Re: [MV] Ok, who bought a M109 155mm SPG?

From: Ed Kirkley (mojoedd@bellsouth.net)
Date: Thu May 09 2002 - 07:37:00 PDT


I agree with John, has to be a government movement. Around here, upstate
South Carolina, we see all sorts of tanks, APCs, Humvees, Duce's and lots
more military equipment being moved by civilian trucks all the time. I've
even seen some of the "big guns" on civilian trucks. Very impressive sight
for sure! My wife and I even had to stop for a train crossing that had one
hell of a lot of tanks going by at about 15 miles per hour.....very neat to
see! They were heading West, maybe to the desert warfare sight? Some M-60s
and some M-1s and a few others that I'm not sure of.

Ed Kirkley KG4OUJ
MVPA 18977
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hutterer, John - Deltec" <john.hutterer@deltec.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2002 10:22
Subject: Re: [MV] Ok, who bought a M109 155mm SPG?

> Steve,
>
> Although it would be nice to think that some collector was having that
M109
> moved, I suspect that it was just the Army. I think that we would all be
> amazed at the amount of money that the military spends each year on
civilian
> transport of heavy equipment. In September of 2000 I saw two M60 tanks, on
> civilian tractor/trailer rigs, heading west through Pennsylvania. I
assumed
> then, and still believe, that they were US government property. That
> is...unless somebody is aware of the government selling M60's to the
public.
>
> The "road rage" sign was a nice touch, but I wonder if the tractor/trailer
> driver might have put it there? As to what one M109 was doing on its way
to
> Maine...who knows. It could very well be on its way to an Artillery unit
up
> there. It might have been on its way to some VFW post, for use as a
> monument. There were two M109's sitting in the parking lot of a local
> Reserve center for several months, about two years ago. I wondered what
they
> were doing there, and then one day they were gone. Turns out that they had
> been rebuilt in one of the Reserve shops, and were just sitting there,
> waiting for civilian transport trucks to come get them.
>
> We can all dream, and I wouldn't mind waking up on day to find that I was
> the owner of an M109, but I believe that what you saw was not a privately
> owned piece of armor. I'm sure that somebody will correct me if I am
wrong,
> but I don't think that the government will allow something like an M109 to
> be sold to the public.
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Grammont [mailto:islander@midmaine.com]
> Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2002 8:39 AM
> To: mil-veh@mil-veh.org
> Subject: [MV] Ok, who bought a M109 155mm SPG?
>
>
> I was on my way north from Boston when I spotted a BEAUTIFUL sight... a
> very good looking M109 on a civilian transport. It had a cute and cudly
> sign hung on the left side saying:
>
> "Road Rage"... Equalizer
>
>
> Nice touch :-) The driver pulled off into one of the rest stops I was at
> shortly thereafter. I was prepared to nab the driver and get the info
> out of him about where it was going. But, apparently he just had a road
> weggie or something because I saw him squirm around in the cab, then hit
> the highway again. I followed him for a little while, admiring the ugly
> brute (gun was facing backwards), then decided 65mph stinks when you
> still have 2.5 hours of travel remaining. And that was the last I saw of
> it.
>
> So... anybody know who in Maine would be taking delivery of such a huge
> beast? I find it hard to believe the Army would spend the money to send
> ONE of these via commercial flatbed all the way up to Maine. I mean what
> would it do up here for the Army? Protect our borders from Canadian deer
> poachers? :-) I have a hunch where it might be going, but wanted to ask
> the list first.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
>
> P.S. After paying $800 (today) for a Weasel part shipped from CA, I
> don't feel so bad. That M109 must have cost a BUNDLE to move.
>
>
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