AFV Club 1/35 155mm M109 L23 and M109A2 Howitzers

Thank you Carlos, I didn't know what Army the men were with, only that they were not U.S. Army or Marine Corps. I completed steps 2 through 4 which includes the suspension system, drive sprockets and road wheels. Step 5 is the start of upper hull assembly and it will wait until Black Dog interior parts are installed and painted.

I also ordered two sets of FriulModel metal tracks for the M109A2 and M109 L23 which should arrive next week from Portland, Oregon. I was originally planning to use the AFV Club #AF35S23 plastic tracks, but after reading some reviews decided to try the FriulModel tracks instead. I hope they are as good as advertised because they cost twice as much as the plastic tracks.

Harold

Those are Israeli soldiers. The IDF first used the M109 in combat in the 1973 October war.

Below are good quality reference photographs for the AFV Club M109 L23 (short barrel, self-propelled howitzer). I purchase one on eBay and it's in transit from Taiwan. The interior of the M109 L23 is not the same as the M109A2 shown in the previous post. As of right now I don't have any interior reference photographs for the M109A2 other than the Black Dog instructions sheets.

Men in the photographs below do not appear to be American artillery men, but the interior of the M109 looks the same as U.S. Army units from the 1960's. The M109 I served with was introduced in 1963 and still used long after it was upgraded with the M109A1 and M109A2. It was manufacture in the United States by United Defence LP now BAE Systems Land and Armaments. It was sold to dozens of different countries and the lastest version is M109A7 in service 2013 to the present. The M109 in different versions has be used in ten wars around the world over a period of 57 years.

Harold

I completed assembly of step 1 and part of step 2 to create the lower hull shell. The second half of step 2 is assembly of the suspension system which I will work on tomorrow.

The Black Dog interior detail kit arrived today, and it is amazing. It looks like hundreds of quality resin and photo-etched parts. I was especially impressed with the instructions sheets. This model will definately have all the doors and hatches opened.

Lower hull shell.

Black Dog resin and photo-etched parts.

Black Dog instruction sheets. And by the way I learned to have a large dish towel over my lap to catch all the parts I drop, it saves a lot of time and frustration.

Photo-etched deck plates and other parts.

I was referring to wire antennas, not the whip antennas that came in the radio accessory bag. Each of our surveillance teams was issued a GRA-50 long wire antenna kit. Those are very effective. Eventually several of the RTOs or Team Leaders would buy spools of speaker wire since it was insulated, to use in field conditions. You can get a LOT more range out of those long wire antennas cut to match the frequency to make a quarter wave antenna. Even using commo wire to create a “jungle 292” improvised antenna gives superior performance to the issued long whip antenna.

And yes, that long whip antenna standing straight up, does draw attention.

Hey Stik, your assessment of the AN/PRC-77 is correct regarding reliability and that long antenna gave you excellent transmission & reception but it also made it easier for the enemy to spot that RTO. Also the long antenna would get caught up in low canopy forests. I remember when I had to hump with the grunts, there was the company CO's RTO, that along with the 77 he also humped the encryption radio. He always used the long antenna to make sure he got clear reception. My RTO always used the short 'tape' antenna and as long as I was able to get the battery FDC, I was happy.

stikpusher

The 77 is a very reliable radio. At least in my own experience. Add a long wire antenna instead of those whips, along with site selection,  and you can do some good long distance talking (for FM).

 

Harold

The 77 is a very reliable radio. At least in my own experience. Add a long wire antenna instead of those whips, along with site selection,  and you can do some good long distance talking (for FM).

CapnMac82

The way I learned it, you can tell a 77 from a 25 as the former has more bootprints in/on it by frustrated RTO.

 

Harold

The way I learned it, you can tell a 77 from a 25 as the former has more bootprints in/on it by frustrated RTO.

GlennH

I regret that having taken hundred of pics with that 35mm I still have that I never took one of my complete ruck with the radio and all the other crap. I've only seen one image that looks very much like I recall. oh well... 

 

BTW your progress is looking great.

 

I regret that having taken hundred of pics with that 35mm I still have that I never took one of my complete ruck with the radio and all the other crap. I've only seen one image that looks very much like I recall. oh well... 

BTW your progress is looking great.

TigerII

Hey Harold, that is exactly how its written out in long hand.

 

Hey Harold, that is exactly how its written out in long hand.

stikpusher

Those images are deceiving Sarge. The vehicle mount has two separate radios installed. The man pack guy has it in his assault pack.

this is what I carried for manpack overseas... 

 

Those images are deceiving Sarge. The vehicle mount has two separate radios installed. The man pack guy has it in his assault pack.

this is what I carried for manpack overseas... 

GlennH

 

 

stikpusher

Yup, could be a PRC -25 or a PRC-77. The main difference between the two types, IIRC, is that the -77 can be hooked into COMSEC devices, while the -25 could not.

really fun to hump in your ruck along with mission and existance load...

 

 

 

 

I'm terrible at numbers. I think it was a PRC25. 1969. I was pulled off the gun being the FNG and sent to hump with the FO. The old batteries in the background I had just finished cooking. I have to wonder how small batteries could be now! Those two spares were each about the size and weight of a housebrick! 

