M1A1 Pack Howitzer: Firepower for the Airborne
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
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*NOTE: in the video I state that the 10th Mountain Division served in Burma. It seems I got my notes mixed up; the 10th served mainly in Italy. The M1A1 was used by other units in Burma, including the Chindits and Merrill's Marauders.
Introduced in 1927, the M1A1 Pack Howitzer was designed for use in mountainous terrain, and could be disassembled into 7 smaller load for transport by mule or horse. During the Second World War, it was widely used as airborne artillery, able to be transported by transport aircraft, dropped by parachute, or landed by assault glider.
0:00 Introduction
0:56 World of Warships Promo
2:30 Development and Production
3:29 Users
4:28 Versions and Parachute Loads
8:02 Ammunition
8:51 Performance and Controls
10:45 Outro
SOURCES:
en.rcamuseum.com/75mm-pack-ho...
www.easy39th.com/files/TM_9-13...
americangimuseum.org/collecti...
www.militaryfactory.com/armor...
www.scribd.com/doc/57977084/7...
www.bulletpicker.com/pdf/Fiel...
arsof-history.org/articles/v1...
Play World of Warships here: wo.ws/3SGK3R9
Thank you World of Warships for sponsoring this video.
During registration use the code HSF2023 to get for free: 200 doubloons, 1 million credits, 7 Days of Premium Account time, HSF commander Misaki Akeno, and HSF commander Irizaki Mei.
Applicable to new users only.
Hay I believe you forgot to mention a vehicle it was mounted on, there is a variant of the lvt that mounted the turret or a similar turret to that of the M8
Well done sir!
Uch.. more advertising.. meh.
@@bastiaan7777777 Then pay him for his hard work,asshole lol
@@bastiaan7777777 Let the man make his well earned bread.
Must've been fun trawling the dropzone trying to find your missing gun packs.
Probably why thy did the sensible thing and brought them in by glider for nearly every op
They'd either drop them in gliders or have the carrier plane land, kick it out the door, and leave again if it was a delivery to various resistance groups.
Or they could just drop the whole thing in one crate with cargo parachutes.
If they DID need to go the multiple packages like in the video, they'd all go out the door one after another; depending on how low the plane was they wouldn't drift all that much, as cargo drop stuff has the bare minimum of parachutes to ensure its contents survive and usually drop pretty much straight down; with people you put them in as much parachutes as possible for soft landing, and drift is a real issue
Colour coded chutes .
That does not sound fun.
@alangordon3283 They wouldn't do this; plain white or camo chutes only. Color coded means your enemy can see them and if they know what the color means, arty it if it's something important
The unit crest for the US Army's 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery depicts a mule packing the 1927 variant with wooden wheels. While I was assigned to the unit at Fort Sill in the late 1980's they kept a mule as a mascot, a tradition I believe continues today.
My artillery Battalion in the 10th Mountain still had mules on the MTOE in the late 90s. They just weren't in the required equipment column
@@dogfaceponysoldier My nephew was an MP in 10th Mountain Div around 2012 for Op. Enduring Freedom.
@@terkish I was a Fire Support Officer in 4-31 Infantry on 9-11 and deployed a few weeks later
It did at least until 2003, when I served as the Alpha Battery XO.
@@EricDaMAJ The second first sir. Bravo Battery 2nd section asst gunner. We rocked the M102 in my day. Plus the M101 Salute Battery guns.
They also can be packed by mules as they did with the 133 Missouri Muleteers in the ETO in WW2.
We have a pack howitzer at home.
Pack howitzer at home: 81mm mortar
I was an artilleryman in the Army and one of these guns was by the enterance to our unit area. Long out of service, it looked like an antique to me as I walked past it daily for over a year. I never realized the history or the versatility of this gun until I watched this video. Well done! Bravo!!
I served in greek army as a green beret in 2013, these m1a1 were everywhere outside of army barracks or army headquarters as antique relics..
Did you have to wear that dress and tights and poofy shoes?
