what do you mean by them "cutting a lot of corners"? not doing smth properly?
does it have something to do with there being just 6 of them (I understand there should be more men).

Oh no, numbers really aren't an issue. The two big things are 1) He doesn't swab the chamber after each round and 2) He doesn't use the lanyard (string) to fire it - he just uses his hand.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'artillery, m198, cannon, howitzer, slap fire' to 'artillery, m198, cannon, howitzer, slap fire, military porn' - edited by sometimes

Sloppy work, MarineGunrock. They can save time by not using the sled and switching the location of the powder on the other side of the truck. And the gunner shouldn't touch the primer...
Still, thanks for the post; it took me back a few years.

i wonder how much evil those things have bombed away...

Sloppy? Yes. Not using the tray? First of all, what do you want them to do? Carry the round up there by hand, and push it in by themselves? Stupid, dangerous, impossible. Powder to the other side? Sure. "Gunner" (I'm assuming you're talking about the #1 Man) not touching the primer? Who the hell do you want to put it in? The ammo team?
Everything you suggested it completely against the SOP.

And the whole not using the tray thing makes me think you don't have a clue what a 155mm projectile looks like.

who neads hearing anyways.

Easy Guns, I meant no disrespect... The sled, or tray, is not needed for anything smaller than DPICM (which is at 125lbs) An HE is 92 to 105lbs. Smoke is less. Cannoneer #1 can handle the round and load it, lip it, then ram it. And by gunner I meant gunner #2, the guy that sets the elevation. Handling of primer from one hand to the other increases the chance of dropping it. And, BTW, the chief should not be jumping from one rail to the other; it's not ballet. Also, I bet SOPs vary between services quite a bit.

Though I'm not usually big on the military porn, this is kinda interesting. I have a few questions....hope they aren't stupid ones.

The guy who keeps confirming the deflection, reads 3288. What is this number? 32 deg elevation + 88 deg compass?

What is he checking on the right after every shot?

My question would be... so how much money did they just spend by firing that many rounds?

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

Very interesting. Do they not wear any ear protection at all?

Ok, Danimal, I know you meant no disrespect - but have you ever loaded a 155mm Howitzer? Unless you're Ahnold, you simply aren't strong enough seat the round in the bore with a good seal without ramming it - not to mention that the tray is faster. Also, yes, the chief is supposed to jump around. How else would he verify the data? The fact that you call it a "rail" and not a trail is either a typo, or tells me that you really don't know what you're talking about. What exactly did you do?

Big Bigbikeman: Deflection 3288 is a reading in mils. A mil is 1/6,400th of a complete circle, or .056 degrees. So deflection is left and right - the number he read before that was quadrant - that is the elevation of the cannon. On the right is the quadrant - there is a dial that is set to whatever number is called off and when the cannon tube is elevated, there is a level vial that must be leveled out - that tells you that you are at the set quadrant. On the left is the PanTel, or Panoramic Telescope. On this there is also a dial that is set to the number called off for the mission. When the Gunner sets that number, the head rotates, and he must then traverse the cannon back so he can see his aiming point through the PanTel.

Spoco: I don't know much about the cost of all that, but it's relatively inexpensive. You'd have to find an ammo technician for that.

Dag: Yes, ear protection is actually mandated by the SOP. However, it also hinders your ability to properly hear the data being called off and verified. You'll find that most Marines don't wear it, rather than just use their two forefingers - they work better than anything else. Hearing protection is mostly in the form of in-ear plugs.

Cool post, MG. Not so much by itself, but since it includes your expert commentary--yeah cool.

Ahh. I missed what he was saying while he was on the right side---the shouting and the other guns in the range made it hard to make out on most rounds.

Anyway, great sift MarineGunrock, and thanks for answering the questions.

If anyone wants a more detailed explanation, ask away.
[Edit] Spoco: I found this website that lists the supposed costs of a round. But being that it's not a .mil address, you can't really trust it's accuracy. Supposedly a 155mm HE round (from the video) costs $440.

MarineGunrock > all the sift

Thanks for you service.

Foregoing ear protection while operating military machinery is why all the adult men in my family wear hearing aids now... that is, if they're not to proud to wear it... with my Dad, we all just have to shout.

Haha - I know what you're talking about. My grandmother refused to believe that she needed a hearing aid.

Guns, I was a 13B for over 2 years before moving on to a more exciting 89D. And I only used the tray for rocket, chems, copperheads and nukes (practice rounds, not real ones), and pretty much anything over 120 lbs. Hand loading the round gets easy after about a year, and you don't seat it, you just lip it by hand and seat it by ram. No Ahnold needed, just 190lbs of piss and vinegar. BTW, do you have some footage shooting Red Bag?

