really enjoying these Bob, keep up the good work.
Medium level DD cannons
Guess I better move the discussion to the medium level DD cannons. As I have stated before I am no expert but I am reasonably knowledgeable on the subject. Just passing on a few things I have learned over the years. I consider these medium difficulty for multiple reasons. Also note medium level DD’s are a quite difficult to deal with for various reasons. Also not talking about onesies twosie guns.
First the PAK 36. With German guns the prefix PAK is short for Panzerabwehrkanone. (Anti tank gun) The US we use “pack” in reference to guns we can pack by mule or man power. Now the PAK 36 is a German 37mm. Is is the German equivalent to the US 37 or bofors. Could almost fall in to the easy category. It is a lot rarer than both and more “complex” some people might use the term over engineered. It fires the 37x297R German case. Also a pretty rare case. Some are chambered in the 37mm bofors. No spare parts, rare, hard to work on. Can use super slow powder, custom primers, and projectiles must be made.
Next we are going with the US pack 75. The pack 75 is a howitzer not a cannon. For the non cannon cockers, howitzers are designed for indirect lobbing of high explosive projectiles. Where cannons are designed for direct fire. The Pack 75 is really cool because it can be broken down by two “strong” people and transported in a big car or van. It was adopted in 1927 with wooden spoke wheels and still officially in the US inventory. We gave some to Chinese during WW2 that were later donated to the Viet Cong and used against us in Viêt Nam. Cases are super cheap and plentiful. They use the common US artillery primer and can still use super slow powder. Optics are easy. Projectiles are getting harder to find and expensive. Can also be cast out zinc or possibly lead with its lower velocity. Obviously casting this size is not easy and pretty dangerous. There is a huge demand for these guns from the military vehicle types. They look great behind a jeep. This has really driven the prices up. The guns are pretty basic with a manually operated breach. Spare parts are out there but getting expensive. Lobs a 12 pound projo at max 1200 fps. Most shooters load them a little lighter. Not a lot of bang for your buck.
Next we have a real banger. The US 57mm. The US 57mm M1 was our main cannon of WW2. It is a 3500 pound gun that will lift its tires off the ground when fired. It is a potent gun and a lot of bang for the buck. It is built tough, durable, simple. Semi automatic falling block (block automatically drops and ejects a case when fired) Most of the scope mounts have been removed from the gun so optics are tricky. For ammunition there are drill rounds available. The drill rounds do not contain powder but the cases are usable and the projectiles are legit AP. Primers are a problem and must be manufactured for the drill round cases. Original cases use the standard US artillery primer. Also powder is an issue. Once we get in to the bigger grain powder needed for bigger guns it is unavailable unless you have an explosive license or have a buddy with a license. The gun is highly desirable from the military vehicle group as well.
T124 76mm. Thé T124 was built in the 1950’s with all of our knowledge from WW2. It was the pinnacle of our wheeled cannon development. Light weight, powerful, well balanced. Semi automatic breach. Never formally adopted as it was replaced by much lighter recoilless rifles. Only about 100 guns built. Because it was never adopted most of the guns stayed in country and pop up more regularity than you would expect. Main Gun was repurposed for the walker bulldog tank. Cases are available and projectiles are one of the most common 76mm projectiles available. Easily identified by one large driving band and 2 smaller bands. Uses a unique primer assembly that must be manufactured. Powder is a problem like the 57mm. Don’t even ask about original optics. It weighs about the same as the US 57 but the cases uses more than twice the powder and double the projectile weight. The blast from firing this gun is insane. It reeks havoc on everything around it including the shooter. Not all that desirable by collectors but probably one of the best big guns as far as bang for the buck.
105mm howitzer M101 The WW2 US 105. Another US workhorse. In service from 1941 to now. Big heavy gun at 5000 pounds. Not all that easy to set up or move around but way easier than the later m102 105. Uses a manually operated sliding breach block. Cases are super common and cheap can find them at almost any gun show on a random table. Primers are easy US artillery primer. Even the powder is available as it can use Super slow powder. Optics are common as well. Projectiles are becoming a problem and will have to be sorted if you plan on shooting a lot. Relatively low velocity as it lobs a 20 pound projo at max 1500. Can fire directly or indirect. Highly desirable by military vehicle crowd. As a shooter, it is in my opinion soso. Uses about the same amount of powder as the 57mm but a much larger projectile. Very efficient no huge muzzle blast or gun dynamics. Good for actual combat but not a show stopper.
Some other guns that fall in the medium category but are so rare they never pop up
I can answer specific questions if anyone has any. PAK 40, ZIS 3, US 3” Army, m102 105, PAK 38, 2 pounder British. etc.
Most of these medium could be set up
And fired buy one highly motivated and strong person but generally need a crew of 2 or more. 3 or 4 on the 76’s and 105. They are big and require heavy equipment to work on. 76mm guns won’t fit in a one car garage. Can be a problem to transport and store with an average SOT.