@@Sven_Dongle No that evzones and it's the presidential guard of Greece, to go there you have to be 6 foot and 1 inches minimum. I served in mountain ranger squadron and our camps are in north Greece, Naousa Greece (2nd Commando Squadron where i was), Rentina Thessaloniki (5th Commando Squadron) and Drama (4th commando squadron). 😊
Thanks to the M-8 GMC, this weapon continued to support the cavalry even after they gave up their horses and mules.
Fun fact 1: For use in Vietnam the U.S. Marines fitted the 4.2 inch (107mm) M30 mortar tube to redundant M1 (by that time M116) pack howitzer carriages to create the M98 "Howtar".
Fun fact 2: The projectiles were the same as those used for the M3 tank gun in the M3 and M4 medium tanks, which in turn was essentially the ammunition originally developed for the famous "French 75" Model 1897 75mm field gun of World War 1 fame and used in large quantities by the U.S. Army until about 1943. The pack howitzer however uses a shorter case and ammunition is of course semi-fixed instead of fixed.
I was at Quantico when they were trying to find an EFSS. Howtar was brought up. They ended up picking a 120 mm mortar. But have already retired it. 😂
Marines in the Pacific found they could fire the pack howitzer shells in the Sherman tank 75mm gun.
The blank adaptor with a shotgun shell will throw a tennis ball about 70 yards. Don't ask me how I know #misspentyouth
Excellent presentation. You definitely met the three I's test. Informative, Intellectual, and Interesting. Well done , sir👍👍
I've learnt more about museums I want to go to in MB from this channel than from any other source I've ever found. I really can't wait to go visit.
The "Pack Howitzer" was used by the US Marines during Opposed Landings in the Pacific. It worked great as a "Bunker Buster" until very late in WW2. That's when the Japanese, who had learned of this tactic, reinforced their Bunkers to be proof against this cannon.....
“Yea my favorite gun is the M1A1…”
*Pulls this out of pocket*
I believe Texas A&M Kingsville uses one of these to signal every touchdown during football games! It certainly looks like one.
Ft. Belvoir, VA, 1976, we had 4 of them for ceremonies. The blank shells were much shorter that the example on display there. They were dated from WWII and weren't very reliable. 3 guns were on the regular firing sequence for salutes and the fourth was to fill in in case of a misfire. Good Luck, Rick
Merci bien, Gilles. I've shared it to a couple of Canadian artillery Facebook pages.
Thanks for the in-depth look at this Howitzer. There's one in the corner of our County Park here in Portage, Wisconsin, sitting by its lonesome on a concrete pad. It deserves better. Cheers!
Yay your subscribers are going up and you got a sponsor! Hopefully subscribers goes up exponentially, as you deserve it! I reckon in two or three years you will have your own show on PBS (or the Canadian equivalent)
The equivalent to PBS in Canada is the CBC, being the national public broadcaster. Some individual provinces have (or used to have) their own public broadcasters, such as: Knowledge Network (K:) in British Columbia, currently thriving. Access in Alberta (originally a university channel for remote lectures and playing learning material), I don't know if they're still running. Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) in Saskatchewan (no longer in operation). And TVOntario (TVO) in Ontario. Just to name the English language ones I'm aware of. Problem is, unlike the various PBS stations in the US, there is no sharing of resources or material licensing so some struggled while few thrived.
Also, while many of the TV service providers used to broadcast the "free" airtime from all of them all across the country. There was a change several years ago because some provinces complained that their tax dollars were being used for the benefit of other provinces (TVO being the primary complainant), so viewership became regionally locked. Essentially, the need for provincial public broadcasters is somewhat limited because we have the CBC nationally with numerous local stations. Although Knowledge Network is filling a commercial-free educational and quality entertainment niche locally due to supplementing it's government funding with sponsorship drives, much like PBS except much less annoying in how they do it. The CBC does not run sponsorship drives, instead relying on commercials to supplement it's government funding, and largely focuses on news with a secondary focus on education and entertainment.
