The Ultimate Tank Destroyer • Direct Fire M109A6 Paladin

[@SargeRho]

"Gunner, do you see that tank?" "Yes, sir!" "I don't want to!" "Understood, sir!"

[@benignobrionesiii]

Holy sh*t this comment had me rolling.

[@johndous1970]

I remember doing that, but with the 8" Howitzer. Awesome stuff.

[@robertholder5083]

John Dous Yes sir. I served on a 8inch in the mid 80s. I will never forgot what that felt like. Pure fire power.

[@vs3754310]

M110 Howitzer Ft.Stewart, Ga 1986

[@e.a.corral4713]

Too bad they never kept them?Would have been effective against the talisman & using up all them rounds on them? Watched a whole division fire at once. GROUND SHAKING.

[@beamish264burg]

Down range in Ft Carson back in the day I remember a lot of that .

[@cowboyf2504x4]

Although we try to avoid this situation, I spent 4 years on an M109A6 and we do have anti armor rocket assisted rounds we can use as a last reaort.

[@rolandlee6898]

SPGs are not tank destroyers. Basically all current SPGs can fire directly. 152/155mm HE round is sure to fuck up a tank, but it will not destroy it. There have been tests. SPGs lack the instruments and sights to accurately detect and engage targets in line of sight with any significant agree of efficiency. A tank will out-spot and out-shoot an SPG 100% of the time. If you are in an SPG and the enemy is close enough that you need to fire directly you have fucked up on a truly biblical level and your odds of making it out of that situation are pretty small.

[@davidjuarez1834]

Well shoot it again until it does lol

[@raphaelott5907]

Thats why direct fire is your last task of emergency... one shot and then get the hell out of that battle toaster. Greetings from a Swiss canonier

[@isidro1517]

Wtf

[@isidro1517]

Basically stu

[@NoOneAlive_]

@@isidro1517 what?

[@TotalRookie_LV]

No complaints about artillery shooting at tanks? Strange. Or maybe there just ain't any "WoT" players around. XD

[@Nightmare239]

F clickers.

[@bjmccann1]

LOL! WoT players are always whining about artillery. They have no idea exactly how dangerous artillery ACTUALLY is.

[@ronaldthompson4989]

I'm an odd breed of arty player. Been around since Sturmpanzer I was tier 2 was .55 accuracy. Always moved between shots, almost always pushed up as close as was safe (sometimes way too close). Didnt notice many complaints until the nerfs started rolling in. Gradually everything got more sluggish to the point where moving at all felt like more trouble than it was worth, then this rework with the stun mechanics and castrated damage(almost impossible to pen even light tanks)... Playing arty now just feels... Sad.

[@absolutelynotacommie]

@@ronaldthompson4989 arty nerfs are needed because they were a mistake from the beginning. They were added as a countermeasure against campers but most arty players just farm damage by shooting slow heavies and tank destroyers. While they are even more damgerous in real life as some people like to point out they have ruined the gameplay for many tank classes. Paper tds get focused and cant use their dpm from a good spot, heavies cant use their armour because they are just getting their engine deck penned by he. Arty should never have been introduced to a game that is not about realism but about fun.

[@ronaldthompson4989]

@@absolutelynotacommie lol

[@velocitywot9573]

I served in an M109A6 unit. My Plt.Sgt likes to tell us how shit the 109 is compared to the Crusader. He worked on the XM2001 Crusader during testing phase before politics and an Army fetish for things light weight killed the program. From there it gave birth to the NLOS which also went no where. I hope the new A7 incorporates the autoloader system from the Crusader. The technology is there.

[@theDudeOfDudes]

Yeah, but it got Rumsfeld'd, which probably means old Donnie had investments that would have been hurt if we adopted the superior tech.

[@stevefreeman1154]

Your platoon sgt was a dumbass then. Paladins and Crusaders are entirely different systems designed for entirely different missions. It's like comparing the lift capacity of a C130 to that of a Chinook.

[@jonathanm5742]

@@stevefreeman1154 what Mission differences was that? Enlighten us.

[@velocitywot9573]

@@stevefreeman1154 the space force wasn't around then Steve. Yes, they were completely different systems. The M109 was fkn aging, there is a reason the army went through the crusader to the NLOS trying to replace that piece of shit. The crusader was gonna replace the Paladin equipped heavy brigades. What other fkn mission would they have that would've been different. I mean you rode up in here on a high horse you must be been part of the program development. tell us. and were did we end up? because of budget the army is trying to cram crusader technology into the new chassis M109A7.

