Atomic Artillery – Cold War Giants

May 25, 2022

Game Changer

United States “Game Changer” Weapon Breakthrough May, 1953 facilitates end of Korean War

In the biggest weapon breakthrough since the day the atomic bomb destroyed much of Hiroshima, Japan, the US ran a military exercise simulating an Army battalion possessing a nuclear warhead. All previous nuclear bombs had been dropped from planes.

To end WWII, the Enola Gay, under the direction of President Truman, had dropped a 10,000 pound “Little Boy” bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. On May 23,1953 the United States would again fire “the shot heard round the world” when it’s Army fired an 800 pound bomb of equal power from a cannon. The cannon, nicknamed Atomic Annie, had its origins in the large Nazi cannons captured from the Germans in WWII and brought back to the US.

The United States War Games on May 25,1953 were attended by our highest ranking military officials including both the Chairman-elect of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Army Joint Chief of Staff. The nuclear warhead fired from a cannon would have much greater precision at hitting it’s target than the bomb dropped on Japan. The atomic cannon’s pinpoint precision would allow the United States to kill the enemy combatants without any civilian casualties.

Commenting on atomic artillery the WWII hero, 5-star general and newly elected President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower commented “If I had an atomic bomb that just killed the enemy military, why wouldn’t I use it? It would be like using a bullet.”

Ike tremendous popularity was based on his promise to end the Korean War. Atomic Annie gave Ike just what he needed to end the war quickly and among foreign communist leaders, they knew Ike would use any weapon to do so.

The Nevada desert war games could be seen from the famous “Vegas Strip” and many vacationers watched the nuclear explosions and mushroom cloud from their pools or balconies.

The two photos with this blog are a picture from the Nevada Strip and the front page of the NY times announcing the era of atomic artillery had begun and the US Army was now the most powerful Army in the World”. Said Pentagon officials in the NY Times “The balance of power in the Cold War has now put the United States above the Soviet Union”.

When Ike swept to his Presidential Victory in November 1952 he promised 2 things: an end to the Korean War and reducing the military budget. With the Atomic Annie he had the capability to accomplish his most cherished goal of ending the killing in Korea, but now the age of atomic artillery had begun and controlling the budget during the Cold War Arms race would prove more difficult.

The Nevada war games, that witnessed the Atomic Annie, lasted about 10 days and on the last day, Ike announced that after a two year stalemate in armistice negotiations, there was a major breakthrough and the communists had agreed to all of his demands, unconditionally.

May 17, 2022May 17, 2022

President Kennedy Visits US Troops in Hanau, West Germany and Atomic Artillery June, 1963

A crowd of at least 120,000, with estimates up to 400,00 Berliners gathered in front of the Schöneberg Rathaus (City Hall) to hear President Kennedy speak. It was the young and charismatic US President’s first visit and he gave his address at the Berlin Wall-the wall dividing Germany into Communist and Democratic halves. The West Germans were nervous that, after 18 years, the US would not continue their massive military. In one his greatest and most famous speeches, Kennedy declared:

“Ich bin ein Berliner!” or “I am also a citizen of Berlin” to the roar of the enormous crowd. Kennedy went on to say America would never abandon its democratic values and confront communism wherever it reared its ugly head.

The charismatic president went on to say that on the 15th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift he wanted to let the West Germans know that like during that airlift, the US would never “bend” in supporting freedom and democracy for all Berliners. After Berlin, JFK went to visit the US 3rd Armored Division at their base in Hanau, West Germany. The following is the recollections of one of those on the Atomic Artillery team that manned the Davy Crockett installation. It is entitled:

An Awkward Moment –
- By Thomas Herwer 3rd Armored Division

Marty Kungl and I (both of 3rd Armored Division) were selected to prepare for President Kennedy’s visit to Hanau in June, 1963. We set up a full blown Davy Crockett Weapon System display over by the missile launchers. We were the only two guys from the Davy Crockett section at the display. I had heard that Kennedy didn’t want lieutenants and sergeants, but wanted to hear about the weapons from the “gunners”.

It was a very impressive show for the President. I can’t ever remember seeing so many GI’s in one place at one time.

When Kennedy was riding around in the limousine with General Pugh, our Division Commander, and viewing all the troops and weapons, they stopped at the missile launcher displays and Kennedy talked to the guys for a few minutes…..

On the way back to the limo, General Pugh pointed out to Kennedy our Davy Crockett display. Boy, were we startled when the President and the General walked over to Marty and me! We must have been at ramrod attention at that point………Kennedy asked Marty what was the yield on the warhead. Marty said something like, “Sir, I can’t tell you. That is a classified secret.”

There was a moment of dead and uncomfortable silence, then General Pugh told Marty it would be okay to tell the Commander in Chief that information. So Marty divulged the warhead yield, much to our General Pugh’s relief, I’m sure.

I’m going to put up the highlights of JFKs speech that day since it is especially appropriate today, at a time that Communists continue to try to force their will on freedom loving people.

“Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect. But we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in — to prevent them from leaving us. I want to say on behalf of my countrymen who live many miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they take the greatest pride, that they have been able to share with you, even from a distance, the story of the last 18 years. I know of no town, no city, that has been besieged for 18 years that still lives with the vitality and the force, and the hope, and the determination of the city of West Berlin.

While the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the Communist system — for all the world to see — we take no satisfaction in it; for it is, as your Mayor has said, an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.”

-US Pesident Kennedy – Berlin, West Germany June, 1963

May 3, 2022May 17, 2022

Early Atomic Artillery

As noted in previous writing, during the period of the Cold War when deterrence by amassing more nuclear weapons than the Soviets was the goal, the critical question in addition to “who has more” was “who can hit the target fastest? This was a time before long range Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), and time to deploy and fire was an important factor.

Especially worrisome to President Eisenhower and his Army Joint Chief of Staff, General Joe “Lightning Joe” Collins was the deployment of 200,000+ Soviet infantry on the line dividing East and West Germany. It was said that in the area of the Fulda Gap German and US troops could see each other through the flimsy barbed wire fence that divided the country in half. The Fulda Gap, a flat plain between mountain ranges, was the area identified by the US military as most likely to stage a Soviet invasion of West Germany.

With the onset of the Korean War in 1950 and our belief it might be a Soviet decoy-war so they could invade West Germany. In 1950, President Truman recalled 5-star General Eisenhower to military duty and made him the Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Europe. Ike immediately deployed the US Army 3rd Infantry Division to the frontlines at the Fulda Gap to replace the green UN forces that were there. This was a message to Stalin the WWIIs most renowned and famous General was ready for any Soviet Army advance.

On the weapons front in the early 1950s, development and testing of atomic artillery was being heavily funded to get these precision nukes to our front line troops. Top Secret documents of Army JCS General Collins showed time to target was considered best, 3 hours, with an atomic cannon and worst with an aircraft bomber(10 hours). The Honest John Rocket was also fast at 4 hours but early versions had liquid fuel rockets that took a while to fill with fuel and risked explosion during filling. Both Corporal and Redstone missiles, or guided rockets, were being developed but hadn’t tested up to needed specifications.

The Uranium in the early atomic shells reached criticality by a “gun style” mechanism, that is an internal explosion in the warhead shot a small mass of uranium-235, shaped like a ball, into a donut shaped ring of Uranium-235. Together inside an 800 pound, 4,5’ long, warhead (the donut and the inserted “donut ball” achieved critical mass and exploded with the force of the 10,000 Fat Man that we dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

These warheads, developed in 1950-1955 were named W7 and W9 warheads and were used on the earliest nuclear-capable artillery: Atomic Cannon, Corporal Missile and Honest John Rocket.

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