Adam Elsdon Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Alan Turner posted this in the Humber Pig Pictures thread, but i dont know what sort of Gun it is, looks a bit smaller than a 25 Pdr. Anybody any info on type and use etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?t=15212 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Op-Ack Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 It's a 105mm Pack Howitzer (also referred to as a Pack How). Unusually being towed by a Humber Pig. Unusual because the 105mm Pack How generally served with 29 Cdo Regt RA and 7 Para Regt RHA, both of whom rarely used the PIG (except when deployed to Northern Ireland, where deployment of teh Pack How would have caused some concern to the locals!). Phil:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schliesser92 Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 It was also used by the Light Regt RA supporting 48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade in Hong Kong. It is made by Oto Melara, and is also used by a number of Commonwealth and NATO armies. Fired a 35lb shell some 10,000m. It could also be dropped down into the low anti-tank position (with the shield removed it had an extremely low silhouette). Was also broken down into about 9 mule loads (or underslung loads for small helicopters like the Sioux - tried a couple of times in Hong Kong). The normal tractor was the 109" Landrover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Elsdon Posted November 21, 2009 Author Share Posted November 21, 2009 Cheers guys, was also trying to work out the regiment the Pig in the photo belongs to, if you look at the rear, bottom right corner you can make out a Tac sign with 39 underneath it, cant make out the 3 letters above it, i did think RHA but not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Wasn't the 105 pack howitzer the standard weapon of the RA Field Regiments (were there Light Regiments in say the early 70s?) prior to the introduction of ... of whatever came next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REME 245 Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 From memory only a limited number were purchased for air portable units and similar. The 25 Pounder soldiered on until replaced by the current 105 Light Gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Op-Ack Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 The unit designations start to get a bit confused about the time of the introduction of the 105mm Pack How. The designation SP for Self-Propelled seems to have disappeared (or at least been quietly dropped) and for example, those units equipped with the Abbott self-propelled gun were also refered to as Field Regiments. Light inferred they had limited mechanised resources (Commando and Para for example) Medium and Heavy were defined by the calibre of weapon assigned to the Regiment/Battery, off the top of my head I can't recall the exact definitions. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan turner (RIP) Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I also posted these images on the 105 topic that the pig pic went on from the RAWHS collection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schliesser92 Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Field Regiments at the time of the introduction of the pack howitzer consisted of 3 batteries, 2 field and 1 medium. There was no seperate designation used to distinguish between towed and SP units.18 Regt RA in 1965/66 was a field regiment in Germany (part of 1 Division) with two batteries of 25 pdrs and 1 of 5.5" guns. With the move to Hong Kong in 1966 it became designated as a Light Regiment, having 2 batteries of 105mm pack howitzers and 1 of 5.5" guns. A Medium Regiment had 2 batteries of medium guns (say 6xM109) and 1 of heavy guns (4x M110). Heavy regiments disappeared, becoming missile regiments, with a battery of 8" Howitzers (towed), later M107 (or M110) and one of Honest John (later Lance) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Heavy regiments disappeared, becoming missile regiments, with a battery of 8" Howitzers (towed), later M107 (or M110) and one of Honest John (later Lance) Don't claim to be an RA expert. I have long tried to reconcile Hemer / Menden and am sure I associate it with both 50 Missile and 5 Heavy from my site guard days in the late 70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schliesser92 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I used to be with the Signals unit attached to 1 Artillery Brigade, and I can't remember any Heavy regiments. Memory is fallible, though, and with so many defence white papers, one does tend to lose the overview. I remember heavy regiments in the 60s, but not the 70s, and I'm not absolutely sure when they changed the designations. Apart from that, my family was 5 generations artillery, until I defected to the Signals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Just some random thoughts on this piece of artillery. It was also known as the pack howitzer as the whole gun could be broken down into small sections capable of being carried by a mule pack train in the mountains. Some people called it the spaghetti gun as its parts flopped all over the place, kind of rattling piss fit idea. There were two Britains die cast toys of this. One has trails that are not flexible at all joints the other one has all joints flexible. The Canadian Forces used them but were withdrawn a few years ago, a few are monuments in front of Legion branches. None in civvy hands in Canada that I know of, they were towed by the Chev 5/4 ton trucks. Seemed to have dissapeared around the time of the bisbandment of the Airborne after Somalia. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schliesser92 Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 They are still in use by Spain ,Italy, Germany and Argentina.The German ones are used by the Airborne, Mountain and AMF-L troops (some 65 weapons in service). I have downloaded some pics from MP.net-just check the Argentine Armed Forces thread. Shows a Pack How in the "mule pack" mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan turner (RIP) Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Fancy a few more of this gun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les freathy Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Was that turn over on purpose or did the gun get a bounce on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan turner (RIP) Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 I believe it did a Tigger impression Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Not surprised those lads in the last but one picture have fingers in ears: it looks like they are about to be struck by a comet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan turner (RIP) Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 fingers in lugholes was standard practise before ear plug or defenders became part of the standard issue uniform. Haven't you noticed how many old gunners wear hearing aids and really bad old gunners have missing digits. My great great grandad was at Sebastapol in 1854 came back unscathed only to be blinded by an accidental flash back at shoeburynes, went on to have at least 18 kids (rumours were 22 pregnacies) so it didnt affect anything else, GG grany died worn out 1890 something, he was 85 when he passed on in 1917. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timinder Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I've got the Britains one with the folding trail somewhere! It used to fire matchsticks too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schliesser92 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Britains guns had to fire matchsticks - the plastic rounds used to disappear quite quickly. As to "gunner's deafness" , my father started to wear a hearing aid not long after his retirement. I don't remember my Grandfather having one - but I was a nipper when he passed on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Op-Ack Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Schliesser92 It's known as Gunner Ear in the Regimetn today, but you do have to be careful how you say it and to whom, as it can get confused with a certain "social" disease! Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan turner (RIP) Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 shouldn't that be anti social Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Nah, It's a love gift that keeps on giving... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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