An atmospheric adventure with the canonneers of the 24th Mech. Brigade “King Danylo,” operating a curious specimen of M109 — either a rusty, prehistoric museum rarity or an outright zombie, returned from the dead using random parts found on hand.
What else to call this Frankenstein? — An old-school notepad instead of a missing ballistic computer, an extra-stout Ukrainian farmer replacing the non-functioning loading rammer, a vintage Soviet gunsight likely cannibalized from a 2S3 “Akatsiya”, and an ever-present hammer to perform all other precision tasks.
The sound, the ambiance, the claustrophobia… It’s like Jürgen Petersen’s *_Das Boot,_* but inside an SPG: different time, different place, different depth — but same atmosphere.
_”Ahoy, captain! Have good barrel, will travel!”_
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*Notes:*
FDO — Fire Direction Officer.
(0:37) “Load M864 with a 7R” — a 155 mm artillery shell with submunitions. In Ukraine, such shells are called _cassettes_ (short for cassette munitions) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M864
7R — M119A2 Zone 7 red-bag propelling charge.
(5:25) M107 — a regular 155mm high-explosive shell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M107_projectile
(4:08) “Ain’t no loading conveyors here.” — unlike some more modern SPGs (like Msta-S https://youtu.be/SOV_SrDTJhs?t=111), the older M109 doesn’t have a loading conveyor to serve shells and charges.
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Source: 24th Mechanized Brigade “King Danylo” https://www.youtube.com/@24th_brigade
Aired: June 12, 2025.
English translation and subtitles by the author of this channel.
All rights reserved.
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