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While in my second tour of Iraq in the Baghdad area time to go a pass came up. Well, most soldiers want to go to Qatar for their pass. I lived there for some time and did not have any real desire to go back, so I had heard about the Taji Depot Northwest of Baghdad. I ask a few favors and managed to get there on several occasions. I located two British 3,7cm “Screw Guns�, four German l.F.H. 18/39 (from Iranian JNA), four Italian Malara 105mm, one British 25 pdr and it is limber. With tucking either already moving radar related equipment for me or other available civilian trucks I hauled this group back to my area in Baghdad. While I didn’t have my hands full maintaining my counter battery radar and doing my best to destroy enemy indirect fire assets, I was rebuilding a few of their old ones. The two that needed the most work were the two British 3,7 Inch Screw Guns. I did a ground up restoration on them. Most of the rest just needed maintaining and new paint. The German l.F.H. 18/39s all needed replacement wheels. They had been disabled by removing one each. I took a crane and lifted the four poorest lFH39s and took their wheels and put them on the four best. The plan was that once I finished the work on these pieces they would go to Iraqi’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Baghdad. I turned these all over to the command at MNC-I, Camp Victory. I left them in the Corps commander’s motor pool and that was the last I saw of them. Hopefully, they made it to the tomb or some other monument.

These are the German lFH 18/39s

more of the lFH 18/39s

more German/Iranian JNA 10,5cm lFH 18/39

The British 25 pdr with Limber and the two restored 3,7 Inch Howitzers

lovett155,
I can't say for certain they did but there are a lot of pieces just like you show here displayed all around the tomb. I left this June but unfortunately never made a trip there. The tomb is a pretty safe place to display them. There are Gaurds posted there. Camp Rusty had some interesting pieces I posted a while back. Nice work. It's a shame all the really rare stuff just rotting away or being stripped. Maybe in about 20-30 years they might appreciate all the work you did.

Joe D

Joe

Thanks for letting me know that they at least made it to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (TOUK). I had started this on my own then later found that the MNC-I Staff was working on a program to restore the tomb. They needed “old Iraqi military stuff’ to outfit the museum and displays. Our two projects then came together and I was ask by the command to go back to Taji and pick out the most historic pieces. I had gotten the British 3.7 Inch Howitzers on my first trip with my own resources. With the second trip I brought back the rest with large tractor-trailer rigs. I also picked up four Italian Malara 105mm Howitzers. Unfortunately, I did not get one of the 155mm G-5 Howitzers. I was basically doing this in my “free time� and the G-5 was just to much to deal with.

Out of curiosity, do you remember if the shields were still mounted on the British 3.7 Inch “Screw Guns�? When I towed these to the motor pool it was the “mud season� and I took the shields off because the wheels were accumulating too much mud and scrubbing on the shields. I was literally down to hours left in Baghdad at that point so I didn’t have time to remount them.

Thanks for your kind words about my work.

Ralph

I’m also posting a few more photos of the Malara 105mm Howitzers.

This is the PLS Truck on the first trip back from Taji with the two British 3.7 Inch howitzers and two US PACK 75mm Howitzers. The second photo shows later trips to Taji and loading with the blessing of the MNC-I commad. On this one I had better resources. Loading the British 25 pdr. and one of the German lFH 18/38 Howitzers (I later transfered these from the PLS Trucks to Civilian Semi-Trucks).

Don't look up!!!



Heres My 'classic' Gun Truck photo. Taken back in 2002, when we did a lengthy Move of vehicles and equipment.




Don

Don,

What are the two wooden wheeled artillery pieces you have there?

Ralph