Comments for Inaugural Firepower

Inaugural Firepower

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:00:57 -0600

Ah, the 3inch anti-tank rifle. Nice looking gun, sweet to serve. The cannon of the Presidential Salute Gun Platoon roar in succession, a rolling volley honoring a new president. The ceremonial unit is part of the U.S. Army's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard," based on Fort Myer, Va. More than 5,000 men and women in uniform are providing military ceremonial support to the presidential inauguration, a tradition dating back to George Washington's 1789 inauguration. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kathrine McDowell Of course, let's hope this isn't a metaphor for the new President... a nice looking, yet obsolescent tool that was not terribly effective to begin with, firing blanks, all smoke and fire, little impact except visually and aurally. Of course, better that than an 8incher in direct fire, blowing apart the institutions, either... H/t the 8 of you who thought I might have missed this. Which I did, until this morning.

Comment from Josh on 2009-01-23

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:16:28 -0600

Wasn't the cheapest way to go about it, but it was sure *effective*. And *fun*...

Weapons with bores over 5 inches are not about "cheap"...they're about asskicking.

In relation to Josh, the difference is of no matter...

Yeah yeah, us kids have no sense of anything that happened before PCs...Ronald Reagan was directly preceeded by the Stone Age, yes?

So, it'd kinda be like trying to explain the difference between the Triassic and the Jurassic?

The Triassic? You mean the age of three-assed animals, which Dr. Mephisto is perpetually trying to recreate? (Sorry, South Park reference...)

Comment from BillT on 2009-01-23

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:43:48 -0600

So, it'd kinda be like trying to explain the difference between the Triassic and the Jurassic?

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-01-23

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:54:18 -0600

In relation to Josh, the difference is of no matter...

Comment from BillT on 2009-01-23

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:44:35 -0600

Remember, Josh, Bill and I are auld.

Fine thing -- claiming Auld-By-Association.

Your *dad* saw 8-inchers used against bunkers and *I* saw one root a sniper out of a cave on a mountainside.

Wasn't the cheapest way to go about it, but it was sure *effective*. And *fun*...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:36:28 -0600

#4 - you forgot something in your instructions for the Parrot. "Wait for the tourist to get close enough... then apply the sponge."

Comment from Cannoneer No. 4 on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:30:46 -0600

The Old Guard should have a How Btry for horse artillery tasks like firing salutes and driving caissons.

Sounds like a mission for the other half of the Field Artillery Half Section.

Comment from Cannoneer No. 4 on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:24:43 -0600

Cleaning 3-inch Parrott Rifles is fun. Elevate the tube, pour the water out of the sponge bucket into the tube, push all the water out through the vent. with the sponge and rammer.

Thar she blows.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:43:15 -0600

Sorry your comment got caught up in moderation there #4. Shoulda dropped me a note.

Comment from Josh on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:25:39 -0600

Jeez, I wish somebody had gotten video footage of that...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:11:00 -0600

No, probably not. They're most likely grunts from the Old Guard. We'll let them shoot blanks from guns that size. They can clean 'em, too. Nothing like running a couple of pounds of black powder through your gun for a messy clean-up job.

Comment from Cannoneer No. 4 on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:59:08 -0600

Are those 13B's serving those pieces?
I didn't think so.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:11:56 -0600

Remember, Josh, Bill and I are auld. Well, Bill is Really Auld. Just as those guns in the pic haven't been used since WWII as anything except salute guns or training dummies on Aiming Circle Hill at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, we don't currently have an 8 inch cannon in service. In Vietnam, however, my father (either when he was with II Field Force HQ at Bien Hoa or as a commander of the 6/15TH FA in Tay Ninh) witnessed the M110 8inch howitzer used in the direct fire mode against NVA/VC bunkers.

The swan song of the mighty M110A2 was Desert Storm. They were retired after that war.

Comment from Josh on 2009-01-22

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:19:28 -0600

Pardon my early morning disorientation, but what piece does U.S. Army Artillery use in direct fire that has an eight inch bore?

Comment from RetRsvMike on 2009-01-21

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:52:16 -0600

Bill: i'm thinking it has that superelevation for when they load canister, cuz they're gonna be needing to get a cupola shot when the panzer is overrunning them...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-01-21

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:52:46 -0600

Jason - so you *do* still show up... the little guns you are talking about are probably the 75mm pack howitzers, modified as salute guns by welding the recoil trays and putting weld beads in the chambers so that they won't chamber anything but blanks.

The weld the recoil slide so they can keep the muzzles pointing up even if the seals on the recuperator fail.

Comment from Jason on 2009-01-21

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:46:51 -0600

"Of course, let's hope this isn't a metaphor for the new President... a nice looking, yet obsolescent tool that was not terribly effective to begin with, firing blanks, all smoke and fire, little impact except visually and aurally."

No, not at all - it's a statement about today's Field Artillery capabilities in support of the Global War on Terror (TM) a la Gian Gentile... (kidding). Little surprised that they dont use those little howitizers that I see at Ft Myers and other posts for such ceremonies. Also enjoyed seeing the four services march in the inaugural parade, very nice - except for the Air Force. What a cluster fart. Too many personnel, last few gaggles were out of step, lollygagging around. Bad form.

Comment from BillT on 2009-01-21

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:28:54 -0600

Thought it was more to keep the muzzle from getting all mudded up if they ever used a 10-ton truck as a prime mover.

And what's with Nice looking gun, sweet to serve -- yestiddy you were all I.will.not.serve -y an' stuff...

Comment from Cannoneer No. 4 on 2009-01-21

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:40:24 -0600

How many 13B's are in the Presidential Salute Gun Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment?

About as many as there are MOS 563's in the Caisson Platoon.

They're breaking your Redleg rice bowl.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-01-21

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:18:53 -0600

Function of the carriage, Bill. Same one as for the 105mm howitzer.

Besides, sometimes you're on the valley floor, and the target is rounding the switchback on the hillside.

Or the target is in the third floor.

Comment from BillT on 2009-01-21

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:45:08 -0600

Didn't know they could elevate that high.

Giving an anti-tank gun indirect fire capability seems a bit *much*...