[@sheLOVEScjay]

@@velocitywot9573 Hey, i know this comment is from ages ago. My unit is currently phasing out the A6's for A7s and they do have the new autoloader system. They are also much faster and seem to be a much better improvement overall.

[@parbaz2982]

Just imagine that 155mm becomes a tank main gun instead of howitzer

[@RockSteel141]

I joined the Army National Guard in California back 1986. I was assigned to Alpha Battery in Monrovia. We'd go to Camp Roberts for 2 weeks every summer. The model back then was the A2. My job was distributing the rounds to the Guns. I learned to work alone and not stop until everything was handed out. I worked alone because of the personnel shortage. I was ordered drive for one of the guns that was short of personnel. A-Battery 2nd-144thFA had the least amount of personnel for the guns and shot better then all of the other Batteries. I looked forward to going out every summer for 2 weeks. Good Memories. I noticed the Spades weren't down and I imagine it's something that is not done for direct fire.

[@kskeel1124]

Being that an M109 can be literally swiss cheesed by anything heavier than a light MG this is the absolute last option on the battlefield...

[@daddyrabbit835]

Pressed aluminum armor... I shit you not.

[@xmeda]

@@daddyrabbit835 14.5x114 machinegun will do the job easily. 30mm cannon or anything larger will just rain hell on such thing.

[@MagnusRex4]

Yeah totally not made for direct combat

[@stevefreeman1154]

Except a 155 can outshoot pretty much any other gun on the battlefield. It's like a guy with an M107 shooting at a guy with an RPK/PPK or a DSHK even. It doesnt matter how deadly that weapon is if your weapon can engage from 5x its effective range.

[@myusername3689]

@@stevefreeman1154 Yeah this is meant to be sniping high value targets while the armored howitzers/tanks engage in close combat with other tanks.

[@AntonioSilva-md4ec]

155mm direct fire, nothing can resist.

[@SidestickPilot]

We have a lot of these all over Utah!

[@asadini]

Such exercises are for times when all forward troops are rendered ineffective and the Arty assets do not have time to scoot. Am I right?

[@maceosikes]

Yes this is primarily done for self defense of the battery

[@daddyrabbit835]

@@maceosikes Yes, it's called a "Killer Junior" Charge 7 white bag, shell HE, time fuze. Used for dismounted troops mostly.

[@geoffgordon9569]

Hell yeah. Smell that wolf pussy. Let's go Redlegs. Boom Artillery!

[@Whiskey4myHoz]

You don't want to get hit by a 155mm shell.

[@kristofferlaursen5970]

@@wolfgangvicenzi8664 I think the force alone from a 155 mm HE shell would make any tank useless afterwards - even if the armor is not penetrated....

[@richardhall6034]

When we did direct fire with the m110 ( 200lbs shells on charge 7 that would send it over 20 miles) with one hit there's no more tank or bunker the shell doesn't even have to go off to Totally destroy it

[@Joohnny_C]

Better to be hit by 155mm than by some 5,56. Save some pain and save some gain!!!

[@krausatorseins584]

I served in the artillery in the german Army and remember the question of a buddy who asked our Sergeant what detonator he should use in this special case. "In the range of about 1000m? Well, no one. Just enjoy the power of impact and a tumbling tank"😎😎

[@TexasGrandDad]

Trying to recall which artillery table the direct fire task falls under. You rarely get the opportunity to do it as indirect fire is the staple of field artillery. I also wonder why they didn't drop the spades.

[@JohnSmith-bf1sq]

I believe direct fire would be an emergency action. Therefore the practice of not having the spades down would mimic the "oh shoot" moment and the need to move after firing.

[@rfcdgaf]

It's a tank alert, irl you'd already be dead long before you got to this point

[@manuelgonzalez4061]

Diret fire??

[@mr.sinister1279]

My old MOS 13Bravo field Artillery.. aka gun bunnies 🐰!!

[@marcuskruger5324]

Die M109, mein Arbeitsplatz als GF von 03/91-06/94. Allerdings auf der M109GA3. Nicht auf der A6. Hatte sehr viel Freude auf solch einem WaSys in meiner Dienstzeit arbeiten zu dürfen. Wieso sind bei der M109A6 Paladin noch die abklappbaren Erdsporne am Fahrzeug???? Mir wurde gesagt mit der Reichweitenerhöhung der Munition würden diese entfernt, weil sie nicht mehr gebraucht werden. Ist das richtig????

[@robertrogers8354]

I remember them well with the 3/19 FA 5 inf. div. mechanized.....

[@Asiandynamo]

If you have to direct fire on armor , consider your ass as grass.