As a side note, the National Film Board (NFB) is not a "broadcaster" but a "content creator". It is more likely that the NFB would make the documentary series in question which then becomes available for essentially free to domestic broadcasters if they're interested, or even bother to check the catalogue. The NFB openly admits that it originated as a government propaganda department during the First World War, generating material to inform and motivate the populace. They were kept around and morphed into a Canadian Content generator to make Canadian Content widely available to what at the time were many smaller local broadcasters and worked in parallel with the CBC. They also were involved in massive documentation projects, both archiving and preserving existing documentary and recorded cultural material, and in making new projects. The NFB can still be seen in the credits of many larger privately owned film and television projects made in Canada among an often long list of co-producers.
Woah, that ramble went longer than expected. Hope this helps with understanding some of the media landscape of Canadian broadcasting.
If I had a nickel for every device that was named M1...
This old 75mm howitzer is the decedent of after Civil War standard field artillery. Horse drawn, mule pack, squad pull, etc. 1500 lb at 8800 m range. Europe had their own similar versions. But not all the 75 mm shells are interchange able, the light artillerymen and mountain troopers had some fun ordering ammo. Later the 4.2 inch mortar at 335 lb for 4500 m range replaced most of these mule-pack mountain howitzers. The 4.2 mortar can be men-pack and ammo carried by soldiers, still gives more fire power. 🤔😉😎
I've been able to fire this cannon a few times for the raising and lowering of the post flag (U.S Army). Obviously we just fire blanks but still a fun experience none the less
They have one of these in front of the local VFW hall. Everytime I go by it I'm bothered because it is set up all wrong. You would think that someone at a VFW would have known how to set it up correctly. It's kinda half-way between traveling mode and firing mode, and you can't change it because they welded it up permanently that way.
There’s one locally here also. I HOPE it won’t be scrapped one day without notice! I don’t know enough to know if it’s setup correctly. Hopefully a knowledgeable person will get it (I’d like it !) if they ever decide to get rid of it. It deserves restoration and display.
Love the videos and noticed u had some snow camouflage in the background. That stuff deserves its own vid.
There is a Pack Howitzer on outdoor display at the Borough Hall in Lennoxville, Quebec which is part of Sherbrooke. The gun replaced a WW1 French or German artillery piece that was taken for scrap in WW2. No one quite understood why the mayor, who had been in the RCN in the war, wanted an artillery piece. But his wish prevailed, and National Defence gave him one.
There were 3 of these still in use at Ft. AP Hill in 1985 for saluting. It would not surprise me if they’re still there.
USMC used these extensively in the pacific campaigns.
I read somewhere, and I cannot swear to it's validity, that a couple of Armies in South America and maybe a couple in Africa, still have this weapon in their arsenals.
Excellent! Very well done, thank you.
Also there was a version of USMC's Amphibious landing craft tractors LVT's that featured M8 motor carriage turret on top of the modified version of LVT 2 renamed the LVT-(A)4 used with some good success about 1800 were produced for the USMC.
I had a friend that had to investigate a platoon of these guns being used as the Fort Hood salute battery. They were being carried on the property books by random casting numbers than proper serial numbers.
I really enjoyed this video! I do wish you could have gone into its use on the battlefield a bit more, but thats me being greedy.
If he is as good a youtubing as I assume he is,that's gonna be part 3 of 6 on this particular gun lol I sure hope he keeps going.
Great pic from Saipan or Tinian IIRC where they had a pack howitzer strapped to a boulder on top of mountain
These were used in Burma by the British Army during WW2 they would be broken down in to packs and loaded on to mules, hence the term “pack howitzer” , later came the 105mm pack howitzer, my father in laws (1st RHA) favourite gun, brassing up the rebels in the mountains of Aden during the 1960s 😊
One of the least known users of one the guns was the NVA in Vietnam in 1968 at a position called Daugha mountain where they (the NVA) fired on the US troops at Camp Carroll a minimum of three times a day, their favorite time was at noontime meal "Chow-call", I was station there for a little over months and shelled by this over 300 times , this gun and its position was finally over-ran by 3rd Marines in late August (I believe) "thank god" ,the capture gun was manufactured by General Eletric in 1943, and was equipped wooden wheels, I was a battery maintenance chief at this time of a 155mm self-propelled battery (K-4-12) Marines, also known as "Sullivan's shooting Shamrocks,,
Those pack howitzers were invaluable to Australia in holding back the Japanese assault of New Guinea during WW2. How they carried those parts and ammunition over those mountains has me stumped.
