Adding to its Ammo

  • A diorama of a Vietnam War fire support base, circa 1968, with an M102 105mm Howitzer in the foreground and an M107 175mm self-propelled gun in the background, inside the Army Field Artillery Museum in Fort Sill. Ledger photos by Mike W. Ray
    A diorama of a Vietnam War fire support base, circa 1968, with an M102 105mm Howitzer in the foreground and an M107 175mm self-propelled gun in the background, inside the Army Field Artillery Museum in Fort Sill. Ledger photos by Mike W. Ray
  • The German 21cm Mörser 16 heavy howitzer was one of the standard weapons of the primary units of heavy artillery in the German Army in World War I. The gun could lob an 8.3-inch-diameter, 245-pound shell 12,000 yards. By the end of the war, German 21cm howitzers had fired more than seven million shells. This gun was manufactured in 1912. It was captured by 1st Army troops in the Argonne Forest in France in 1918; it was acquired by the Artillery Museum in 2012 and restored.
    The German 21cm Mörser 16 heavy howitzer was one of the standard weapons of the primary units of heavy artillery in the German Army in World War I. The gun could lob an 8.3-inch-diameter, 245-pound shell 12,000 yards. By the end of the war, German 21cm howitzers had fired more than seven million shells. This gun was manufactured in 1912. It was captured by 1st Army troops in the Argonne Forest in France in 1918; it was acquired by the Artillery Museum in 2012 and restored.
  • This artillery caisson carried the casket of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to his burial in Hyde Park, N.Y., in April 1945. The funeral limber and caisson came to Fort Sill in 1958. The tradition of using an artillery caisson for military funerals began during the Napoleonic Wars.
    This artillery caisson carried the casket of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to his burial in Hyde Park, N.Y., in April 1945. The funeral limber and caisson came to Fort Sill in 1958. The tradition of using an artillery caisson for military funerals began during the Napoleonic Wars.
  • This M12 gun motor carriage was created in 1942 by mounting a French World War I 155mm gun on a modified M3 Grant tank chassis. With special fuses, the M12’s 155mm shells were able to pierce 7 feet of reinforced concrete at ranges up to 2,000 yards. This M12 is the only known survivor of the 100 that were produced.
    This M12 gun motor carriage was created in 1942 by mounting a French World War I 155mm gun on a modified M3 Grant tank chassis. With special fuses, the M12’s 155mm shells were able to pierce 7 feet of reinforced concrete at ranges up to 2,000 yards. This M12 is the only known survivor of the 100 that were produced.

    FORT SILL – The history of U.S. Army artillery is on display here in the Army Field Artillery Museum.

    Gordon Blaker brought his diverse experience with museums and his 17-year career as an Army officer when he became director and curator of the museum at Fort Sill more than 11 years ago. He is a fountain of information.

    The facility has been closed since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic and the date for reopening to the public is still uncertain.

    Nevertheless, addition of exhibits continues.

    “We moved in another piece this morning – an MLRS [Mul- tiple Launch Rocket System] – although we can’t get it set until next Monday,” Blaker said

    Tuesday. “And we’ve started cleaning up another piece” to add to the myriad exhibits.

    The Field Artillery Museum reflects the history of Army artillery from 1775 and the Revolutionary War to the present.

    Unlike a typical museum, the primary function of Fort Sill’s Field Artillery Museum is, first and foremost, to educate artillery soldiers, and, to a lesser extent, basic trainees, Blaker said.

    Topics covered include uniforms, weapons, and history. Approximately 10,000 soldiers pass through the museum each year, he said.

    The museum encompasses about 30,000 square feet and is divided into three galleries; two are full and completion of the third – which includes a Cobra helicopter, a 27-ton Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a Vietnam War diorama, and now the MLRS – is underway.

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    Museum
    Ammo
    Fort Sill