Path: utzoo!yunexus!ists!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: emery@aries.mitre.org (David Emery)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: M-109 self-propelled gun explosion
Message-ID: <11496@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 17 Nov 89 06:56:33 GMT
Article-I.D.: cbnews.11496
References: <11368@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Organization: The Mitre Corporation, Bedford, MA
Lines: 26
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: emery@aries.mitre.org (David Emery)
This is purely speculation, but I would suspect one of 3 causes:
	1.  straight mechanical failure  (it happens sometimes, i.e.
flaw in the breech, etc..)
	2.  The basic way to get more range out of a gun is to
increase the pressure.  It's possible that they loaded "charge 26"
(current 155mm charges are 1 to 7) to see how much additional range
they could get.  And then, they blew the breach.
	3.  One proposal under development is liquid propellant
(current propellant is conventional powder in bags).  It's possible
that this was a prototype liquid propellant gun, and something went
wrong and too much "go juice" was loaded into the gun, blowing the
breach. 

All in all, I believe that something blew the breach.  I can't imagine
how you'd get so many people killed if, for instance, the barrel blew
up (outside of the cabin of the M109).  The M109 is, of course, SP
artillery and the crew is completely protected by a lightly armored
turret.

				dave emery
				emery@aries.mitre.org
				(CPT, FA, NHARNG
				 M198 Towed 155mm Howitzers)