Here're a few more tweaks for you:

1) the MG barrel travel clamp is always mounted directly in front of the MG pulpit.  Acad's directions are wrong about its placement

http://svsm.org/albums/m7/P1140784.jpg

2) Acad does a poor job w/the 105's breech opening lever.  Have a look here:

http://svsm.org/albums/m7/P1140849.jpg

3) the placement of the four short rods in their rack is variable.  Directions say to place them on the left hull wall.  Not always.  Check your refs.

Here's the URL for the entire gallery:

http://svsm.org/gallery/M7_priest_family

Here are images from the Tech Manual too

http://www.ferreamole.it/images/priest_man/m7_priest_01.htm

On the M2A1 Howitzer the panoramic telescope mounts on the rights side (if you are behind the breech) and mounts on the right side on almost all US howitzers. The left side mounts the quadrent and elbow telscope.

Before we ask.....The panoramic telescope is used to set the howitzer deflection (left/right traverse) using a known point as a reference (usually aiming stakes placeed 25 and 50 meters away....funny looking candy cane poles)

The quadrent is used to set the elevation of the tube.

The elbow telscope is used in a direct fire mode to look through to the target and determine elevaion.

you can also check the manual from Roy.

Rounds Complete!!

Nice work!  I bought M7 kit from Hobby Town few weeks ago using 40% coupon.  I will be following your work as I hope to do mine later this year.  I was looking at the pictures and I noticed that one of the parts has a hole... I wasn't sure if it is supposed to have a hole or it needs to be filled?

redleg12 wrote:

On the M2A1 Howitzer the panoramic telescope mounts on the rights side (if you are behind the breech) and mounts on the right side on almost all US howitzers. The left side mounts the quadrent and elbow telscope.

Yer 3200 mils out, Redleg...   The pantel (and gunner) is on the left as you're standing behind breech, quadrant and direct fire elbow (and assistant gunner) is on the right, although you're correct about the pantel being used to set deflection. BTW, the gunner can also set the QE from his side with the wheel located on the left side of the gun cradle and a Gunner's Quadrant... Also, the aiming posts go out either to the left front or right rear... I still haven't found out if the collimator was in use in WW2 though... 

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Colonel, 55th FG
Great Plains Wing
Commemorative Air Force

Hans von Hammer wrote:

redleg12 wrote: On the M2A1 Howitzer the panoramic telescope mounts on the rights side (if you are behind the breech) and mounts on the right side on almost all US howitzers. The left side mounts the quadrent and elbow telscope. Yer 3200 mils out, Redleg...   The pantel (and gunner) is on the left as you're standing behind breech, quadrant and direct fire elbow (and assistant gunner) is on the right, although you're correct about the pantel being used to set deflection. BTW, the gunner can also set the QE from his side with the wheel located on the left side of the gun cradle and a Gunner's Quadrant... Also, the aiming posts go out either to the left front or right rear... I still haven't found out if the collimator was in use in WW2 though...

Hans....Duh.....I was bas ackwards .....hummmm.....3200 mils.....I must have slipped the scale on the pantel with the little door closed.........I will have to do 20 over the high angle pit.

The XO owes the gun chief a six pack!

Thanks for the correction.....nothing like screwing up left and right.

As far as the collimator, I found one patent which dates after WWII. I have never seen any pictures of one used. None of the old manuals reference it. I think it began used around the Korean war. I need to pick up and old collimeter manual.

Sorry to hijack the thread,

Rounds Complete!!

Andy- Thanks for the good eyes! I'll fill that before painting.

-Stephen

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Most barriers to your successes are man made. And most often you are the man who made them. -Frank Tyger

Thanks Agentg, I plan on getting some painting done this weekend and then I'll post more pics

Okay Redleg and HVH, let me see if I have this right.The Pantel which is the same thing as the Panoramic view finder (sets the deflection) is on the left side of the gun if you are standing behind the breach.This, on the model, is the tallest sighting device (just for my understanding) and should be vertical with the ground or floor of the vehicle, correct?

-Stephen

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Most barriers to your successes are man made. And most often you are the man who made them. -Frank Tyger

Hans von Hammer wrote:

I must have slipped the scale on the pantel with the little door closed. That's the risk you run with M12-Series sights... M100s'll spoil ya.. The Pantel which is the same thing as the Panoramic view finder (sets the deflection) is on the left side of the gun if you are standing behind the breach.This, on the model, is the tallest sighting device (just for my understanding) and should be vertical with the ground or floor of the vehicle, correct? Yup, the Pantel (PANoramic TELescope) is that tall thing on the left and is always straight up and down when the gun's in a firing position... Now..........will you cannon cockers speak the King's english? Slowly and loudly, for us grunts? Please?  3200 mils is artillery-speak for 180 degrees.. Arty works in mils, 6400 mils to a circle... Deflection is windage, quadrant is elevation, a collimator is an optical aiming point-device (looks kinda like a spotting scope) that has a buncha numbers iniside it that the gunner can see through the Pantel, and the high-angle pit is a hole you have to dig under the gun cradle (the thing that the gun tube slides on) of a split-trail 105mm in order to allow the gun to be elevated to the max...

Thanks Hans for translating.....I hope this is clear to the non-artillery people.

G - We all digress back! It just comes out!!

XO owes the gun chief two cases now

PS....the M7 could not elevate as high as its towed brother (M2A1) since you could not dig a "pit" in the floor.

Newer wepons like the M102, M119 or M198 have a variable recoil system so when elevated, it recoils less and therefore does not need a "high angle pit". Only us "old timers" had to deal with it.

Stephen - I hope we have not confused you but rather helped you with all of our "redleg" jargon.

Rounds Complete!!