±Recent Visitors

Recent Visitors to Com-Central!

±User Info-big


Welcome Anonymous

Nickname
Password

Membership:
Latest: cgsimpson
New Today: 0
New Yesterday: 0
Overall: 6645

People Online:
Members: 0
Visitors: 203
Total: 203
Who Is Where:
 Visitors:
01: Community Forums
02: Community Forums
03: Photo Gallery
04: Community Forums
05: Photo Gallery
06: CPGlang
07: Community Forums
08: Photo Gallery
09: Photo Gallery
10: Community Forums
11: Photo Gallery
12: Home
13: Community Forums
14: Community Forums
15: Photo Gallery
16: Community Forums
17: Home
18: Community Forums
19: Home
20: Community Forums
21: Home
22: Home
23: Photo Gallery
24: Community Forums
25: Community Forums
26: Photo Gallery
27: Community Forums
28: Community Forums
29: Community Forums
30: Photo Gallery
31: Photo Gallery
32: News Archive
33: Photo Gallery
34: Community Forums
35: Photo Gallery
36: Photo Gallery
37: Photo Gallery
38: Community Forums
39: Home
40: Photo Gallery
41: Community Forums
42: Photo Gallery
43: Photo Gallery
44: Community Forums
45: News Archive
46: Community Forums
47: Community Forums
48: Photo Gallery
49: Photo Gallery
50: Photo Gallery
51: Community Forums
52: Home
53: Photo Gallery
54: Community Forums
55: Photo Gallery
56: Community Forums
57: Home
58: Photo Gallery
59: Your Account
60: Community Forums
61: Photo Gallery
62: Community Forums
63: Home
64: Photo Gallery
65: Photo Gallery
66: Photo Gallery
67: Community Forums
68: Community Forums
69: Photo Gallery
70: Home
71: Photo Gallery
72: Statistics
73: Photo Gallery
74: Community Forums
75: Photo Gallery
76: Community Forums
77: Community Forums
78: Photo Gallery
79: Community Forums
80: Photo Gallery
81: Community Forums
82: Community Forums
83: Community Forums
84: Community Forums
85: Photo Gallery
86: Community Forums
87: Community Forums
88: Community Forums
89: Photo Gallery
90: Photo Gallery
91: Community Forums
92: Photo Gallery
93: Your Account
94: Community Forums
95: Community Forums
96: Your Account
97: Community Forums
98: Community Forums
99: Photo Gallery
100: Community Forums
101: Photo Gallery
102: Community Forums
103: Statistics
104: Community Forums
105: Community Forums
106: Downloads
107: Community Forums
108: Photo Gallery
109: Community Forums
110: Photo Gallery
111: Home
112: Community Forums
113: Community Forums
114: Community Forums
115: Home
116: Community Forums
117: Community Forums
118: Home
119: Home
120: Community Forums
121: Community Forums
122: Photo Gallery
123: Community Forums
124: Photo Gallery
125: Photo Gallery
126: Photo Gallery
127: Photo Gallery
128: Home
129: Community Forums
130: Photo Gallery
131: Community Forums
132: Home
133: Community Forums
134: Photo Gallery
135: Photo Gallery
136: Community Forums
137: Community Forums
138: Community Forums
139: Photo Gallery
140: Photo Gallery
141: Community Forums
142: Home
143: CPGlang
144: Home
145: Photo Gallery
146: Community Forums
147: Home
148: Member Screenshots
149: Member Screenshots
150: Community Forums
151: Photo Gallery
152: Community Forums
153: Photo Gallery
154: Community Forums
155: Home
156: Community Forums
157: CPGlang
158: Community Forums
159: Home
160: Photo Gallery
161: Photo Gallery
162: Photo Gallery
163: Community Forums
164: Photo Gallery
165: Your Account
166: Community Forums
167: Photo Gallery
168: Photo Gallery
169: Community Forums
170: Community Forums
171: Community Forums
172: Photo Gallery
173: Photo Gallery
174: Community Forums
175: Photo Gallery
176: Photo Gallery
177: Community Forums
178: Home
179: Community Forums
180: Community Forums
181: Community Forums
182: Community Forums
183: Community Forums
184: Community Forums
185: CPGlang
186: CPGlang
187: Downloads
188: Photo Gallery
189: Home
190: Community Forums
191: Community Forums
192: Community Forums
193: Photo Gallery
194: Photo Gallery
195: Community Forums
196: Photo Gallery
197: Community Forums
198: Photo Gallery
199: Photo Gallery
200: Community Forums
201: Home
202: Community Forums
203: Community Forums

Staff Online:

No staff members are online!
M50 Ontos picture location...
The AFV ASSOCIATION was formed in 1964 to support the thoughts and research of all those interested in Armored Fighting Vehicles and related topics, such as AFV drawings. The emphasis has always been on sharing information and communicating with other members of similar interests; e.g. German armor, Japanese AFVs, or whatever.
Go to page Previous  1, 2
Post new topic    Reply to topic    Printer Friendly Page     Forum Index ›  AFV News Discussion Board

View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Russ_Buchan
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 67

PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:48 pm
Post subject: Re: M50 Ontos picture location...

