God and Cannon

To win and secure the beachheads of the Invasion, bombers, rocket guns, ponderous naval cannon will be needed--ihen infantry-borne bazookas, mortars, light assault guns to widen the foothold. Even before the beachheads are finally secured, field artillery will join in.

Cannon of basic design that goes back to the Civil War (when breechloaders were first used) will plow and batter the Continent, preparing it for the onward sweep of infantrymen and armor. Western Europe will quake then with cannonading greater than last week's Allied barrage at the Gustay Line. Artillery will determine the pace and final success of the push inland. With few important qualifications, the old adage still stands: God is on the side with the best cannon.

These are the basic artillery pieces which the U.S. Army has prescribed for the job:

The 75s. The pack howitzer is the principal 75-mm. weapon. *Broken down, it is moved on the backs of mules. It is also the organic weapon for paratroop field artillery units. Dropped in seven loads, the 75-mm. can reach action seven minutes after crew and parts leave the plane.

The 75-mm. field howitzer, truck-drawn, is identical except that it has a split-trail carriage and cannot be broken down into pack loads. These 75-mm.s fire a 15-lb. shell better than 5.3 miles.

The 105s. The "all-purpose weapon" Of the war is a 105-mm. howitzer, which has superseded the World War I 75-mm. as an organic light artillery weapon. In U.S. infantry divisions, three artillery battalions are each equipped with twelve of these weapons. The 105-mm. howitzer fires a 33-lb. projectile approximately 6.9 miles.

Mounted on a self-propelled M-7 motor carriage, this piece became famous in Egypt as "the Priest," the antitank weapon with the pulpitlike machine-gun mount which broke Rommel's desert line. Another, a modified 105-mm. with a shorter muzzle and mounted on the same carriage as the 75-mm., is used by airborne artillery and infantry heavy weapons units.

The 155s. A new U.S. 155-mm. howitzer lobs a 95-lb. shell some 9.3 miles. But the best known of the U.S. 155s is the "Long Tom," a gun* which fires a 95-lb. projectile 14.2 miles.

There is another 155-mm. which U.S. artillerymen set much store by: a World War I gun mounted on a medium tank chassis (the M-12), making a highly mobile weapon which is used either in normal artillery fire (e.g., at unseen targets) or in direct fire, as on tanks.

The Heavies. Mightiest of the mobile weapons are the 8-in. and 240-mm., which have to be transported in two parts (barrel and carriage). U.S. artillerymen consider their most accurate weapon the 8-in. howitzer, which fires a 200-lb. shell 10.5 miles.

Newest 8-in. weapon in the U.S. arsenal is the gun which throws a 240-lb. shell up to 19.8 miles. Two 38-ton tractors are required to haul the gun and its carriage into place. A 20-ton truck-mounted crane goes along to assemble the two parts.

Even mightier than the 8-in. gun, though with a shorter reach (14.3 miles), is the 240-mm. howitzer. These behemoths are used in groups for long-range destruction. They are also used to back up the lighter fire power of infantry division artillery. Their backing is a wallop. The 240-mm. howitzer lobs a projectile weighing 360 Ib.

WEAPONS

God and Cannon

To win and secure the beachheads of the Invasion, bombers, rocket guns, ponderous naval cannon will be needed--ihen infantry-borne bazookas, mortars, light assault guns to widen the foothold. Even before the beachheads are finally secured, field artillery will join in.

Cannon of basic design that goes back to the Civil War (when breechloaders were first used) will plow and batter the Continent, preparing it for the onward sweep of infantrymen and armor. Western Europe will quake then with cannonading greater than last week's Allied barrage at the Gustay Line. Artillery will determine the pace and final success of the push inland. With few important qualifications, the old adage still stands: God is on the side with the best cannon.

These are the basic artillery pieces which the U.S. Army has prescribed for the job:

The 75s. The pack howitzer is the principal 75-mm. weapon. *Broken down, it is moved on the backs of mules. It is also the organic weapon for paratroop field artillery units. Dropped in seven loads, the 75-mm. can reach action seven minutes after crew and parts leave the plane.

The 75-mm. field howitzer, truck-drawn, is identical except that it has a split-trail carriage and cannot be broken down into pack loads. These 75-mm.s fire a 15-lb. shell better than 5.3 miles.

The 105s. The "all-purpose weapon" Of the war is a 105-mm. howitzer, which has superseded the World War I 75-mm. as an organic light artillery weapon. In U.S. infantry divisions, three artillery battalions are each equipped with twelve of these weapons. The 105-mm. howitzer fires a 33-lb. projectile approximately 6.9 miles.

Mounted on a self-propelled M-7 motor carriage, this piece became famous in Egypt as "the Priest," the antitank weapon with the pulpitlike machine-gun mount which broke Rommel's desert line. Another, a modified 105-mm. with a shorter muzzle and mounted on the same carriage as the 75-mm., is used by airborne artillery and infantry heavy weapons units.

The 155s. A new U.S. 155-mm. howitzer lobs a 95-lb. shell some 9.3 miles. But the best known of the U.S. 155s is the "Long Tom," a gun* which fires a 95-lb. projectile 14.2 miles.

There is another 155-mm. which U.S. artillerymen set much store by: a World War I gun mounted on a medium tank chassis (the M-12), making a highly mobile weapon which is used either in normal artillery fire (e.g., at unseen targets) or in direct fire, as on tanks.

The Heavies. Mightiest of the mobile weapons are the 8-in. and 240-mm., which have to be transported in two parts (barrel and carriage). U.S. artillerymen consider their most accurate weapon the 8-in. howitzer, which fires a 200-lb. shell 10.5 miles.

Newest 8-in. weapon in the U.S. arsenal is the gun which throws a 240-lb. shell up to 19.8 miles. Two 38-ton tractors are required to haul the gun and its carriage into place. A 20-ton truck-mounted crane goes along to assemble the two parts.

Even mightier than the 8-in. gun, though with a shorter reach (14.3 miles), is the 240-mm. howitzer. These behemoths are used in groups for long-range destruction. They are also used to back up the lighter fire power of infantry division artillery. Their backing is a wallop. The 240-mm. howitzer lobs a projectile weighing 360 Ib.

*25.4 millimeters equal one inch; a 75 is roughly a 3-in. gun. *The distinctions between "gun" and "howitzer" generally: the howitzer is lighter, has a shorter barrel, is more mobile; a howitzer with the same mobility as a gun fires a much heavier projectile but with a lower muzzle velocity and at a shorter range.

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