Sheer will and ignorance.
Tnx for the good and informative video.
Screw breech guns use a separate primer inserted into the vent in the middle of the breech. Three types were used electric (mainly on naval and fortress guns), friction (which were T-shaped and had a wire with a ring which was pulled out with the lanyard) and percussion which worked in a similar way to those on cartridge guns.
The last place those guns were used was Ft. Carson, Colorado, and the guns are still used for the annual performance of the 1812 overture by the local philharmonic orchestra.
Living near JBLM I occasionally see these being towed on I5 on the way to some ceremonial occasion
The ceremonial bombardment of Seattle?
Every second weapon of the US military is called M1A1.
Always wondered why it was called a "pack" howitzer. Even my Army cannon cocker buddy didn't know why.
I always thought PAK was a German refrance to smaller Artie? as all german large Cal Systems are PAK this or that?
Could be broken down to be moved easier
Now "I Get It" Gun Hazus strikes again!
and I have WWII US 75 shrapnel and Abram's sabot petals in my office? I should have Know BETTER!@@tomhenry897
I’m fascinated by the design of these weapons.
I just can't get over the thought of dropping into enemy territory and having to..... ASSEMBLE your freaking artillery from 7-9 boxes hahah. Wild. Imagine the blood a pumpin in those soldiers when putting that thing together.
Imagine dropping several sets of parts except one to expend the enemies manpower, they gonna use people look for it like crazy, reducing their effectiveness
Oh and I still have the sight from that gun! I a retired Master Sgt. USMC..and yup I am very old (82) Semper Fi,
even though i live in Winnipeg i have never made the trip out to shilo to visit that museum.
Should have titled it: "The Derringer of Artillery".
I had a Piece of US 75 Shapnel, Steel with a Bronze or Copper drive band dug up whole recycled and shot to Shrapnel? Think it was for Tanks considering where it was dug up whole, then again as shapnel. Gave it to a Friend with a 2nd amendment type Business and a cool collection of shell Cases and Such in his place of Biz. Gave him some Waxed Paper wood pluged Rem and Whin shot shells too with a 1/3 petal of an Abrams Sabot for his display.
Another great video.... Huzzah!!!
Nice suit.
I just all of a sudden saw a picture of the RCA museum...
Reminds me of that Dad's Army episode!
Every time I drive to and from Brandon I see the sign advertising the museum in Shilo but still haven't gone. Looks like I should next time
Advertisement is not working as intended... Or is it?
@@bastiaan7777777 depends how you look at it I suppose. The sign told me it exists and it's location but I have yet to go. I suppose one could argue that Gilles may have been the one who convinced me to stop by...
@@MrElemem Yeah.,.. everyone watching UA-cam lives in that area...
@@bastiaan7777777 yeah I think that's pretty obvious
8:50 I never thought such big "guns" have blank versions of the ammo. Are those usually used for firing exercises or they have other uses? Interesting stuff! Also I'm really curious how much each pack weight that there must have been 9 parachute packets. Quick calculation show around 80-100 kg for safe touchdown speed but I assumed speeds for personel, around 7 m/s
What is this blank ammunition used for, good question, maybe to simulate a battlefield? You know, for example, planes are supposed to detect artillery firing positions during exercises.
Blank rounds are also used for ceremonial purposes, such as 21 gun salutes and the like.
Blanks are mainly ceremonial uses for salutes, battle simulation is rarer then life fire exercises. 80-100kg is also the load a mule can still pack thru mountain terrain. Doubt too that the gun can take more then 7m/s without sustaining damage. And then there is the ammo load out of 18 rounds, that get dropped along.
