U.S.GUN HOWITZER RARE CD \"ATOMIC ANNIE\" NUKE PROTOTYPE PUBLICATION SHELL,FUZE For Sale

COPYRIGHT NOTICE :ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THIS OFFERING IS OWNED BY CRITTENDEN SCHMITT ARCHIVES AND IS OFFERED HERE BY CSA DBA CSAEOD.

ONE OF THE RAREST OF U.S. ARTILLERY MANUALS. RE-DOWN CLASSIFIED FROM RESTRICTED.

THIS IS THE PUBLICATION FOR THE PROTOTYPE TEST VERSION OF THE ATOMIC ANNIE 280MM ATOMIC CANNON. of the Atomic Cannon

With the deployment in the 1950s of atomic weapons on both sides of the Cold War, all three branches (Army, Navy, Air Force) of the U.S. military sought to justify fielding nuclear weapons within their individual arsenals. For the U.S. Army, prior to therefinement of tactical nuclear missiles, that meantdeveloping an atomic artillery piece. This weapon was the M65 280mm Motorized Heavy Gun, also known as the Atomic Cannon.

In May of 1950, the Watervliet Arsenal began designing the 280mm Gun T131 for the U.S. Army. This heavy, mobile, long-range gun was developed tofire the W-9 15 kiloton atomic 280mm Projectile T124. By the spring of 1951, the first T131 gun was mounted on the T72 Gun Carriage, and in October, 1952, three T131 guns were demonstrated to the U.S. public at Aberdeen Proving Ground. From 1951 to 1953, 20 guns were manufactured by the Dravo Corporation, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The weight of the gun and carriage was 94,000 lbs/42,582 kg, (47 tons). The length of the gun carriage was 38\'-5\" or 11.71 meters. The gun could be emplaced and set up for firing in approximately 12 minutes, and returned to the traveling mode in approximately 15 minutes. The publicly-acknowledged maximum range of the 280mm gun was 20 miles, hitting within 20 yards or less of the desired target. An Army veteran assigned to M65s in Okinawa reported the actual maximum range was 35 miles.

In 1950, the Kenworth Motor Truck Company began the manufacture of the M249 4x4 Heavy Gun-Lifting Front Truck and the M250 4x4 Heavy Gun-Lifting Rear Truck, to transport the T131 Gun.From 1952 through 1953, 33 Front and 33 Rear Truckswere manufactured. Each truck was powered by a Continental AO-895-4 six-cylinder engine,with a maximum output of 375 hp and a top speed of 45 mph. The empty weight of the M249 Front Truck was 37,950 lbs/17,191 kg (19 tons); the empty weight of the M250 Rear Truck was 35,910 lbs/16,267 kg (18 tons).

The entire assembly of two trucks and one gun was designated the M65, although the unofficial, popular name given this machine was \"Atomic Annie.\"Total weight of the M-65 was 172,865 lbs/78,308 kg (86.4 tons).The twotrucks wereoperated bytwo drivers, and the Front Truck driver could be given control of the brakes in both trucks. Communication betweendrivers was by a system of headset intercoms. Total length of the M65 was85\'-0\"/26 meters, and width was 10\'-0\"/3.12 meters. The 20 M65s were deployed primarily in West Germany, with six units deployed in Okinawa. The M65s were operational from 1953 to 1963, when they were replaceddue tothe availability of nuclear shells for the simpler, cheaper, more operationally flexible 8\" howitzers, as well as by the Army\'s new tactical nuclear-armed missiles such as Corporal, LaCrosse and Honest John. Most of the M65s were scrapped, although a few have been preserved as museum pieces, such as at The Armored Fighting Vehicles Museum at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland, and at The National Museum of Nuclear Science & Historyin Albuquerque, New Mexico.

On May 25, 1953, at 8:30 am,asthe tenthof a series of eleven nuclear test firingsduring OperationUPSHOT-KNOTHOLE, T131 number 9 fired a W-9 15 kiloton warhead(shot GRABLE) a distance of seven miles. The device detonated at an altitude of 524 feet above the target in Area 5 (known as \"Frenchman Flat\") on the Nevada Proving Ground. This was the only nuclear firing of the M65. See photo.

THE ITEMS IN OUR REFERENCE COLLECTION DATE BACK TO ABOUT 1849 WHEN MY GREAT UNCLE, RALPH CRITTENDEN AND HIS PARTNER RICHARD TIBBALS CREATED THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL AMMUNITION FACTORY IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF DRAWN CARTRIDGES , PERCUSSION CAPS AND ALL FORMS TO AMMUNITION OF INTEREST TO THE GUN MANUFACTURING FACTORS OF THE DAY. SPENCER , SHARPS , HENRY , VOLCANIC, JENNINGS, REMINGTON, AND SMITH AND WESSON ALL SOLD CRITTENDEN AND TIBBALS AMMUNITION UNDER THEIR OWN TRADE NAME. THE UNION ARMY BOUGHT MILLIONS OF CTM PERCUSSION CAPS AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SPENCER CARTRIDGES DURING LINCOLN’S WAR AND ALL OF THE SPENCER AMMUNITION USED IS THE FIRST MAJOR BATTLES INCLUDING GETTYSBURG WERE ALL MADE BY CRITTENDEN AND TIBBALS.

****Over the course of the next couple of years we will be offering for sale thousands of rare specimens of museum quality many of which have never been offered for sale before and which you will likely never see for sale again. Why are we selling this archive and reference collection? After 150+ years of interest in ammunition there is no one else interested in the field in our family. My personal collecting has spanned 50 years and I am at an age when it is time to stop and pass on such activities to others.