M1 240mm gun

that is interesting .....would be great to hear more about arty shock affects

 

..yes. I thought not all the guns registered .....terrain factored into the problems also.....obviously, and I've read, the hilly area around Cassino gave the arty problems.....
..how were the big guns leveled? we used bubbles in the mortar sights ....I knew an engineer that worked on the Patriot Air Defense platform and he said the ''bed'' had to be level to a very close tolerance

 

page 572 The Ardennes...Cole:

page 635

page 640:

they have the sub-topic TOT under the artillery support topic in the index

 

there are guns and there are firearms

 

omg. that was amazing.

 

lateral thinking outside the box.
im lovin it

 

im sorry B7 for interrupting thread.
long weekend for me.
pardon me

 

that's what it's for

 

i have been researching a 240mm unit for a while now. (Im not a professional, so there may be some mistakes) The 270th FA Bn to be exact. Being a non-divisional asset, the 270th history is not very well documented (probably the same for the other 240mm units) Below is some of the info I have gathered over the last year so. I have a decent amount of copies of documents acquired for the National Archives, Eisenhower Library, Controvich Library, etc..

270th FA Bn 3rd Army ETO (European Theatre of Operations)
240mm Howitzer Unit 1 of only 15 in the ETO
Non-Divisional, Corps level unit. (Means it moved around ALOT to different units that needed their guns)
Battalion Commander LTC J.C. Gabriel
Campaigns: Normandy, France, Ardennes, Rhineland
Activated: 15 March 1943 Camp Butner NC
Deactivated: 25 October 1945 Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts

Significant Events:
15 Mar 1943 Unit activated at Camp Butner NC. Lt Col James C Gabriel assumed command.

Officers assigned at time of activation: CPT Stone Harris, CPT Robert Hannah, CPT Howard Kingston, CPT Robert Ray, 1LT George Howze, 1LT Bernard Adams, 1LT Howard Fillmer, 1LT Thomas Snyder, 2LT Arthur Larsen, 2LT Fred Perry, 2LT Louis Fulop, 2LT Charles Rothaermel, 2LT William Battin

Dec ’43 Deployment Ship: RMS Aquatina NYC to Scotland
Landed on Utah Beach near Carentan France D+48
1129hrs 12 Aug 1944 the first rounds were fired. A &B Btry fired Btry 1 round and C Btry #1 gun firing 1 rd at a separate target.
5 Aug ’44 Attached to 144th FA Grp Supported 79th Div Falaise Gap Sector
19 Aug ’44 Mantes-Gassi Court (Seine River)
4 Nov ’44 Assigned Line of Communications(LOC) duty for 3rd Army
15 Nov 1944 John Hummer (Asst Bn S2) KIA by enemy mortar fire.
23 Nov 1944 at 1642hrs first rounds fired that landed in Germany. Sinz Germany was the target and Prince Felix of Luxembourg pulled the lanyard.
Dec ’44 to Jan ’45 Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes)
25 Dec 1944 at 1830hrs first firing of the Posit fuse.
2 Jan 1945 Eugene Anspach (Motor Officer and Liaison Pilot/Observer) and LaVerne Emberts (Asst Bn S2 and Liaison Pilot/Aerial Observer) shot down over Germany Both KIA
30 March ’45 ordered to prepare equipment for indefinite storage and await further orders.
Oct ’45 Redeploy Ship: USS Alexander Le Havre France to NYC

Col Gabriel retired to the same area/county as my Grandfather (Merle Arnold). Crawfordsville Indiana. They are buried in separate cemeteries, but are only about 10 miles apart.