Now for ceremonial
Before to simulate firing
Fired at Retreat every day on Army posts. These are all over the place as memorials in cemeteries and parks.
Airfix do a sweet little model of this howitzer along with a British Airborne Jeep and trailer. Thanks to enthusiasts and ceremonial types, I was able to go full geek and super detail that 1/72 scale model.
Actually for mules hence the term "pack howitzer." No one had heard of "Airborne Units" during these times unless you were from Russia or maybe Germany. No way the USA has a chance in the Pacific Theater against Imperial Japan lacking this artillery piece. Saved a lot of US Marine Corps lives as well...as did the M-3 Stuart Tank later as well M-4 Sherman and most "seen as observed" (iconically?) the F4U Corsair fighter later Fighter Bomber for the US Marine Corps exclusively in the case of the latter.
10th mountain didnt serve in Burma.
Odd how every crate had its own M designation. Were they all designed for this one weapon?
M numbers are just designations for a piece of equipment, even if that piece isn't ever found separate from it's parent. In this case, it is more "find crates marked M1 through m9, and assemble a gun and accessories" It doesn't matter much if those crates were for the same specific gun.
But how does it spit out the empty shells, does it have some sort of extractor like on small arms or something?
Damn it! Now I want one, or two.....dozen. Though, I think those separate packs getting dropped off of a plane is a lot to get lost on the battlefield.
Got any high-powers for sale?
Oh, cool, you're getting sponsorships, nice.
"Short overview"?🤣 oh Giles... so thorough.
Pack not to be confused with the WWII German PaK Panzerabwehrkanone anti-tank cannons.
Episode idea WW2 acoustic torpedo.
Took my 6A at the Battle school.
The weight of 1,200 kg seems higher than my brief experience
Canadian Museums always ruined their displays by deactivating their kit! Disgusting. There is a Sherman I heard of on display around Sherbrooke ,PQ. I worry if I go over there to see it it would be a dead husk like this piece. I have a 2" British mirror I needed a license to buy and it has an 1 1/2 hole in the base. Thank God for tig welders
Gene, the Sherman you mention is Tank Bomb. There is a great Wiki article on Bomb. Yes, it is welded up but that was a decision from 1946 when she was brought back to Canada.
Me asking for someone to pass me the M1 and receiving over two dozen US military items
Good morning
Did you just assume my time zone?
@@cwtrain lol, as a matter of fact I did.
@@GeigerCounterVirtualMuseum Good evening!
@8:02..the shell he is holding is bent.... papier mache?
Two part ammunition. The brass case with the charge, and a separate projectile.
@@terrywarner8657 is he holding a real shell or a prop?
Doug, I think it is a display or demonstration artifact. The artillery museum 'probably' keeps any live ammunition away from the public!
Wait -- 10th Mountain in Burma?
What advantage is there having a howitzer as opposed to a mortar?
usually range of fire
Range and the ability to use them in a direct fire role if needed
Canadian 105mm at CFB Shilo (1981): ua-cam.com/video/rsUi8Nh7BOw/v-deo.html
You tuber Perun sort of made fun on how so many gear (rifle, submachine gun, helmet, knife, artillery,etc) was named M1 in a video of him.
It is a common joke, there is a meme about that also floating around.
The American method of naming things is so stupid it hurts.
It used to be M1, now it's all "take the M9 (insert equipment here) tab and insert into M9 (insert equipment here) socket, then load M9 (insert munition), fired with the M9 (insert primer assembly here).
Some traditions never change they just mutate.
About time for a duet with Forgotten Weapons please ?
these should still be service with both the airborne and the jarheads they'd be great firepower til the heavier guns came in!! the turks were still using them against the kurds in the 90's!!!