And to address to cost issue, it's the cheapest way of putting steel on target there is. The fully fitted cannon is under $1.5M and the rounds are, per M-Guns, $400 a pop. And artillery has the highest survival rate of all combat MOSs. Very cost effective.

Guns, I take it you were no 02G...

I know that 13B is Army talk for cannoneer... but what is 02G? And yes, I know that it is possible to put the round in by hand, but the seal just won't be as good because you don't have the room to build up the momentum, and I bet it is MUCH slower. Also, this is not my footage, but that of my sister battery, Charlie 1/10. Otherwise, it would be a self-link. As for the charge 8- you can find a direct fire clip here.

A google tells me it's a MOS for band member, flute or piccolo...




...not really a Sift I would be interested in seeing, btw

that was totally cool, also arent these Marines? that guy was late with the powder, so aren't they going to rip his head off and shit down his neck?

Yeah, these are Marines. You can rest assured that whoever was cutting those powder charges got stuck on firewatch as well as being tasked with "position improvement" A.K.A. digging a .50 cal pit.

Where is Gorillaman with his famous line?

Excellent sift, particularly for the insight.

I have some questions...

1. Did they sink their battleship?

2. Can I have one?

3. Would security get mad if I try to take it on the plane with me?

4. What's the correct answer to this question?

5. Where's the g-spot?

7. What happened to question #6?

8. Have you ever tried to fire a dud straight up and catch the round in the tube?

1. No, but they sank their pallet.
2. If you have a mil and a half, sure.
3. Possibly.
4. 42
5. To the left.
7. You forgot it.
8. Tried. Failed.

who does he talk to, and what does he mean by "take it?"
fascinatingly well drilled these guys.

The guy that keeps looking at everything is the section chief. It is his job to verify that all firing data is correctly applied to the gun and ammo. Each gun has a recorder who's job is to record all data coming from the Fire Direction Center or FDC - and to verify to the chief the same.
When he says take it, he is telling the powder man to take the extra increment of powder to the pit.
The M3A1 and the M4A2 charges are each made of five increments, and may be used with all or some of those five. When the mission calls for a charge four, increment 5 is taken out. When the chief verifies that it is a charge 4, he needs to see that 5th increment to be sure it is not in the charge that was loaded, lest the shot go far and kill someone it shouldn't.

It seems like such an archaic way to fire these cannons. When are they coming out with auto load?

Germany already has a self-propelled auto-loading cannon. It's called the Panzerhaubitze 2000, and is quite the impressive piece of technology. Article here.

It's very well looped, very well. With so many guys moving around, still can't tell where it's sliced.

Why would you say it's looped? What grounds do you have for making such a claim?

i do believe that is what we would call real time.
Awesome Vid MGR

Clearly sarcasm is dead.

So a Gunrock is in charge of stationary artillery. You learn something new everyday.

What kinds of things did you target? Have you some stories you'd be willing to share (victories, close calls)?

^Absolutely. Standby, as I am currently writing an in-depth how-to-ish blog (complete with photos) of how it's all done. Stay tuned!

are you posting it here? (just so i know where to look)

No, check the blog section for my blogs. It will be there. And long. Oh so very long.
Here is my blog entry: http://blog.videosift.com/MarineGunrock/How-to-fire-a-cannon

"What kinds of things did you target? Have you some stories you'd be willing to share (victories, close calls)?"

And failures: friendly fire. civilians.
(Or don't they tell you when you blow innocents to bits.)

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e06da463d7
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=480_1175140494

Way to point out two videos that have nothing to do artillery. And by the way, questions are usually ended with a question mark, not a period.

MG, how much do those shells weigh?

They average about 95-105 lbs, but can go up to 125 or more.

My stepfather was in an 8" howitzer outfit on the Western Front in France in 1918. Before he died in 1985 at the age of 93, he told me a lot about being on the receiving end of a German artillery barrage.

He said that there was no way possible for anyone to understand what it was like unless you had been there yourself. He also stated that he had seen several BRAVE men go insane after having over 1,000 (that's right, one thousand!) rounds come down in just a few short hours.

Unfortunately for this good man, he was gassed with Mustard gas. He suffered from this for the rest of his life, and until about a year before he died, still had nightmares about being shelled.

Thank each and every one of you who have served!

From an ex-Staff Sargent, 379th Bomb Wing (Heavy), Strategic Air Command, USAF 1968-1972