[meteorite-list] Sikhote-Alin Impact Pits - Interesting Update

From: MexicoDoug <MexicoDoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 06:00:20 -0600
Message-ID: <01c101c75f1d$de5d5f60$3ecc5ec8_at_0019110394>

Jeff, Gun-buff's, G'Mornin'

It's an artillery M-series M1895 (M1895M1A4) 305mm (12-inch) Coastal Defense
Gun (made in about 1895) on an M1917 Barbette Carriage. The big gun can
fire a 900 pound (409 kg) nicely oriented shell over 16 miles (26.5 km)
range through the atmosphere at sea level. At least part of the technical
manual is apparently actively available on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140091777488

These aptly named batteries of big guns and mortars (Crockett, but not
Davy:-), etc.) were the ones that the Americans held out with for a month in
an Alamo-like encounter with the Japanese, in which that now long ago
inspiring heroic effort on this island with the sacrifices protected
Ozitrailia from invasion.

If it were not so nicely an oriented shell ... I doubt it would make it 5
miles. That's more than 10 extra miles out of orientation ... though a
little heavier than the Venus stone ...

More information on the battle is available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corregidor&action=edit&section=7

And here is the picture of the original gun model, though sandblasted
repainted spruced up now theme park style gun to accompany the wiki text
which can be compared to Jeff's reader's picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:US_12_Inch_Gun.jpg

There were a pair of these M1895 guns on these carriages according to the
website corregidor.org, in addition to other recessed M1895's of the same
caliber, many of which are tourist attractions there today. Originally the
pair on carriages was called the Smith Brothers, named after the Smith
Brothers' cough drops, and they were fondly known as "Pat and Pending". (But
later one was named Hearn, and the humor was lost. C. C. Hearn, a West
Point Graduate and Naval Coastal defenses expert invented a plotting board
and a super accurate range finder which he gave to the government rather
than patenting).

And we think WE live in violent times!
Best health, Doug


> From: "Jeff Kuyken" <info at meteorites.com.au>
> To: "Meteorite List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 2:45 AM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Sikhote-Alin Impact Pits - Interesting Update
>
>
> G'day all,
>
> I received a very interesting email today from someone who had read
through
> my Sikhote-Alin Impact Pit page. They sent me a couple of photographs of a
> large gun on Corregidor Island, Philippines which was damaged from a WW2
> bomb. The resulting damage is unmistakably similar to the pits found on
some
> SA's. The pics are at the bottom of this page:
>
> http://www.meteorites.com.au/features/impactpits.html
>
> Comments welcome. Does anyone know what type/size of gun this is?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeff
>
Received on Mon 05 Mar 2007 07:00:20 AM PST