270th FA personnel as best as I can make it.
Bernard Adams (C Btry CDR)
Margarito Alvarez
Herman Anderson
Freddie Andras
Eugene Anspach (Motor Officer, Liaison Pilot/Observer shot down over Germany KIA 2 Jan ’45)
Luther Arnold (Bn XO)
Merle Arnold
Edwin Atteberry Sr.
Frank Baker
Delbert Ballengee
Roger Baribeault
William Basham
William Battin
Herbert Baumann
Harry Bennett
Ambrose Boles
George Bolton
Henry “Cecil” Borne
John W. Bradshaw
Brewster Branz
Charles Breeding
John Bristow
William Brooks
Raul Buentello
Obadiah Burns
George Canales
Jack Carberry (Motor Sgt)
_____ Catnell
Edwin Chastain
Angelo Cicciu
John Coke
Norman Collins
Charles Conrad
Charles Cormendy (Gun Mechanic)
Loren Cook
Raymond Couchman
____Croft
Paul Culberson (Hq Btry CDR)
Merle Cummings (1SG)
James Currie
Frank Daly Jr.
David W. Davis
Adam Dittenbir
John T. Doughty
______ DeMercy (Commo / Wire Section)
Roy Denman (Medic)
Guy R. Dulin
Daniel J. Dunn
Fidel Dunne
Jesse Dyess
Clovis Z. Edwards
John Eitson
Duane Ellingham
Calvin C. Elmore
LaVerne Emberts (Liaison Pilot shot down over Germany KIA 2 Jan ’45)
Frank Esosito (Asst. Bn S2 and Survey Officer, Aerial Observer)
______ Faircloth
Walter Ferens
Edward Fielder
Howard Fillmer (HQ Btry CDR and COMO)
________ Fletcher
Luis A. Flores
Edward E. Foster Jr.
Bennie Foster
Arlon Fowler
Louis Fulop
James C. Gabriel (Bn CDR)
Alfred H. Gonzales
Raul Gonzales (Medic)
Eddie Graham
John W. Greene
Peter Giussago
Charles Gurganus
Louis Haberkorn
Raymond Hall (Medic)
Lewis S. Hammonds
Robert Hannah (Bn S3)
Stone Harris
William Harvey (WIA Aug ’44 enemy aircraft strafing) (C Btry Crane Operator)
Lloyd R. Hawley (A Btry XO)
John Heath
Eliot Herman
Rojelio O. Hernandez (Machine Gunner)
Bernard Hillebrandt (Medic)
John W. Hinton
Jack Hodges
John Hollebeek
Fred S. Hopson
George Howze (Asst S3 and A Battery CDR) (Captured Bn’s first POWs 8ea on 8 Aug 44)
Elmer Hughes
John Hummer (Asst. Bn S2 and Survey Officer) (KIA 15 Nov ’44 by enemy mortar fire)
Paul Hummer
Buell Hunter
Lavern Hunter
Pablo H. Infante
J.P. Issacs
John F. Jett
Esias J. Johnson
Billy H. Jordan
C.P. Kelly
Howard Kingston
Gerald Knackstedt
Walter S. Kohl
Phillip Klatman
Lester R. Kluting
Gerald Knackstedt
John LaBlanc (Aerial Observer / Liaison Pilot)
Dudok Langerak (Bn S4)
James E. Langford
Arthur Larsen
Louis Leal
William M. Lee
Alvan Levenson
Wayne Lidgard (WIA Aug ’44 enemy aircraft strafing) (C Btry Crane Operator)
William Loftin
Phillip Loyacano
_______ Luker
Charles Madden
______ _Manecia
George Marcak (Purple Heart wounded 31 July 1943 New Georgie Island prior to joining unit 23 Nov 1943)
Robert Martin (Bn S1 / Adjutant)
Francis C. Martines
Bacilio V. Martinez
Estarislado L. Mauricio
Anthony J. Mele
Carlton L. McCray
Charlie R. McClain
Robert McDonald
Burl McGraw
Jerry Michalsky
Roger Michels (Bn Surgeon)
William A. Meyers
Gray O. Miller
Johnie W. Morgan
Kenneth Moore (Medic)
Carrol N. Morris
Perry Moye
Bert A. Mullen
Buck Mullens (Ammo SGT)
Marion W. Mullican
Paul Murphy ( Svc Btry CDR and Bn Motor Officer)
Benjamin Nale
Billy J. Neal
Harold F. Nickel (Motor Sgt)
Ray F. Noble
August Oprzadek (Cook)
John Parker
______ Parks
Roger A. Parsels (A Btry Clerk)
Aylmer Patterson
Frank H. Patterson
Fred B. Perry (A Btry CDR)
Alvis E. Peters
Arthur Petri (Medic)
Walter Pfluger (B Btry)
Gilberto Pineda
Lawrence R. Potts (Machine Gunner)
Robert Presser
Joe A. Pyle (AKA Muscles)
Regino Ramirez
Oscar R. Ramos
Edward E. Raetz (Battlefield Commisioned to 2nd Lt 17 Feb ’45)
Robert C. Ray ( Bn S2 and A Btry CDR)
Archie Roberts
Joe Rodriguez
Simon Rodriguez
Victor H. Rogers
Iver Roslund (Asst Bn S2)
James G. Rothrock Jr. (A and C Btry)
Charles Rothaermel
F.J. Roussell
Antonio G. Ruiz
Guadalupe Saenz
Armengol Saens (Medic)
Santos F. Saldana
Domingo Sanchez
Robert S. Sanders
Leroy Savoie
Robert W. Sheegog
Robert W. Sides
John Siepieranski (B Btry Motor Sgt and WIA Aug ’44 enemy aircraft starting)
Israel Silva
James Sims (Medic)
Paul Sinclair (Aerial Observer)
Ivan J. Slaughter
Irby Slaughter
Calvin Smith
James Smith (WIA)
Elliot Smith (WIA Aug ’44 enemy aircraft strafing)
Robert H. Smith
Toby Smith
Thomas Snyder (B Btry CDR)
Willie E. Sofka
Paul S. Soileau
Ernest J. Sonnier
Billy Spencer
_______ St. Clair
Lowell Stamps
Lawless A. Stelly
Gerhard Steppke (WIA Jan ’45)
Riley W. Stuckey Jr.
Earnie E. Tedford
Lee Testa
Jack A. Thompson
Joseph W. Thompson
Elmer H. Totsch
Dillard R. Tucker
_______ Uel (Supply Sgt)
Carlos D. Valadez
Albert M. Van De Velde
Vic Velvecates (A Battery 1SG)
Robert Vaughn
Israel Villarreal
________ Ward
Adam E. Wadzinski
Carl A. Walker (Aerial Observer / Liaison Pilot)
Harvey O. Walker
Harry E. Wallace
Robert Wallace
Willard Watts
Robert Weigert
Ralph W. Wendt
Ted Williams
Lester Williams (Medic)
James M. Williamson
Richard Wilson (Liaison Pilot)
Alex Woitowitz (Medic)
John R. Woolard
Jerome Wolney
John E. Woloszyn
Lee H. Womack
Tommy L. Wright
Margarito R. Ybarra
________Young
Frank Zaleski (Medic and designed an improved Pharmacy chest)
Richard Zule