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From John Labar in 2005:
6th Bn, 40th Field Artillery, 3AD
I was with C Battery, 6 Bn, 40th FA, 3rd Armored Div., from
July, 1970 to December, 1971. That would be Francoise Kaserne
in Hanau, and our weapon was the M-110, 8-inch self-propelled
howitzer. I had entered the Army with a college degree on a 3-year
enlistment and eventually, as a Sgt E5, became chief of a nuclear
section within C Battery. Of course my training and the Battery's
capability, was both nuclear and non-nuclear. The morale and
performance level for C Battery was excellent, and I am proud
to have known and served with those officers and men. The Battery
Commander was Capt. Jim Corkill and the XO was Ron Chiste. In
my last year, C Battery was rated the best 8-inch firing battery
in the Division based on live-fire scores at Grafenwoehr.
Several years after leaving the Army I joined the 109th Field
Artillery of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and was with them
a total of ten years. As with the 3rd Armored, we were also trained
for nuclear and non-nuclear combat with the 8-inch howitzer,
and later the 155mm self-propelled howitzer. The 155mm nuclear
shell came with virtually no assembly required and could be armed
electronically. I think it was around 1992, after a treaty with
the Soviets, that nuke training for us ended.
With 3rd Armored nuclear training, we were under rigid inspections
constantly. Our training centered on three primary elements:
Assemble, Transport, Destruct. The latter may not be what you'd
expect. It did not refer to destruction of the enemy (the Soviets,
of course), but rather the techniques for destroying our nuclear
artillery shells, and code books and manuels, if we were in danger
of being overrun by that enemy. We were prepared to do this,
post haste, whether the shells were in bunker, or convoy, or
at firing positions. To do the job, we would use shape charges,
phosphorus grenades, and, as a last resort, the old-fashioned
sledge hammer. Of course, we knew how to do this without causing
a nuclear detonation in the process.
Assembling and arming the 8-inch nuclear round was something
we trained at constantly. This was done with mock shells that
were amazingly like the real thing. Before assembly, an actual
nuclear round came as a kind of "kit" and that consisted
of four packages. The largest package included a tube with the
shell casing and its propellent charge (gun powder). The 8-inch
diameter (or 203mm) shell was about 39 inches long. A second
package contained non-nuclear paraphernalia, such as fuses, wiring,
and a small powder charge that initiated warhead detonation.
Packages #3 and #4 were the "hot" nuclear warhead components
in lead housings that included uranium. We could set the detonation
yield by adjusting certain components. Kits that were the real
thing had "War Reserve" markings. The mock kits had
"Training" markings. These mock kits were so real,
for example, that, in place of the actual active uranium, we
worked with depleted uranium of the same weight, size, and shape.
The Battery had two trucks for use in either training or actual
war - one for assembly of the rounds and the other for transport
and temporary storage before firing. These were 2 1/2 ton trucks:
a CP-style version for transport and a shop-van version for assembly.
In training, one transport truck could handle the Battery's requirements,
with typically four rounds being stowed. Assembled or not, these
were strapped tightly into wooden yokes so as to allow zero movement
regardless of the terrain. Needless to say, whether in convoy
or in firing position, we would be surrounded by heavy security.
Four shells for the three or four guns of the Battery may
not seem enough (that's one round per gun), but keep in mind
that the blast radius of one nuclear round was measured by the
mile, while, with a standard round, it was around 50 meters.
If Battalion headquarters felt we needed more nuclear rounds
in a real war situation, plenty were available. But we knew that
our mission, if to the Fulda Gap and with nukes authorized, was
a one-way, no-return trip with probably an opportunity for one
shot per gun.
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