if it looks to good to be true---------------

***Bill Powell*** · 12-08-2004, 18:12

You've heard the old saying that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Well, it has been proved many times, once by me.

In Korea, in 1961, I was supporting the Fourth Cav on a field exercise, north of the 38th parallel. When I started out on one of these adventures I stopped by our warehouse, being 33rd quartermaster we had warehouses, and loaded up with C-rations, and whatever goodies I could scrounge up for trade material. Being totally self suffecient in the field, I sort of went where I wanted and did what I wanted.

One day The unit was settling in for the night in those positions determined to be defenseable. Since defense positions are usually ugly I went looking for better lodging.

Picture it: stand of cherry trees, babbling brook, shade trees, all in a beautiful meadow, and not occupied by a bunch of officers. There I settled in for the night.

Then, about two or three o'clock in the morning my world exploded. My truck jumped straight up in the air, all the canvas came un-snapped, and one door flew open. It was then that I discovered I had parked not far enough down range, and about thirty beneath the muzzle of a 280mm atomic cannon, and they chose that time to pop off a round.

It's one of the reasons I am not impressed by the muzzle blast of any rifle or pistol.

I used to go to the artillery demonstrations at Ft Sill, Ok, and they would fire Atomic Annie. The target was 1800 yards in front of the muzzle. The round made a continuous dust bunny from the gun to the target. Course, for that gun 1800 yards was point blank shooting.

***Bill Powell*** · 12-14-2004, 14:22

I used to get a kick out of the guys transporting Atomic Annie, or one of her cousins, on those narrow little Korean dirt roads. I've seen several houses that were knocked down from the guy in the rear truck not being able to follow the guy in the front truck correctly.

It always to me to be a silly way to fling a nuclear round onto the target.

theHULK9281 · 01-30-2005, 20:23

Got to see Atomic Annie in Fort Sill on display when I was at basics a few years back. Wow, she's a beast!! Imagine trying to "hump" one of those rounds. lol

***Bill Powell*** · 01-30-2005, 22:04

The only duty I volunteered for was driving the bus to the artillery demonstrations, cause they always fired that gun. You watched them pull in and set up, transfer the ammo, and fire. waaaay cool.

I was stationed with headquarters company, and drove a post taxi.

rlbgfish173 · 02-05-2005, 05:33

Bill, did you post this story on another forum? I read something very similar but can't remember where.

***Bill Powell*** · 02-05-2005, 08:41

I may very well have. I wrote it with a sense of deja vu gnawing around the edges of my thought process. It would have probably been in GNG, a year or two ago, before I discovered the specialized forums.

KIDCOP · 02-09-2005, 20:42

Just remember all the really big guns are in the Navy. I bet your pop gun didn't use 660 lbs of powder for a full service charge.

Cheers ;c

***Bill Powell*** · 02-09-2005, 21:33

nope, it didn't. I has about an eleven inch bore, and at Ft Sill they used three bags of powder about eleven inches in dia. and fourteen or fifteen inches long. If I'm wrong, I'm working on a forty one year old memory.

NGWT · 02-11-2005, 00:13

Quote:

Originally posted by Bill Powell

Picture it: stand of cherry trees, babbling brook, shade trees, all in a beautiful meadow, and not occupied by a bunch of officers. There I settled in for the night.

Then, about two or three o'clock in the morning my world exploded. My truck jumped straight up in the air, all the canvas came un-snapped, and one door flew open. It was then that I discovered I had parked not far enough down range, and about thirty beneath the muzzle of a 280mm atomic cannon, and they chose that time to pop off a round.

This EXACT same thing happened to me at Ft Campbell except mine involved a 105mm.

I, too, had pretty much the freedom to go wherever I wanted to. Late one night my buddy and I were trying to find a spot to crash for the night.

Finally found a spot in a little grove of trees at the edge of a clearing. Being a nice night, we just grabbed our sleeping bags and went to rack out a little ways into the clearing.

Couldn't have been 30mins later when a huge explosion occurred and scared the crap out of us. There was a 105mm howitzer no more than 25m away from us and we were just downrange of him.

After the initial shock, we just stayed in our bags and listened to the rounds go down range. Too cool.