[@wekker090]

I miss the smell of the smoke.

[@WWIILivingHistory]

WOLF PUSSY!!!

[@chucky182fa]

@@WWIILivingHistory yup. That’s what I recall !

[@user-ut3mu2fx9h]

I drove one of these when i was in the danish Army back i. 1989. It was great fun.

[@dogmandan79]

What round are they using for this.

[@kristofferlaursen5970]

HE

[@Roy-uu4dg]

Artillery the king of battle. Make no mistake .

[@boragamerz9145]

Please put the gopro on muscle break of the paladin barrrel.

[@jeanettewest]

I don't know how this showed up in my recommended list, but this is amazing. What would those cannons look like with an absolute maximum propellant charge?

[@sheLOVEScjay]

The max charge literally is gut wrenching. If you pay close attention, on the back their are two shovel shaped "stakes" (sorry its 4am and i can't think of the name of them) that we lay down in order to stop the vehicle from rolling or moving too far backwards. When firing the max charge it gets pretty crazy!

[@goman5523]

@@sheLOVEScjayspades

[@shanemoore7694]

5H is extremely brutal on the body. Anything over 3H we had to have our spades dropped, and if you are using 5H, direct fire is not an option. The breach will hit the gunner and number 1 man's seats

[@jeanettewest]

@@sheLOVEScjay Thank you!

[@jeanettewest]

@@sheLOVEScjay Thank you!

[@cybersquire]

Wonder what type of round they use against vehicles...

[@maceosikes]

HE Fragmentation, they don't use dedicated anti armor rounds. HE Frag will mission kill a tank extremely easily though if not outright k kill it.

[@ronaldthompson4989]

@@maceosikes huh. I thought shaped charge rounds was a thing. Or was that just the cluster warhead on MLRS....

[@stevefreeman1154]

Most are HE rounds. It may not destroy an Abrams but it could disable it and jeep it from engaging.

[@TheGrayRatArmy]

This is what T30 looks like when it fires again

[@takon0458]

You know you fucked up when the howitzers lower their barrels and start heading towards the enemy

[@QuantumPyrite_88.9]

The Russians are going to have a shit time dealing with the Paladin. Cool video and thanks.

[@bigmarkthe1]

I did this 8 years 13 bravo oct. 28 1988/ oct. 28 1996 desert storm.

[@Yosemite-George-61]

are they using black powder? I love this gun!

[@luizviniciusvieiraalexandr4979]

just like the IS-2 tank commander says that will be nothing more but a memory

[@МистерТвистер-ю4у]

The M109 is a good technique, but not for direct fire at a moving target!!! Tanks are destroyed by drones, javelins and smart shells or mines. Greetings from Ukraine M109L!!!

[@caiopuertas1401]

Can this take down a modern tank with reactive armor like a M1 Abrams, for example?

[@caiopuertas1401]

But what if we mount this gun on a fast tank? LOL

[@davidjuarez1834]

It would concuss the crew in the tank maybe break a track but the M1 would still be intact. Maybe if the round was fired at high angle a land right on top. Maybe a Excalibur round could destroy it. I'm artillery we tested the theory with 105mm rounds it took ten rounds to disable it.

[@b1k3hobo54]

If it was a direct hit? Yes. It is a 50kg HE shell going 600 meters per second. Bad things will happen, reactive armor or not. Will blow off road-wheels, cut the track, destroy all reactive armor bricks on that side, shatter/destroy a good percentage of the optics, and the shock may jam up the turret or gun drive, split weld seams, or cause chunks of equipment inside to break free and injure the crew. Not spall, but just things like electronic boxes, seats, loader equipment, etc. If it manages to hit between the turret and the hull, well then, you have a tank with no more turret. Some of the flush-turreted Russian and Chinese designs might survive a turret hit more effectively if they didn't have the reactive armor brackets and arrays mounted and adding more surface area for the blast to have an effect on. Either way you can probably give a 100% possibility to a mission kill. A hit from the top down on the engine deck would would be a boom, and most western types have really thin roof armor. Again some of the vintage Russian/Chinese designs might remain 'intact' but totally helpless afterwards.

[@maceosikes]

100% yes, it may not penetrate the armor but it will destroy the gun and the optics and the tracks etc.

[@ronaldthompson4989]

The fun thing about HE in the 150mm+ range is the concussion. Even if you dont breach the vehicle, the pressure wave from a direct hit/very near miss is so massive its liable to liquify the brains of everyone inside

[@jantschierschky3461]

Well sending a 155mm down the road with a 7 load is fun

[@nigelft]

Stupid question is really stupid ... But what kind of powder charge is an a7 ...?

