M109 hogs shooting direct fire

[Sir Henry]

These are actually M109A6’s but very similar to what I was on. We fired direct as close as 100 yards. Close enough that we would receive shrapnel back on us. The butt plate always came straight back and you had to be standing behind the howitzer. In the video they only fired at 700 yards and looks like they used an impact fuse. We always used a timed fuse set on the first tick if I remember right.

The video said they used charge 7 but we used a much smaller charge because we were more concerned with the fuse being armed. It takes a sharp rotation and a split second to arm the fuse. A charge 7 would make it travel to far before being armed.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rp6vf

[JEBar]

that sure looks like some heavy hardware

[Sir Henry]

This is what I was on. We never used the hydraulic loader. The number one man was always your biggest strongest man.

If you watch close they show loading the power.

hthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naLdUA7QRNE