Com-Central.net

Some of you have seen one of these before, Mike Kendall had a feature of a restored one on the AFV Interiors site. Well, today in Viñas del Mar (near Valpareiso) Chile I stumbled on not one, not two, not THREE, but FOUR of the Krupp horse-drawn "mobile pill boxes"! Got pics of two of them at the soon-to-be-removed museum of the Escuela Naval de Chile (two were on the Army base and no pics allowed). I never expected to see one of these in person, let alone four.
Some other stuff too, like a French 155mm gun and lots of naval turrets and stuff. Pic to follow when I get home in about a week.

The stuff you run into when you least expect it! I am still stunned (my colleagues here thought I was nuts when I said we MUST stop (thanks to minha esposa for the use of her camera on this trip....Uma beijo grande!)

Hmmmm, can't wait!

So, now that I'm back, imagine my surprize to find 4 of these guys just laying about....two on the beach in naval colors, two on the Army base (in land colors, but where there were "No Pictures" signs and a lot of burly young men with guns whose language I don't speak all that well....).

This is on a stretch of beach across from the Escola de Navale Armementos at the Museo de Canons Navales (which I understand is slated to be removed...soon...probably because this real estate is mega-valuable).

I certainly never expected to see one of these in person, let alone four. Those are some husky brakes on those wheels, but the actuating levers appear to be missing.

Higher resolution shots can all be found in my gallery here at C-C where you can enlarge them somewhat.









Also, among the thirty of so guns and other weapons, was this 155mm that is cast with the words "Soyez Bons Pour Vos Freins" which roughly translates as "Take good care of your brakes"...as it appears on what seems to be the recoil mechanism housing, it would seam to mean "Take thee care of thy hydraulic oil level lest thou findest thyself 'neath thy gun upon discharge"*. I have a closeup of this, I'll try to post later.

*(Joe D. and a few others may recall a phrase, "Two rough, not enough...two smooth, remove...one rough and one smooth, you're in the groove"...extra credit to anyone under 30 who knows what that means, unless of course, it's still in use!)





Some of the lineup:


Gimme' three rounds and I do believe I can make that shot, probably without sights.



No?.....just trying it on....

That looks like original carriaget & trailing arms on the GPF - I believe this is relatively rare... But surprising to find in Chile I suppose. Thanks for the pics!

Neil

Hey Doug,
I guess there were no takers, BTW, remember the saying didn't include "Two long notches, Stop firing".

Joe D

- Joe_D

Hey Doug,
I guess there were no takers, BTW, remember the saying didn't include "Two long notches, Stop firing".

Joe D

Okay so fill us in now. I'm probably old enough but most of my detailed information during that period had to do with F-15s.

- bsmart

- Joe_D

Hey Doug,
I guess there were no takers, BTW, remember the saying didn't include "Two long notches, Stop firing".

Joe D

Okay so fill us in now. I'm probably old enough but most of my detailed information during that period had to do with F-15s.

It refers to a textured indicator tape to let the crew (loader's responsibility to monitor) know the level of hydraulic oil in the recoil (recuperator) system. It had a metal tape exposing certain texture depending on this level. The saying was an Army "mnemonic" device to remind you of what the indicators were. Failure to monitor this could lead to the gun not having enough resistance in the recoil system, to having TOO much and blowing a seal (which happened to me once, as gunner....very messy)...and the gun still came out of battery.

Chile huh?, I just called the family in to see their favorite AFV personality manning an AA Gun. Jeffrey and Morgan send their hello's! Morgan wants to know how you photographed yourself.
I must say I'm impressed with those gun systems condition, considering salt air and all. Was the paint very thick on these displays? You need to get Ft Hood way, (which might seem blah after your world tours) so we can get and post a picture of you with the armor here.

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!

Super find! Special thanks to your colleagues for letting you take time out to take pictures and loan you a camera.

Lesson to be learned by all members of the AFV CIA group.
Always take a camera with you.
Have a back up battery.
An extra memory stick/card or a roll of film with you.

Well done Agent Doug!
Sgt, Scouts out!

Jeff, Roy....

Aw, Shucks, Jeff...call 'em in for this one! My best to da' fambly! (One of my associates snapped the pics of me, Morgan )



Roy...(and all you tankers)...check out the control handles on this big twin rig...look familiar?
(and it's "Household 6" that I have to thank for the camera...she let me borrow hers for the trip. I left my better one at home.)



Some of my colleagues in the background trying desparately not to look too bored...and the twin again. I have lots more pics, but most of it is Naval, of course....

Doug, The boys liked the close up! We thought maybe it was a self timed camera. Looks as if the fellows you're with don't exactly share your, (our) interest in armor and things that go BOOM! In the one picture there is a small picture of a ship at the base of the double barrel gun system. Does this indicate the system came from that particular ship, or that it might have fired on that type of ship?

- SFC_Jeff_Button

In the one picture there is a small picture of a ship at the base of the double barrel gun system. Does this indicate the system came from that particular ship, or that it might have fired on that type of ship?

Jeff,
Yep...every system out here had an info plate and ship type displayed.

Hi, Doug, Hi, fellers!

I didn't think it fair to chime in on the "two smooth..." mnemonic regarding the recuperator tape, because of previous droning sessions at Fort Knox to drum it into our thick 1962 heads.

Nothing like having that big ninety-mil gun run out of el stoppo, and compress your radio (and perhaps the gunner) to recyclables, eh?

Really nice Chilean Naval photos of their relics, though, Doug, especially the relic at the controls of the twin forties.... looks very lifelike and also well-preserved.

I think the silhouette on the mount is of a former US DD type, but can't say just which one -- definitely one of those old "up-and-over" types, where, in order to exit the fire room (boiler room to you treadheads) and visit the engine room adjacent, one had to go up the escape trunk to the main deck, shimmy through the form-fitting hatch, go forward (or aft), and shimmy again down the applicable next hatch, to access the desired fire or engineering space. This was in order to prevent a torpedo or gunfire strike from disabling more than one space (compartment to treadheads) at a time, due to the keel-to-main deck bulkhead being there to maintain watertight integrity. the distance between stacks is a giveaway.

I've been away lately, licking my wounds after the untimely death of my dearest Tommi, this July, and am just starting to seriously visit and chip in at this my favorite DG in the world.

Curmudgeons forever! Just BYOCJ (Bring Your Own Cherry Juice)
Russ

Russ,
Sorry for your loss, I am glad to see your posts again,

Joe D

I echo those thoughts and am glad to have you back. I missed your insight.