Have 120mm morters
Can transport vehicles better now for 105 and 155
@@tomhenry897i never have cared for the 120mm myself any mortar for that matter!! this gun you can always crank down to flat and use canister as a big ass shotgun if needs be you can't do that with a mortar!! and i've seen one in action before they're fast firing easy to set up and get on target use these on the first wave to hold off the enemy while the heavier guns are being brought in and set up!
It's a shame your cohost there got stage fright. He got so dressed up and everything!
Did it just take 8 mules to haul one of these of did I miscount? That's a lot of mules.
no miscount, that's why they used tens of thousands mules and why they mechanized as much as they could
And that’s before ammo considerations.
So uhhhh where do they get the mules?
When a horse loves a donkey.
Mexican drug smugglers. Or today, January 6 Insurrectionists or any Trump money transporter.
breeding farms
@@SlavicCelery When a marine loves a donkey.
"I think I just found my new every day carry." Some random guy from Texas. 🤣😂😛
Is it just me, or is this channel expanding the definition of 'device'??
Not complaining just curious.
Esp sponsor is... Battleships! Future - I borrowed this corvette from the museum xyz, look how pocket sized, wait... POCKET BATTLESHIP!
Anything old with unique mechanical features counts!
A howitzer is just a device with malicious intent!
Way too much details information, did not get a sense of the weapon.
Please put the ads at the end of your very excellent videos.
or just make it like 30 seconds. a minute and a half is too long.
Stop these ads altogether. Lesta Studio's is ... Russian? So now we are sponsoring Russia's war in Ukraine?
In the thumbnail pic, that’s not the right size casing. The one for the pack Howitzer is shorter. The one in the thumbnail is for the M1897 Howitzer, M2 and M3 tank guns, etc.
Something that's always puzzled me, not that I've lost any sleep over it, but what makes a Howitzer a Howitzer?
In artillery terms a cannon has a long rifled barrel, a howitzer has a short rifled barrel, and a mortar has a short smooth barrel.
elevation of barrel cannon 45 degrees and variable powder charges
I wonder why this man doesn’t pronounce everything with a French accent? I mean, he makes it a point to pronounce his name as if he speaks with a French accent, but speaks the rest of the time with a North American English accent. It’s obviously not that he’s being pretentious, so there must be a reason to pronounce only 2 words specifically with a traditional French accent. Wonder if he orders pomme frites rather than French fries?
Many Canadians are fluently, not just functionally bilingual. Many families speak both languages at home, and it is not an issue. As well, there are many people with French Canadian last names who are unilingual English speakers. Go figure!
@@terrywarner8657 my point is, if speaking English with an English accent, pronouncing names with an English accent is not somehow a failure or disrespect to the person with the name. I expect a person with a French accent due to being a native French speaker, to pronounce my anglicized Portuguese last name with a French accent. As someone who has a name with a very different native pronunciation compared to its anglicized version, I don’t hold anyone to any pronunciation as long as they get the letters the right order. It’s pretentious and strange to pick and choose which words you pronounce in their native tongues, specially if it’s ONLY your own name. If you speak with a North American English accent when speaking English, don’t randomly ONLY pronounce a few words in some other accent. That’s ridiculous.
I cant play World of Warships anymore because I made my screen name Nate Higgers and they banned my IP! everyone stop rubbing it in!
There was absolutely no reason for the US to get involved in the 2nd world war.
Pearl Harbor
@@tomhenry897 The US provoked Pearl Harbor and knew about it in advance. Americans were polling like 90% opposed to getting involved in the war. This is not just speculation either. There are White House memos from the era .
They did the same thing with Europe. The agreed upon neutrality rules were what they called "cash and carry," where the neutral country demanded payment in full in gold and carried away from the neutral country in a ship flagged by the belligerent country. We openly broke those rules and "lent" the Soviets and British and Chinese all the weapons and oil they could use.
We have been paying the price ever since. We've not been a normal country since. We became an empire. The whole aim of the war in Europe was over polish sovereignty, a country invented at the end of WW1 (another war we had no business being in). By that metric, the US and Britain lost the war. Stalin used the war and the allied help like lend-lease to build up his military and menace the world for 50 years.