 

The new field radio gear used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps still looks bulky to me, but I've never worked with it so I can only hope it has improved since Vietnam.

SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground and Aairborne Radio System) operated in a HMMWV.

PRC119 Manpack used by Marine officer in training at Quantico, Virgina.

The PRC-77 still used the same batteries as the 25. The 77 was just an upgraded 25. We still had some in the Guard when I retired in ‘07. But we also had the replacement PRC-119 radio which used a battery that was approx 1/3 the size of the one used on 25/77. The early model PRC-119 was bigger than the 77. But the last manpack type that I used, the E Model was about 4” x 6” x 15” IIRC. The radio both frequency hops and scrambles transmission in COMSEC mode, and can pre preloaded with multiple channels, able to be switched from the handmic. Its a really good piece of equipment. 

stikpusher

Yup, could be a PRC -25 or a PRC-77. The main difference between the two types, IIRC, is that the -77 can be hooked into COMSEC devices, while the -25 could not.

really fun to hump in your ruck along with mission and existance load...

 

I'm terrible at numbers. I think it was a PRC25. 1969. I was pulled off the gun being the FNG and sent to hump with the FO. The old batteries in the background I had just finished cooking. I have to wonder how small batteries could be now! Those two spares were each about the size and weight of a housebrick! 

Yup, could be a PRC -25 or a PRC-77. The main difference between the two types, IIRC, is that the -77 can be hooked into COMSEC devices, while the -25 could not.

really fun to hump in your ruck along with mission and existance load...

GlennH

Here's a radio you might rememeber.

Rest stop by Glenn Hanson, on Flickr

 

 

 

Soldier using a PRC-77 (top) with the KY-38 "Manpack," part of the NESTOR voice encryption system that was used during the Vietnam War.

Be fun to watch. I think one of the units I was with switched over to that SP some years back.

Here's a radio you might rememeber.

Rest stop by Glenn Hanson, on Flickr

TigerII, I just received an email from Captain Seely advising me that he had been in contact with Corporal Bosquet's Gunnery Sergeant. Apparently their was a mistake made on the ONTOS dedication plaque. Corporal Bosquet was in 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Anti Tank Battalion, but attached to BLT 2/4 when he was killed August 18, 1965.

Could you help me get the organization identification correct? Is 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Anti Tank Battalion attached to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines the correct way to identify his group so non-Marines will understand?

Harold

17–24 August 1965
Operation Starlite was the first offensive military action conducted by the U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War and the first purely American operation. 

Hey Sergeant, yes I did get my training at Ft. Sill. Then I spent my time in the Corps with 3rd Bn/10th Marines, 3rd Bn/12th Marines, then 2nd Bn/10th Marines. My resume is not as extensive as Gino's but I was a Forward Observer, then went up to NCOIC of BLT-2/8(Rein) FSCC where a Lt. and I coordinated supporting fire for the infantry with 105mm Arty, 81mm & 4.2(106mm) Mortars, Close Air Support (A-4's, F-4's & A-6's) with an ALO and Naval Gunfire(Spruance Class Destroyers & Oliver Hazard Perry Frigates) with an NLO.

HeavyArty

Most of the second half was spent in MLRS Bns; from an LNO to DIVARTY to Bn XO, some time at Divisions and the Pentagon too.

FOs are still taught voice calls-for-fire.  Digital doesn't always work.

 

Harold

CapnMac82

109 deserves to be open, unless it's parked in a motorpool or lashed to a railcar.

 

In the Army my radio shop was located in the motor pool building and I had coffee with the Master Sergeant every day. He really knew these vehicles well and could answer any question I had about the M109.

Harold

TigerII

I want an Immediate Suppression Fire Mission. MASOC-0861 Nov-76 USAFAS Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. 

 

Harold

stikpusher

I’m rusty

And I feel fully oxidized.

This ought to be a good build, though.  109 deserves to be open, unless it's parked in a motorpool or lashed to a railcar.

TigerII

You're correct, but a "down two hundred" would mean you are calling fire on or near a mountain and want that air burst to be a minimum of 20ft above the enemy. For distance its always been "add or drop". Luckily Iraq was mostly flat ground. BTW Gino, very nice resume. Question Gino: Are artillery forward observers still taught how to call in fire WITHOUT using a computer or radar? Enquiring minds want to know.

Yes, "Down 200" would not be a common correction.  As to the resume, that is only about the first 10 years of my carreer.  In 23 1/2 years as an active duty Artillery officer, I had a bunch of jobs.  Most of the second half was spent in MLRS Bns; from an LNO to DIVARTY to Bn XO, some time at Divisions and the Pentagon too.

FOs are still taught voice calls-for-fire.  Digital doesn't always work.  

You're correct, but a "down two hundred" would mean you are calling fire on or near a mountain and want that air burst to be a minimum of 20ft above the enemy. For distance its always been "add or drop". Luckily Iraq was mostly flat ground. BTW Gino, very nice resume. Question Gino: Are artillery forward observers still taught how to call in fire WITHOUT using a computer or radar? Enquiring minds want to know.