[@absolutelynotacommie]

@@nigelft not the right person to answer but I think it's the strongest powder charge they have. It makes the shell fly as fast and straight as possible. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

[@daddyrabbit835]

@@absolutelynotacommie Red bags are bigger. The white bag rounds go to a "charge 7". Red bags are "charge 8".

[@siderealplexus5544]

0:58 what are those tanks.

[@thefistofshadow7392]

old tank wrecks

[@ra-ge]

If it comes to tank destroying something already has gone terribly wrong

[@maxwellclark6992]

So is the driver of the paladin part of the artillery or is he from armored corps

[@davidjuarez1834]

Artillery 13B

[@828enigma6]

Yes.

[@stevefreeman1154]

Artillary

[@wandersonkruz]

Mr. Badass

[@bereitschaft.]

Why they don't have a track stabilizer?

[@zirndorfredleg7688]

8" could lock the suspension 155 couldn't

[@chucky182fa]

@@zirndorfredleg7688 you are truly an old gun bunny. Lol

[@robertholder5083]

No . I'm sorry. It is still in service as artillery. And is only 155MM. Now put front armament on a M110a2. It's been called outdated for artillery. But with 203MM, it would be the king of tank destroyers.

[@dabsafe]

Great against static targets. What happens when they move though?

[@bigvaxmeanie925]

It's a last resort option if an enemy were to be within close range.

[@nizalmuhammad9689]

Imagine t30 heavy tank was produced then send to frontline and firing 155mm gun to tiger tank

[@FSKN-Rossii]

Yeah it was a masterpiece

[@dwiwahyu7638]

All suspension breakdowns 🤣

[@nizalmuhammad9689]

@@dwiwahyu7638 suspension : ADIOS 😂

[@rozangelahernades6237]

Nossa olha que potência este tank tem é muito bom ver esses vídeos não sei se aqui no Brasil ó exército brasileiro tem esses tipos de armamentos pelo que eu vi na internet o exército brasileiro está quebrado..

[@djyppo]

Atualmente o exercito brasileiro opera artilharias autopropulsadas modelo M109A3 e M109A5, versões mais antigas desse mostrado no video.

[@boybalisong1473]

It cannot hit a moving tank. Using it in direct fire mode is only good for stationary target.

[@ronaldthompson4989]

It can if its lucky. Unless I'm mistaken the direct fire system on SPGs is comparable to what tanks have. 1940s tanks that is

[@TheOneShaneAdam]

why no drop spades?

[@bigdog70810]

Spade are never dropped during direct fire missions (Emergency situation).

[@robertphillips9157]

Direct Fire situations happen fast, tanks won’t sit there and let you hit them. No time for spades. I served 1st/ 78th out of Fort Hood

[@vs3754310]

You shoot and move

[@skwizzzb3904]

ah yes the good ole trick of slapping a fucking howitzer to a tank

[@remusicworld351]

US army modern tank destroyer is Stryker M1128

[@umarab5814]

This Tank Should be Add in War Thunder Just Like Japanese Type 75 SPH

[@MatthewChidester]

way more impressive than any armor the north koreans have .. cool video thanks for sharing!

[@ronaldthompson4989]

They still use T-34s XD

[@zirndorfredleg7688]

Been there done that at Graf in the 70s and 80s.

[@rauman72]

Hey Z, I was at Graf in ‘78-‘79! 1/16th FA 2nd AD!

[@bruceoneil6840]

@@rauman72 I was A Btry 6/14th Pinder 1972-74

[@waynemorris2342]

At Graf 76-77,1/18 FA.Augsburg. Sheridan Kaserne ​@@rauman72

[@isidro1517]

Tot any red leg will tell you shoot move communicate you sit around long enough everybody dies

[@trowbreezy__]

We need an armor package upgrade & 155mm apfsds 😈

[@kennyworth007]

I was hoping they'd show the damage to the targets.

[@bcamcam2]

There probably wasn't any, we did this once and out of 18 rounds by six diff gun crews they only scored one hit on a broadside 577 chassis at about 1500 meters.....

[@williammcdorman6426]

I was a tanker, and trust me 6 inch shells just have to hit you, your tank is done, nothing is going to work.

[@spookingoosin2172]

M109 crew member here. It’s not that good for anti modern armor in direct fire

[@puma0210]

The only solution is to put some reactive armors on it

[@TeneBoot]

Mobile artillery vs a tank Seems fair

[@dab0331]

Both are mobile "artillery". The only difference is one is sticky direct fire and one is indirect fire. These are mobile howitzers. Tanks are mobile cannons.

