M109A4 arrives
 

Santa's sleigh arrived late his year but it had heavy iron on it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY3iirMQjT4

So is it a monument or an artifact? I see the CARC warning plate on the side, which the DHH puts on the monuments that have been welded up to discourage un-doing the monumentization. But this one is still in the original camo paint rather than the flat green most of the monuments end up in, and the tracks are not welded.

I believe this is one that my section was responsible for maintaining back in the day. I was the Maint NCO for A bty, and I think I see the outline of the missing RCR crest on the corner of the turret.

I visited this past week and the tracks i Can assure you have now been welded to the sprockets and painted over. As far as I understand it is a monument. I understand the track was allowed to be free to enable it to be drawn into the site without a need for a crane.

A pad is to be poured for it this year and it will I am told reside where the M48 turret is now situated. Funds and summer needing to arrive before that happens.

Any other questions will have to be answered by Gunner Mike as it is at his collection.

It is possible I may be contributing to the concrete pad fund in an indirect way, perhaps.

I see that its call sign is ?5F,

Dont Arty using Golf C/Ss?

Yet, someone posted about RCR signage on it.

Colour me confused.

It is 15F. I recall seeing the G prefix on some equipment back in the 80s, but didn't see it when I got to the artillery in the mid 90s. Some of the FOO APCs perhaps?

A battery vehicles bore the colours of the RCR on their guns. There was a comraderie in Korea which resulted in the RCR presenting the colour to A bty, to be renewed every 15 years. There is unsubstantiated rumour that it was the result of a promise/bet by A bty not to have a FF incident and shell the RCR in error, but I went looking for solid information on that and could not find it. There was a point where the RCR had to call in danger close, so that wouldn't count.

These days, A bty has both the RCR and 2VP colours honored to them. The 2VP I believe was as a result of support in Afghanistan. The current guns (M777) do not bear the crest ordinarily these days, but rather have plaques put onto the shields for parade purposes.

I had the RCA museum's M109A4+ into the shop the other day and noted the RCR crest was getting pretty faded. A search quickly found one of the old decals still hiding out at the regiment, which has now been installed.

Arm Indicators such as Golf, India, Tango or Echo are used to designate attached call signs to a domestic net. The T-G-E-I Arm Indicator should not be painted on the vehicle, but does not mean it never happened.

I know for sure I saw one back in the late 80s on the side of the carriers. One of our lesser mechanics went to recover a carrier in 2VP. He came back with the right call sign, but only problem was it had that big G in front of the callsign. He had drug home one of 3RCHA's vehicles. Later towed it over to the RCHA lines, then had to head out to retrieve the 2VP carrier.