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First the PAK 36. With German guns the prefix PAK is short for Panzerabwehrkanone. (Anti tank gun) The US we use “pack” in reference to guns we can pack by mule or man power. Now the PAK 36 is a German 37mm. Is is the German equivalent to the US 37 or bofors. Could almost fall in to the easy category. It is a lot rarer than both and more “complex” some people might use the term over engineered. It fires the 37x297R German case. Also a pretty rare case. Some are chambered in the 37mm bofors. No spare parts, rare, hard to work on. Can use super slow powder, custom primers, and projectiles must be made.
Next we are going with the US pack 75. The pack 75 is a howitzer not a cannon. For the non cannon cockers, howitzers are designed for indirect lobbing of high explosive projectiles. Where cannons are designed for direct fire. The Pack 75 is really cool because it can be broken down by two “strong” people and transported in a big car or van. It was adopted in 1927 with wooden spoke wheels and still officially in the US inventory. We gave some to Chinese during WW2 that were later donated to the Viet Cong and used against us in Viêt Nam. Cases are super cheap and plentiful. They use the common US artillery primer and can still use super slow powder. Optics are easy. Projectiles are getting harder to find and expensive. Can also be cast out zinc or possibly lead with its lower velocity. Obviously casting this size is not easy and pretty dangerous. There is a huge demand for these guns from the military vehicle types. They look great behind a jeep. This has really driven the prices up. The guns are pretty basic with a manually operated breach. Spare parts are out there but getting expensive. Lobs a 12 pound projo at max 1200 fps. Most shooters load them a little lighter. Not a lot of bang for your buck.
Next we have a real banger. The US 57mm. The US 57mm M1 was our main cannon of WW2. It is a 3500 pound gun that will lift its tires off the ground when fired. It is a potent gun and a lot of bang for the buck. It is built tough, durable, simple. Semi automatic falling block (block automatically drops and ejects a case when fired) Most of the scope mounts have been removed from the gun so optics are tricky. For ammunition there are drill rounds available. The drill rounds do not contain powder but the cases are usable and the projectiles are legit AP. Primers are a problem and must be manufactured for the drill round cases. Original cases use the standard US artillery primer. Also powder is an issue. Once we get in to the bigger grain powder needed for bigger guns it is unavailable unless you have an explosive license or have a buddy with a license. The gun is highly desirable from the military vehicle group as well.
T124 76mm. Thé T124 was built in the 1950’s with all of our knowledge from WW2. It was the pinnacle of our wheeled cannon development. Light weight, powerful, well balanced. Semi automatic breach. Never formally adopted as it was replaced by much lighter recoilless rifles. Only about 100 guns built. Because it was never adopted most of the guns stayed in country and pop up more regularity than you would expect. Main Gun was repurposed for the walker bulldog tank. Cases are available and projectiles are one of the most common 76mm projectiles available. Easily identified by one large driving band and 2 smaller bands. Uses a unique primer assembly that must be manufactured. Powder is a problem like the 57mm. Don’t even ask about original optics. It weighs about the same as the US 57 but the cases uses more than twice the powder and double the projectile weight. The blast from firing this gun is insane. It reeks havoc on everything around it including the shooter. Not all that desirable by collectors but probably one of the best big guns as far as bang for the buck.
105mm howitzer M101 The WW2 US 105. Another US workhorse. In service from 1941 to now. Big heavy gun at 5000 pounds. Not all that easy to set up or move around but way easier than the later m102 105. Uses a manually operated sliding breach block. Cases are super common and cheap can find them at almost any gun show on a random table. Primers are easy US artillery primer. Even the powder is available as it can use Super slow powder. Optics are common as well. Projectiles are becoming a problem and will have to be sorted if you plan on shooting a lot. Relatively low velocity as it lobs a 20 pound projo at max 1500. Can fire directly or indirect. Highly desirable by military vehicle crowd. As a shooter, it is in my opinion soso. Uses about the same amount of powder as the 57mm but a much larger projectile. Very efficient no huge muzzle blast or gun dynamics. Good for actual combat but not a show stopper.
Some other guns that fall in the medium category but are so rare they never pop up
I can answer specific questions if anyone has any. PAK 40, ZIS 3, US 3” Army, m102 105, PAK 38, 2 pounder British. etc.
Most of these medium could be set up
And fired buy one highly motivated and strong person but generally need a crew of 2 or more. 3 or 4 on the 76’s and 105. They are big and require heavy equipment to work on. 76mm guns won’t fit in a one car garage. Can be a problem to transport and store with an average SOT.
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We have a papered live reactivated German PAK40 but currently only fire hot blanks. I can load, transport and unload unassisted using a winch mounted on my trailer deck but otherwise its a beast to try and move by hand on anything other than flat concrete. Have two blank firing systems with one utilizing U.S. 75 pack howitzer cases and the other using original German PAK40 cases with a modified reloadable primer design that would equally work with firing a projectile. Haven't rebuilt the recoil buffers yet but everything else has been a ground up restoration.
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