Responsible howitzer owner shells house 5km away...

Babbylonian said:
The shell traveled 5 km after being pointed at the ground? It's not that surprising. This is what happens when you make cannon rounds out of flubber.
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Stellafane said:
Wow, they missed the Earth...while standing on it!
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From the description, it seems like they fired from a rise, with the barrel angled downwards, over a valley floor that was within the boundaries of the range. Such a setup could allow the shell to travel quite far, before coming to rest safely inside the range. Depending on the height of the rise, the degree of the downward angle of the barrel, and the extent of the range in the valley below.

If a straight line extending from the barrel of the gun intersects the ground before crossing the range boundary, I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect that a ballistic projectile fired from that gun will hit the ground somewhere short of the far edge of the range.

Assuming a responsible setup (and I've no reason to assume otherwise at this point), the shell's actual trajectory appears to be anomalous.
 
catsmate1 said:
A few years ago (actually quite a few it was when I worked there in the late '90s) one of the ceremonial gun salutes fired by (I believe) the RHA accidentally had a live 13 pounder shell fired over Central London. It ended up in the mud down by one of the Docklands developments and didn't explode.
That cost quite a bit to hush up...
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No, never. This never happened.

13 Pdr QF Ammo is Fixed Round, that is, the shell is attached to the cartridge case.

RHA Guns use cut down saluting cartridges. They are a shortened version of the brass cartridge case with a few ounces of black powder as a charge. They are half the length of a regular cartridge case and most importantly don't have a shell attached.

There hasn't been any 'live'13 pdr ammunition for at least half a century and certainly none ever issued to the Kings troop at all for longer than that time.


No Gunner would mistake a saluting cartridge for none existent live ammunition.

http://www.inert-ord.net/19cent/shells/13pdr/index.html
 
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theprestige said:
Assuming a responsible setup (and I've no reason to assume otherwise at this point), the shell's actual trajectory appears to be anomalous.
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Unless it 'skipped' after hitting the ground and bounded on out of the range.
 
theprestige said:
Assuming a responsible setup (and I've no reason to assume otherwise at this point), the shell's actual trajectory appears to be anomalous.
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Guns don't fire artillery shells into houses, people do.

Wayward son said:
”He who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither.” -- Ben Franklin
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“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that it’s difficult to determine whether or not they are genuine.” -- Abraham Lincoln.
 
I don't think anyone explained, why was someone firing a 105mm artillery gun in the first place? Aren't they banned for private use? (Please don't tell me they're legal. :( )

At any rate, the annual Oklahoma Full Auto Shoot and Trade Show is held in northeastern Oklahoma (close to the Missouri state line) in Wyondotte, OK at Mike's Auto Shoot. Mike's Auto Shoot is apparently a firing range where a guy or gal can pay a fee and then fire any one of a number of automatic weapons available.

At this year's Full Auto Shoot and Trade Show, apparently they had a one-oh-five howitzer available for recreational firing. That sounds like it maybe should be illegal. Is anyone familiar with this place or the show?
 
I personally wouldn't want to fire a 105. The Arty guys I once served with use to call them pop guns. Now if Mike can get his hands on a 155mm Self-Propelled... Now you're talkin'! :D
 
Gawdzilla said:
What's the problem with owning artillery?
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I'm all about people owning guns, but artillery is where i draw the line. Anything that can take out a building needs to be kept far away from civilian hands, assuming it's just a toy. If someone can convince me of a reasonable defensive use of the weapon I'll be more than happy to change my opinion, but come on, seriously, artillery?
 
sadhatter said:
I'm all about people owning guns, but artillery is where i draw the line. Anything that can take out a building needs to be kept far away from civilian hands, assuming it's just a toy. If someone can convince me of a reasonable defensive use of the weapon I'll be more than happy to change my opinion, but come on, seriously, artillery?
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When you have to illegally cross the Canadian borders to escape the broiling heat, devastated economy and oppressive totalitarianism of the Teabag theocracy, you'll wish you had the King of Battle on your side!!
 
newyorkguy said:
I personally wouldn't want to fire a 105. The Arty guys I once served with use to call them pop guns. Now if Mike can get his hands on a 155mm Self-Propelled... Now you're talkin'! :D
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M109s are for effetes, it's the M110s that really rock the impact zone! (203mm/8-inch) :)
 
newyorkguy said:
I don't think anyone explained, why was someone firing a 105mm artillery gun in the first place? Aren't they banned for private use? (Please don't tell me they're legal.
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US Constitution, Article I
Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power ....
...
...
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water ...
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A letter of marque authorizes an individual (or organization, such as Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company) to make war in the name of the government which issues the letter. A letter of marque to a ship-owner makes the difference between a pirate and a privateer. Sir Frances Drake operated under a secret letter of marque from the British Crown. Full auto? Hell; the authors of the Constitution expected that private individuals (corporations, more likely) would own warships. Private ownership of cannon is a necessary implication. This clause has not been repealed.
 
I'm still waiting for an MLRS to hit the surplus auction. Man those are awesome. Expensive ammo, though. And even harder to find than .22LR.
 
Trakar said:
When you have to illegally cross the Canadian borders to escape the broiling heat, devastated economy and oppressive totalitarianism of the Teabag theocracy, you'll wish you had the King of Battle on your side!!
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All kidding aside if there was some danger that required artillery to kill, I'd change my tone, like, i don't know really big gangs that are constantly rampaging, or Godzilla Esq monsters. But as it stands, not so much,
 
Trakar said:
When you have to illegally cross the Canadian borders to escape the broiling heat, devastated economy and oppressive totalitarianism of the Teabag theocracy, you'll wish you had the King of Battle on your side!!
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All kidding aside if there was some danger that required artillery to kill, I'd change my tone, like, i don't know really big gangs that are constantly rampaging, or Godzilla Esq monsters. But as it stands, not so much,
 
newyorkguy said:
I don't think anyone explained, why was someone firing a 105mm artillery gun in the first place?
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Probably for the entertainment value.

newyorkguy said:
Aren't they banned for private use? (Please don't tell me they're legal. :( )
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They are legal unless banned by the state or other jurisdiction. I think they are rarely banned as there hasn't been many problems with them.

newyorkguy said:
That sounds like it maybe should be illegal.
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Why should they be illegal?

Ranb
 
sadhatter said:
All kidding aside if there was some danger that required artillery to kill, I'd change my tone, like, i don't know really big gangs that are constantly rampaging, or Godzilla Esq monsters. But as it stands, not so much,
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You could use an old cannon and grapeshot for the gangs.

Plenty of old muzzle loaders around and serviceable.

Slow rate of fire, but one shot usually does the trick.
 
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