Ha, ha!

I don't know, thankfully, about the downrange effect personally, but way back in the late fifties, or even in the very early sixties, our High School rifle club was hosted very generously by Camp Pendleton in order to carry out our East VS West shootout.

Part of their hostly service was a most stunning display of the then-current USMC firepower, ranging from infantry assaults on fortified positions (nearly had me wetting my pants), through 105mm How Battery fire on trucks way downrange, "Time-On-Target"-technique bursts, where howitzers located at various distances from the target fired at such times as to bring all the rounds down on the target at the same time. They even went to the extreme of fuzing a series of rounds sequentially so as to graphically illustrate what the trajectory of a typical howitzer round was in practice., by serially tracing the black puffs in an arc from gun to target.

Right after the M48-based flame-thrower tank (do not get these folks mad) demo, came this stupid-looking little waddler that I recognized as Ontos, the Renwal model whose tubes I had had so much trouble aligning in those impatient days.

It took station to our right, from where we were in the bleachers, in front of a wall of those really-strong Carnation Milk cases, of steel and oak, that they used in those days, and without notice, fired off all six tubes at once.

We teenagers quaked in our boots, and did other things in other garments, I'm sure, and when we opened our eyes, there were no milk-cases left of the wall -- all were smoldering, twisted, still-rolling wreckage strewn way up-range in the backblast of six 106MM recoilless tubes.

The Ontos was not fit to be in front of (enemy) nor behind (friend). You had to be inside it to be comfy, and from what I hear on this site, it was not even comfy inside!

I salute all you Ontos guys on this site, and Dontos, who seeks to keep 'em alive.

Sincerely,
Russ
Back to top
View user's profile
Dontos
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 3436
Location: Vine Grove, KY
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:19 pm
Post subject: Re: M50 Ontos picture location...

Russ

Thank you.

Humbly,
Don
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Jinx
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 186
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:38 pm
Post subject: Re: M50 Ontos picture location...

- Dontos
Elevation 20 degrees
Depression 10 degrees



Thank you kindly for the info.

And w.r.t. the considerable backblast of the recoilless guns, was this ever used as a weapon in itself? Say, if the bad guys had come up behind you, and you couldn't swing the main armament around in time.....was this an option? I'm sure it wouldn't have been much fun for anyone within sight of the hind end of an Ontos when the guns were fired. I'm just curious as to whether anyone ever intentionally did that.
Back to top
View user's profile
David_Reasoner
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 127
Location: South Central Kentucky
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:52 pm
Post subject: Re: M50 Ontos picture location...

Don, I seem to recall reading a long time ago in Vietnam Tracks that use of the Ontos in escorting road convoys had to be curtailed following a couple of incidents involving accidental discharge of one of the 106mm rifles. Apparently the sear would vibrate loose during a prolonged road march or some such. Have you ever run across any mention of this or details of the incident(s)?

David
Back to top
View user's profile
TomT
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 27, 2006
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:55 pm
Post subject: Re: M50 Ontos picture location...

The pictures of ONTOS were taken by me in 1982 at APG and are from my Web Site: battletanks.com These photos and all material on my site are copyrighted. Regards, Tom T
Back to top
View user's profile
Dontos
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 3436
Location: Vine Grove, KY
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:07 pm
Post subject: Re: M50 Ontos picture location...

- David_Reasoner
.....use of the Ontos in escorting road convoys had to be curtailed following a couple of incidents involving accidental discharge of one of the 106mm rifles. Apparently the sear would vibrate loose during a prolonged road march or some such. Have you ever run across any mention of this or details of the incident(s)?


David
I am currently digging into that particular situation(s). I have found some mention in documents & command chronologys to searching for a solution in April 1967. However I don't have a truely clear picture covering the entire episode.

It did cause a lot of misunderstanding by 'old school' Marines of the time. Many of whom viewed the Ontos (and Armor as a whole) as 'Un-Marine Like'.

Optempo never lowered, it just caused some amazingly 'knee jerk' solutions.

Conducting patrols with tubes empty, dismounting the 106's and fabricated mounting M2 .50 cal in their place....

The most common 'common sense' action was to travel with the breeches 'unlocked' but loaded. This prevented firing unless the breeches were locked.

It turned out that a simple solution, replacing the firing pins and reenforcing crew level maint training regarding firing cable adjustments.

I still need to find specific references to events that were caused by the problem, but I don't think it was quite as wide spread as is emphisised.

Hope that sheds some light,
Don
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Dontos
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 3436
Location: Vine Grove, KY
PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:19 pm
Post subject: Re: M50 Ontos picture location...

Here are a couple of 'legal' photos of the APG Ontos taken in the late 70's or early 80's.



Don
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    Reply to topic    Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index ›  AFV News Discussion Board
Page 2 of 2
All times are GMT - 6 Hours
Go to page Previous  1, 2



Jump to:  


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum