The U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum Newsletter April 2015 The Museum is open Wednesday - Saturday 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. To set up a tour call the Museum at 256-883-3737 during Museum hours. Museum News Buy a General Admission ticket to the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum for a friend. Tickets may be obtained at the Museum office or Library office. The Museum s new WWII ¾ ton Dodge WC-56 command car arrived this month to begin a light restoration at the shop of USVMM team member John Omenski before going on display. As he has so many times before, John is volunteering his time and talent for this project but materials will come out of the museum s budget. The Museum library recently cataloged in a nine-volume set entitled Trial of Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg. The set was published in 1947 at Nuremberg. Germany. Volume one is the official document. The remaining volumes are the proceedings of the trials. The Huntsville Public Library donated the set. March 17, the Museum was pleased to support JROTC Day activities along with Team Redstone at Redstone Arsenal. The Museum's M-151 jeep and UH-1 "Huey" Helicopter, Page 1
maintained by the North Alabama Chapter Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, were on the scene. March 18, the Museum was pleased to host 65 fifth graders and 21 adults on a field trip from Randolph School. March 19-20, the Museum was pleased to host a session of the Command and General Staff College. It's always a pleasure to have this outstanding group join us. March 28, the Museum was pleased to host Cub Scout Pack 228. March 31, the Museum hosted the Madison County Military Heritage Commission meeting The City of Huntsville has vacated the Health Clinic, located on the west side of the Museum. We are in the process of cleaning and painting the new addition. The south side will be Randy s office and a conference room. The Museum Library has being moving from the southeast corner of the Museum to the northwest side of the building. Books about events before World War II will be located in the Pre WW2 room. Books about events after World War II will be located in the Post WW2 room. We will have a room for World War II books, Tanks & Vehicles, Biography and Unit History. If the public wants to do research, they can use the reference table located in the unit room. The library and archive staff will work out of the library office. Page 2
Upcoming Events The following are some events scheduled at the Museum: Host Command and General Staff College classes at the Museum. April 23, the "Little" Civil War Roundtable discussion group will meet at the Veterans Museum for a special presentation on the sinking of the Sultana in the Mississippi River hosted by Larry Bayer. It was the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history, with a loss of some 1,800 lives, mostly released Union prisoners returning home after the Civil War. Museum Artifact by Ray Bushnell 40MM Bofors Anti-Aircraft gun The 40MM Bofors Anti-Aircraft gun saw service in the U. S. Army, U. S. Navy, and the U. S. Air Force. This weapon has been use during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam conflict, and the conflicts in the Middle East. The piece has been used by a number of other nations during these conflicts and by both sides in the conflict. The military nomenclature for this weapon is 40MM Automatic Gun M1. The example of this weapon that is currently in the process of restoration is one of six that the museum acquired about four years ago. It is also the oldest of the six with a1942 manufacture date. This weapon that is being restored is the least damaged of the six with repairs that can be accomplished in a field environment. We have been able to obtain a digital copy of the technical manual for this gun so we have an information source for assembly and disassembly instructions, and parts. This manual was obtained from the Historic Naval Ships Association. Hardware such as screws, bolts, nuts, etc. are still available commercially, but parts unique to the piece have to be salvaged from other weapons. One interesting aspect of this entity is that the parts are manufactured of brass or steel. The original plan had been to have the gun ready for this year s Veterans Day Parade, but some unexpected problems have slowed work. We are now looking to have it ready for next year s parade. Page 3
