My family and I were recently in Des Moines, Iowa and we wanted to check out the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge since it had been on my radar for some time. I expected to see a few old guns and perhaps some warbirds, but I was completely taken aback by [Read More…]
Artillery and indirect fire: The M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer is the subject in this Photo Of The Day, with pictures from both Germany, Austria and Norway. They provide far-reaching fire support, with help from the reconnaissance battalion. Together they prepared the [Read More…]
Another set of US Department of Defense solicitations has been published on the website of a US government program called SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research). This program includes a huge variety of different projects initiated by all branches of US Armed Forces. [Read More…]
Ever wanted your own field gun but never had the garage space to keep one? Well look no further, a small group of British gunsmiths have developed a working scale replica of the World War Two-era British Ordnance QF 17-pounder! The 1/6th scale replica of the iconic [Read More…]
Yes, you don’t own a flying car, but at least some of the promises of the future are coming true: The United States Navy has successfully tested its railgun prototype in multi-shot (autoloading) mode, earlier this summer. Although the US Navy has been testing [Read More…]
Artillery is a staple on the modern battlefield. With its awesome destructive power and long range, it is a fantastic support tool for the grunt on the ground. Adding in laser guidance on projectiles, the sheer variety of ordnance types, and general accuracy, I’ve [Read More…]
We all know how awesome the A-10 and GAU-8 is in aviation history. It is a flying gun. Well apparently it is not the first plane built around a gun. The Germans made something similar back in 1942. Henschel built the HS129. According to worldwarwings.com: Made by a [Read More…]
Over the weekend, a Port Authority Bus Driver lost control of the bus she was driving. She turned the bus but for some unknown reason was unable to straighten the wheels. The Howitzer is actually not the original WWI cannon. The present-day Cannon is [Read More…]
Previously, we discussed the benefits of and challenges facing saboted projectile ammunition, including the advantages of decoupling the diameters of the bore and the projectile, and the problems of accuracy during sabot discarding. One concept that could possibly [Read More…]
According to the video, this was done back in 2011. They are testing a sustainable steel target against a 105mm HE round. I am not familiar with artillery but they seem to miss a lot. Also on what basis is this target sustainable? Sure it took a few hits however they [Read More…]
The rational part of my brain looked at this USB-powered desktop “sniper rifle” and thought, “How childish and dumb can these little launchers get?” Unfortunately, the rational part has been overruled by both the inner-child and the lizard-parts [Read More…]
This video shows a competition where participants race with artillery. This brings a completely new meaning to the phrase “Race Gun”. The race is set up with some basic obstacles. However not only does the entire team have to traverse the course and its [Read More…]
While on my trip in the UK, I came across the L118 Light Gun. It is a 105mm caliber howitzer. In Liverpool, Army Recruiters had one on display. According to the info sheet above: The versatile 105mm Light Gun is towed by a medium-weight vehicle. It can also be carried [Read More…]
The second Forgotten Weapons video to feature really big guns, the embedded flick below shows a T124E2 AT (anti-tank) gun firing. These weapons were the last of the towed American AT guns, with less than a hundred made, although the Soviet Union – and its [Read More…]
Forgotten Weapons, from time to time, covers larger pieces of artillery as well, not just small arms. In their most recent video, Ian and Karl fire a US M3 37mm anti-tank cannon: The 37mm AT gun was the workhorse American anti-tank weapon at the outset of World War II. [Read More…]
In 2003 a British Colonel found two British WWI 18 pounder field guns hidden in the desert sand at an Iraqi Army base. The guns were taken back to Britain and BAE restored them back to “service condition”.
From the press release … BAE Systems, along with partner General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, delivered to the U.S. Navy the first automated magazine for the 155-mm Advanced Gun System (AGS) being developed for the DDG 1000 (Zumwalt) Destroyer [Read More…]
This photo, taken at a German Army artillery range, is not a fake. I know what you are thinking: “WTF!”.It was build to reduce noise to communities nearby. The vehicle pictured is the M109G 155mm self-propelled howitzer. Many thanks to Sven for emailing it [Read More…]
Back in the Age of Sail ships tended to carry many different types of cannons. The weapons mix was determined by the Captains preferences and what was available in the navel shipyard when the ship was being outfitted. Each cannon was crewed by the same set of men so [Read More…]
JR (A Keyboard and a .45) has built a nano-mortar. A beautiful design. Nano artillery at its finest! 1″ long and 0.710″ high. More photos here.
The blackpowder cannon enthusiasts over at the Graybeard forums came up with some amazing pieces of artillery. CU_Cannon built the “Nano-mortar”. It fires .177″ BBs. The bed it sits on is 1″ long. Click to expand the images. The Nano-mortar Here [Read More…]
UPDATE: It is Chinese Artillery, not North Korean. Sorry, my mistake. Apparently those are Chinese characters in the background. Thanks Danger Zone for the correction. A photo in the NK AAA article I recently blogged about show AKs mounted on artillery barrels. The [Read More…]
Planeman has written a fascinating article, “Bluffer’s guide: Fortress North Korea”, about North Korean AAA (Anti-Aircraft Artillery). It has has lots of 3D diagrams and google earth satellite photos. It is well worth reading. AAA Coverage of Pyongyang [Read More…]
Like every other red-blooded American boy, I enjoy the notion of propelling a piece of lead at up to Mach 8 and at “extreme” ranges. That’s why I was glad to hear that BAE Systems has delivered a rail gun capable of such feats, and that the US Navy [Read More…]
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