high/low demonstration one time. 

 

Thats is where the target is about 1000m down range.  The crew fires the first shot at high angle, which means pretty near vertical at that range. 

 

While the round is in flight, the crew re-aims and reloads, lowering the barrel for a direct fire shot. The gun chief has a stopwatch and calls FIRE such that both rounds hit the target simultaneously. 

 

Now that’s a Sierra Hotel crew.

[Utah Bob #35998]

 

[Utah Bob #35998]

3 hours ago, Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 said:

Ohio has the biggest Civil War re-enactor and collector's show in the nation. It's held in Mansfield at the fairgrounds (cancelled this year of course, along with everything else)

I would give my eye teeth to have been there three years ago (I think it was three)

A Florida artillery regiment came up -- they parked their tractor-trailers and a minor fleet of pickup trucks in the far end of the property to get set up.

A whistle, a yell, a gunshot, a bugle:  here they came at a dead flat out gallop, hooves a-thunder and sabers bright in the morning sunlight, charging at the top of their lungs for the infield:  they brought the teams around, gun carriages and limbers slid into position, one-two-three side-by-side, they unhitched livestock and limbers, the guns had been power slid into position in a neat row:  powder monkeys at a dead run, charges run home, a raised saber, a leather-lunged FIRE! and BANG BANG BANG right down the row!

They had to put in an awful lot of practice to make it look that good!

At the Battle of Olustee in Florida back in the 80s there was a horse drawn artillery unit from Ohio that used to attend almost every year. They were Amazing!

[Dawg Hair, SASS #29557]

AWESOME!!

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

Look up Burroughs Battery, a Civil War artillery tee actor group from Blain, TN. They have a variety of guns and accessories, plus a stable of horses trained to work with them. 

 

My buddy is a regular with them.  I’ve had the privilege of attending a few live fires. Holy Cow!

[Trailrider #896]

I was at Ft. Sill with my Mom and Dad about 1943, while Dad attended artillery school. (He had been in the reserves and trained on French 75's, so he needed updating when he went on active duty.) I don't remember it, as I was about 6 months old!  Dad told me he studied in the bathroom so he wouldn't wake me.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

When I was in the artillery, ‘65-‘68, it was 105, 155, 175, and 8”, as well as a few missiles, such as Sergeant missiles, maybe another missile. The 105s seem to have gone away. The 175s are in some allied armies, the 155 and 8” got longer tubes but the 8” went away, maybe to allied armies. It seems that all that’s left is 155.  
 

it appears that the nuclear artillery got dumbed down and then went away.
 

 

 

[Pulp, SASS#28319]

Ever wonder how that half section got to Ft Sill?  The Army moved it all from Ft Sam Houston to Ft Sill in 1939.  That’s Sawyer’s and my Father on the second horse as they were leaving Ft Sam Houston.

[Utah Bob #35998]

2 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

When I was in the artillery, ‘65-‘68, it was 105, 155, 175, and 8”, as well as a few missiles, such as Sergeant missiles, maybe another missile. The 105s seem to have gone away. The 175s are in some allied armies, the 155 and 8” got longer tubes but the 8” went away, maybe to allied armies. It seems that all that’s left is 155.  
 

it appears that the nuclear artillery got dumbed down and then went away.
 

 

 

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/03/11/the-army-is-making-artillery-great-again/

[Johnson County Mike]

Hi, my favorite hat, by Miller Hats, that I use for Wild Bunch. They call it the "Fort Sill, Regards, Mikel

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

22 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/03/11/the-army-is-making-artillery-great-again/

The article mentions shutting down the highway because it was near the planned impact area.  In Oct ‘67 I was in the S3 in our battalion HQ in Grafenwoehr when we heard two loud booms, no, BOOMS nearby. Soon there was a report to Range Control about rounds going off on the tank trail (aka dirt road) then “RANGE CONTROL TO ALL ALPHA UNITS, CEASE FIRE REPEAT CEASE FIRE” followed by a roll call to all units to assure that they got the message, then another roll call to get the most recent azimuths and such to figure out whodunnit.  An eight inch unit had overshot the impact area. Fortunately the only casualty was a Jeep radiator.

 

 

 

[Cactus Jack Calder]

I worked for Orange and Rockland Utilities in Spring Valley, NY. We served the USMA @ West Point, NY. There was a power line along a road named Mine Torn Rd that had to be restrung regularly when the Cadets were practicing their Artillery Marksmanship. There was a gate at both ends of Mine Torn Rd that had to be closed when the artillery practice was scheduled. Otherwise it was open as a public thoroughfare. I’ve traveled down that road many, many times.

As fast as possible. 
 

CJ

[Pulp, SASS#28319]

When I was in college at Lawton some summer ROTC students dropped a couple of 105 rounds into a parking lot of a restaurant a bit east of Medicine Park.  No one injured, but a lot of scared diners.

My Ecology class was going on a field trip to the Wichita Mts, driving up the road from Cache.  Artillery were set up on the east side of the road (Bear Camp Eagle)and firing west.  Did you know a 105 is loud when fired over your head?  It literally rocked the pickup In which I was a passenger.