[@TeneBoot]

@@dab0331 i know

[@jeremybear573]

Merica!! FUCK Yea!

[@evgeniyromanovsky4558]

Jeremy Bear merica fuck you!

[@WildRage_]

Evgeniy Romanovsky merica. NO U

[@frankiect71]

KA BOOM!

[@fahrul511]

i like this sound :D

[@vladgray1984]

Wow!

[@Scorpio.1989]

Perfect for Graboid hunting....

[@tomsbunk3790]

Imagine if that were 406mm gun... Both tank would suffer haha

[@LordPunckyii]

my kid said "wow" :))))

[@steve1311]

Out tanked by a howitzer

[@remusicworld351]

M109 is self propelled artillery you in US army you don't know M109 is tank destroyer or self propelled artillery so too humiliating

[@gmanky]

Tanker here. Yes, a 155 rd will make your day a really bad one. But “The King of Battle” is in a situation where he’s about to be sodomized if he has to resort to direct fire against tanks…..

[@clintonwalsh2264]

No tank could with stand that hitting it

[@ulfricstormcloak7142]

Clinton Walsh assuming they're using standard 155mm HE shells, can they penetrate modern MBTs armour? But I guess the MBTs and the crew would be killed by the shockwave of the explosion alone...

[@lucass5980]

@@ulfricstormcloak7142 Yeah, they wouldnt even have to penetrate the armor. The size of the round and the explosion would be enough to knock out the tank or fuck up most of the equipment on whatever side of the vehicle it hit. Although I think western 155mm guns have an anti-tank option

[@deepsouthinception]

Driver set your parking brake!

[@flitsertheo]

I think that could cause damage to the vehicle

[@andyreynoso8195]

He needed to drop his spades it’s dumb

[@andyreynoso8195]

@@flitsertheo dropping spades only helps

[@andyreynoso8195]

@@lukes.1333 I didn’t pay attention that it was direct fire 🔥 ooops

[@retparatrooper]

Yup, better hope you destroy that tank....because that tank will not miss...battery one round fire for effect...never direct fire on a tank

[@retparatrooper]

John Parreira Yeah...I am aware being that I was a 13B4P in the 82nd 101st 1st Cav 2nd ID and 59th Ord

[@ziyuanliang2407]

Lol that’s got Sheridan’s hull

[@lucass5980]

No it does not.

[@marcusdorsey61md]

Not much better than a 155mm direct fired over open sights.

[@siggyodom955]

Marcus Dorsey the only thing better is more than one. I miss the smell of gun powder and burning diesel fuel in the morning.

[@isidro1517]

The shit was awesome

[@ericolsen5592]

Because fuck the T-72, T-90 and possibly the T-14

[@andyreynoso8195]

T-90 is a tank ….. this is a howitzer/paladin

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

What is the armor penetration of a 155 haha

[@lucass5980]

what kind of question is that.

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

@@lucass5980 the type of question of someone who wants to know how much armour a 155 would penitrate. I imagine its quite a lot.

[@lucass5980]

@@JohnFrumFromAmerica Oh. I see. I kinda misread the intention. It wouldnt be good for actually going through armor, but it would certainly mess up a tank enough for that not to matter

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

@@lucass5980 i know it would be interesting to see what it would do to a modern tank. I imagine it would mess it up interms of shock damage to the internals even if it didnt go through.

[@ronaldthompson4989]

The SU-152 earned the moniker beast killer the ability of its 152 HE to take out the german cats and elephant. It didnt actually penetrate the armor, its just that the concussion liquified the brains of everyone inside(also shook up the machinery something terrible, but usually fixable, provided it could be recovered) modern ordinance hits a bit harder i imagine

[@isidro1517]

Ambush only like old 88

[@isidro1517]

In war no one is invisible

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

Us needs to re US good old heavy-duty monster shelling, missiles are to expensive,

[@Roy-uu4dg]

63d hotel 8

[@maxprivate3805]

Enemy tank: "It's just a flesh wound"

[@บอลลําปาง-ง8ป]

ยิงไกลแค่ไหนก็โดนคับแม่นมากและเร็วมากคับ

[@Allies_USA]

quit accurate thoe

[@axp8598]

oof

[@dubious7424]

It just doesn't look American

[@ErrorOptik]

It would be interesting to see what Ukraine could do with 10 of these.. 😂

[@theflipeechestlanjao7754]

Actually 20 or more but we don't know the actual numbers