Historical facts 40MM Bofors Anti-Aircraft gun by Ray Bushnell The 40MM Bofors was designed in the 1930s by AB Bofors of Sweden, a company that has been involved in the producing of iron, steel, and weapons for 300+ years. As with any weapons systems, the Bofors went through a number of developments until it reached the configuration that we see today. The first towable carriage was developed in 1935, prior to that most of these were ship mounted or on fixed emplacements. There are two types of carriages for this piece, an American pattern carriage and a British pattern carriage. The one we are restoring is the American pattern carriage. There are examples of the British pattern carriage on display at CFB Bordon in Canada and the Imperial War Museum in London. The U. S. Navy accepted the gun for use in 1940 and was placed on ships in single, twin, or quad mounts. The Navy modified the guns to use a water cooled barrel for some installations. The U. S. Army used the Bofors primarily on a ground mount as a medium range AA gun although there are instances where they were used for fire support in ground actions. During World War II there were attempts to mount the Bofors on the half-track type vehicle, but weight and stability problems were not resolved and the projects were canceled. But during the Korean War a number of M-15A1 half-tracks were modified at depots in Japan to carry a single 40MM Bofors. This was done by removing the 37MM anti-aircraft gun system. Apparently the fire power value of the 40MM was needed and there was more 40MM ammunition available then 37MM ammunition. These 40MM gun half-tracks were designated M-34, but were classed as a Limited Standard item. As the half-track had problems mounting the Bofors late in World War II the Army began to develop a fully tracked vehicle based on an existing tank chassis. This resulted in the M-19 anti-aircraft vehicle based on the M-24 light tank chassis. The Bofors were on a twin mount in an open top, fully traversable turret. These vehicles would not see action in World War II, but would be used in Korea. While there is no definite documentation regarding this, the inspiration MM-42A1 Duster on display at the Museum Page 4
for the M-19 may have come from the fact that late in World War II the Germans mounted anti-aircraft weapons on the Mark IV tank chassis. The final configurations for the Bofors was on a tracked vehicle known as the M-42 Duster which was armament: with 40mm Dual Automatic Gun M2A1 Bofors. The gun turret could rotate 360 and elevate to 85 when deployed against aircraft. However, it was its ability to depress the guns as low as -5 that made it invaluable in close jungle warfare. A Cold War vehicle, the basic chassis was the M-41 Walker Bulldog. The M-42 would be used in Vietnam for convoy protection and base defense, and remain in service with the Army National Guard until the late 1980s. The Air Force would mount the Bofors, one or two, depending in the configuration, in the AC-130 Gunships. The gun casing was mounted inside the aircraft with the barrel projecting outside. As with the other weapons on the gunships, they were installed such that the pilot flew a left banking turn for target engagement. In case of two Bofors in the aircraft each weapon had its own mount. There is one interesting vehicle on which the Bofors was mounted. During the course of the war in Indochina, the French mounted the Bofors on the LVT-4 amphibious vehicle using it in the role of fire support. These were used during operations in the Mekong Delta and Red River Delta areas along with the M-29 Weasel variants. Our Volunteers Ray Bushnell Ray Bushnell has been a volunteer at the museum for about 5 years. He does mechanical work, some parts procurement, parts inventory, and plastic model building. He is both a retired military and federal civil service. While in the military he was on active duty, a traditional National Guard person, i.e. one weekend a month, two week annual training, and Accepted Federal Civil Service technician. He was in both the U. S. Army and the U. S. Air Force and speaks both languages quite well. His first conflict was Vietnam and also was in Operation Iraq Freedom. He uses a large portion of the skill and knowledge gained in the military in his work at the museum. He is the Civil Air Patrol and the Huntsville Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers Society/US. Ray has also been a Civil War re-enactor, artilleryman in a Civil War artillery unit. Page 5
General Information The U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum located in Huntsville Alabama is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. There are more than 30 historical military vehicles from World War I to the present as well as artifacts and other memorabilia dating back to the Revolutionary War. Displays include a "Merci" 40 et 8 boxcar from World War I, a Cobra attack helicopter, a collection of jeeps, Sherman tanks and Stuarts, a half-track and flags, maps, uniforms and other artifacts from every U.S. conflict. The Museum is located just west of Memorial Pkwy in John Hunt Park at 2060A Airport Road, Huntsville, Al 35801. The U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum is dedicated to promoting the accomplishments of American military men and women. The Museum's web page is www.memorialmuseum.org. The Museum email of is Info@memorialmuseum.org. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, send REMOVE to Info@memorialmuseum.org. Follow the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum on Facebook. If you would like someone to be ADDED to our mailing list, send Add to Newsletter to Info@memorialmuseum.org. Please include their name and email address. Page 6