Just a quick question, is the M59 155mm Long Tom still in the inventory, or have all of the large caliber guns gone the SP route?
I just picked up the AFV kit, and it started me thinking. Thanks for any info.
It’s been gone for a long time. The M198 155mm was the towed gun we used during the Gulf War and in the 70-90s. There’s a newer towed 155 in the inventory now. Gino would know the nomenclature.
Mouse House and another company (Air Model?) makes the resin M198 http://www.mheaust.com.au/MHE/Catalogue.htm
Yup, as the good LTC Rob said, the M59 was phased out in the mid-'60s, a few were used in the early days of Vietnam, but not past that. The M114A1 (an updated version of Italeri’s M1) 155 Howitzer replaced it. The M198 was introduced in the late-'70s. The M198 is still the prime towed howitzer for the US Army and USMC. The new howitzer that is replacing it is the M777 Lightweight 155mm Howitzer. It has been fielded with a couple Army units and USMC units. Canada is also fielding them and has used a few in Afghanistan already.
Also, the Mouse House and Airmodel M198s are two unrelated kits. Both are pretty nice.
The 155 long tom was history before the Vietnam conflict, but they did keep the revised 155 howitzer in the inventory (a much different animal from the WWII model). They are still using the M198 and another new one that cannot remember the numbers on. The 105, 8", and 175 are gone from inventory when used in an SP.
If any of you need photos of a WWII 155 howitzer (towed) or an 8" towed howitzer, let me know. I have access to both guns.
gary
I shot the 155 towed guns many moons ago, and the M114 carriage is vastly different than the older ones. I was thinking it might have been tagged M101 or something like that. You can spot one right away from the WWII/Korean war cannons by the chrome front half of the barrel. The front jack is much different the the older gun. Think there’s also a slight difference in the way the breech is built (both use the same interlocking step thread breech).
Lastly during the fifteen months I was in Vietnam the only people I ever saw using a long barreled 155 were some Marines a little north of Chu Lai right before the 68 Tet Offensive. The Army used nothing but M109s, M110s, M107s, and a very few M108s.
gary
Like I said, the M114A1 was an updated version of the older, WWII era, M1 Howitzer.
Thanks so much for all the kind responses. I guess I really need to update my heavy arty knowledge. I feel like a dinosaur being so far out of touch.
Once again, “Much thanks.”
just looked an M114A1 on display a couple hours ago, and it’s not what we used in Vietnam. The carriage is not the same, let alone the barrel. Looks like it uses the same firing lock and periscope. Jack is a vertical ratcheting affair (like a bumper jack in some ways). The ones we used in RVN used a screw type jack that had handles that moved horizontally. Also the trails are slightly different on the one I looked over (mostly tool attachment points and the large handle to shift the gun.
Somewhere I have a few pictures of the gun used in RVN. I’ll take a look for them.
gary