Pop quiz

[mike robel]

I'll just post the answer to my question.

A gun tube wrench is a woven strap wrench that fits around the gun tube and is used to rotate the gun tube into final position to seat it in the breach assembly. After wrapping it around the gun tube a tankers bars is inserted through it so you can turn the gun tube.

When it sets, you secure the gun tube with a bolt and lace it.

Jim's story about the range line reminded me of this. While firing on table VIII, my loader had a harder and harder time getting rounds out of the tube and in some cases putting reloading. At one point, he couldn't get it out, so I told my gunner to hand me the cartridge case extractor.

He said, "What?"

I said, "The thing under your seat!"

We are moving between firing positions at this point.

I take it and get the cartridge case out. The loader can't get the breach to close.

I get down behind the gun, grab two handholds in the turret, and kick the thing in. Breach Closes.

We nail the last two engagements, without having to use the extractor, but he or I had to kick the round in.

We get debriefed, and then I say let's go see what is wrong with the tank.

I sit on my hatch for a while and look at it and I note that the fume extractor seems off angle.

Then I look through my hatch and I notice the breach lips (for lack of a better term) are canted.

Then I look up at the front of the breach/recoil assembly and note that the bolt lacing is broken and the bolt has rotated up (the threads were shiny compared to the other ones that were near the top.

Wen't back up and looked at the fume extractor again and confirmed it was out of alignment.

I told my gunner to go over to the Direct Support Maintenance Van and ask if we could borrow the gun tube wrench. He looked at me and said "Right sir. And then do you want me to walk to the range warehouse and get the range fans?"

"NO," says I, "Ask them for the gun tube wrench, then get the tankers bar out."

Off he goes and comes back with the wrench. "This it, sir?" "Yep."

I wrap the thing around the tube, he brings the tankers bar to me, we slip it in, rotate the barrell, here a satisfying "thunk".

Take this back, ask if we can borrow their torque wrench and ask them for some lacing wire and what the torque is for the bolt.

He comes back with the stuff, says 90 lbs or something, and we put the bolt it, torque it, lace it, and return the torque wrench.

We boresight that night, qualify and a good days work for all.

Later, much later since we did an test afterwards, my wife goes into the post pizza shop, adjacent to my barracks, so I never went in cause my guys hung out there, and while waiting in line, she see's my gunner talking to some other NCOs, and he says, "There is nothing Captain Robel doesn't know about that tank. And he tells the story of the extractor, tube wrench, and some other things that happened during our recent adventure, and concludes, "He even rehearses our operations in his sleep, he's always thinking."

The other NCO's appeared to be suitably impressed and noted their commanders did not appear to have the experience and knowledge I did. (I think I was the senior company commander in the brigade at that time."

She came home and told me.

So, there you are, in much more detail than you wanted to know.

[chrisswim]

Great story to share. Thanx.

[panzergator]

Mike, in the original question, you spelled "gun" as "gin!". I've been wondering what I didn't know about Prohibition and bathtub gin. It sent me off the scent. Enjoyed the story, though, very much You should tell it at the next reunion, if we ever have another one. We did not have that cartridge extractor on a A2. You can imagine what would have happened with the combustible round. I hope you examined the rest of the company's tanks.

[mike robel]

But of course I inspected the rest of the tanks in my company.

[panzergator]

Chris, it is the Roman formation. It is the castle crennelation.

I know about the cartridge extractor and, acting as safety officer, on A1s, never had to use one. Always pulled it out, spun it, spit on it, and fired it. The fun of being Safety. Have seen and watched the gun strap used, but never had to do it. Surprised DS allowed you to. The tube might have been broken or bent. Not good.


The men fleeing and looking over their shoulders are telling you your unit must immediately prepare to receive a cavalry charge. The panicked men are afraid they will be run down by lancers or sabers. You haven't much time. Men broken by artillery, musketry, or bayonet aren't worried that the enemy can run them down, thus are not constantly checking behind them.

Interestingly, the Brits once considered giving up the bayonet because they found so few casualties on a battlefield with bayonet wounds. Upon further study, they realized that the mere anticipation of receiving a British bayonet charge was enough to cause the enemy to break. Bayonets in those days were plug bayonets. They were fixed when musketry had been effective enough and it was time to finish off the opponent.

[mike robel]

Well, the fact that the gun tube didn't explode and so on when we fired was a factor. I was a little surprised they didn't come over to check it out. If I hadn't been a BMO for a year+ and a troop executive officer for 18 months, I would not have known what to do or how to check it. I did get my master gunner in on the deal.

[chrisswim]

Cavalry charge specifically... very nice.
Guess that is why when I served in the a Union army there were two commands I’m think of.
Guard against Infantry, ... Guard.
Guard against Cavalry,... Guard. The rifle & bayonet are elevated.

[panzergator]

My DS WAS better than yours. 2 years as a BMO, didn't have to get the gun wrench out.

Ok, another question...

M60A1 tank, T97 track, looking AT the front of the tank at the track chevrons. Should the ends go up, forming a gentle "U," or down to look like a bridge?

What does HVSS stand for?

Unanswered question - what does 35mm mean, other than a gun round size?

[Donald M. Scheef]

HVSS = Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension. This is most commonly associated with late model Sherman tanks.
This replaced the Vertical Volute Spring Suspension used on Stuart and early Shermans. VVSS was good but HVSS was better.

Don S

[Donald M. Scheef]

What does 35mm mean other than a gun size?
One possible answer is that it is/was a popular size for camera film.

Don S.

[panzergator]

Not it. It is a memnomic.

[panzergator]

It's been a while so I might as well provide the answer. 35mm helps one remember what should go in combat trains: Class Iii, Class V, Maintenance, and Medical. Class III = fuel and oil; Class V = munitions required to replenish basic loads, some Mechanics, and your Medics. Doctrine may be different now, of course, with the organizational changes which took place with the J series MTOEs and after.

[Donald M. Scheef]

Is there an easy way to remember how to spell mnemonic?

Slightly different track: Does anyone know the full form of the nested initialism/acronym "AMSAC" Note: this is civilian, not military but if you know it I'll bet I can identify your branch of service.

Don S.

[Cav Dog]

According to US Army Doctrine, what are the types of security missions a cavalry unit could be tasked to perform and what are the offensive and defensive actions the commander should perform to accomplish each one?

[panzergator]

Cav dog! Complicated answe! You dug out your MANUALS!